which rock contains water, and which rock contains fissures in which water may be found, and how far those fissures extend. This would enable him to calculate how deep he had to dig to reach water. Rabbi Eliezer said: And his son died of thirst. Since the previous passage mentioned God's rigorously exacting attitude toward righteous people like Neḥunya, the Gemara discusses how God relates to sinners. Rabbi Ḥanina said: Whoever says that the Merciful One overlooks the punishment due to sinners, his intestines will be overlooked, i.e., cease functioning. The reason sinners often appear to go unpunished is rather that God extends His patience with evildoers to give them a chance to repent, but eventually He collects His due and punishes the wicked. The Gemara explains the harsh judgment inflicted on the righteous Neḥunya. Rabbi Aḥa said that it is written: "Our God comes and does not keep silence; a fire devours before Him, and His surroundings storm [nis'ara] mightily" (Psalms 50:3). The Hebrew spelling of the word nis'ara is very similar to the word sa'ara, hair. This hints that God is exacting with the righteous, who are close to Him and can be called His surroundings, up to a hairsbreadth. Even slight deviations from the proper path can elicit punishment. Rabbi Yosei said: This idea is derived not through that source, but rather from that which is written about God: "And dreadful is He upon all of His surroundings" (Psalms 89:8), which indicates that His dread is upon those close to Him, i.e., the righteous, more than upon those distant from Him, i.e., the sinful.

The Gemara cites a related story. Rabbi Ḥaggai said in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman: There was an incident involving a certain pious man who would dig pits, wells, and caves to collect water for passersby. Once his daughter was passing over a river for the purpose of marriage, and the river washed her away. And all the people came to console him, but he refused to accept their condolences. Rabbi Pineḥas ben Yair came to visit him to console him, but he refused to accept condolences even from Rabbi Pineḥas. Rabbi Pineḥas said to the people of that community: Is this your righteous man, who will not be consoled and accept God's judgment? They said to him: Rabbi, he would perform such and such acts of righteousness, by supplying water, and yet such and such tragedy, the drowning of his daughter, occurred to him. Rabbi Pineḥas said: Is it possible that he honors his Creator with water, and yet his Creator strikes him with water? Immediately thereafter, a report spread throughout the city: The daughter of that righteous man has arrived, as she did not actually drown. Some say she grasped a branch and pulled herself out of the river, and some say an angel in the form of Rabbi Pineḥas ben Yair descended from heaven and rescued her.

§ The mishna states that Gevini was the Temple crier. The Gemara cites a baraita that states that Gevini would issue an announcement every morning in the Temple. What would he say in his announcement? Arise, priests, to service; and Levites to their platform to sing; and Israelites, i.e., the group of Israelites who represented the entire community at the sacrifice, to their watch. Gevini's voice was so powerful that King Agrippa once heard his voice as far away as eight parasangs, and Agrippa gave him many gifts as a sign of his appreciation.

The mishna states that ben Gever was responsible for locking the Temple gates in the evening and opening them in the morning. The Gemara cites an incident involving ben Gever. It is taught in a mishna (Yoma 20a): On each day, the ashes are removed from the altar at the calling of the gever or near this time. The Sages dispute whether the term gever in this context means man or rooster. The Gemara relates that when Rav went to visit Rabbi Sheila, he would serve as his interpreter, explaining his lectures to the public. On one occasion, after Rabbi Sheila had explicitly stated that gever means a rooster, Rav nevertheless interpreted in the study hall of Rabbi Sheila that the phrase: Gever cried out, means: The crier announced. Rabbi Sheila said to him: Say that this expression means: The rooster cried out. Rav said to him: But we learned in a mishna above (13a) that there is a man called ben Gever. Could you possibly say that his name means son of a rooster? In this context, gever must mean man, not rooster. Therefore, in Yoma as well it must indicate that a man issued an announcement.

The mishna states that ben Bevai was responsible for the shreds of garments. The Gemara explains that he would braid shreds together to prepare wicks for the candelabrum that were of the appropriate thickness, so that they would burn the entire night during each period of the year. The Gemara relates that Rabbi Yosei came to the town of Kufra and wanted to appoint community leaders for them to care for the needs of the community and the provisions of the poor. However, those who were selected would not accept the appointment from them, i.e., from Rabbi Yosei, because they deemed this job beneath their dignity. Rabbi Yosei came and said to them: Ben Bevai, was responsible for the lowly function of the shreds of garments, and if this man, who was appointed to deal with the wicks, merited to be listed with the greatest of that generation, you, who are appointed for life-sustaining matters, all the more so are you not honored by the position? You should therefore accept the request without hesitation.

The mishna further taught that ben Arza was responsible for the cymbal. The Gemara explains that this is referring to that which we learned in a mishna there (Tamid 33b): When the High Priest bent over to pour the wine libation, the deputy High Priest waved the scarves as a signal and ben Arza beat upon the cymbal.

The mishna states that Hugras ben Levi was responsible for the song. Rabbi Aḥa said: He knew an extraordinary manner of singing. And they said of Hugras ben Levi that he would make his voice pleasant in song, and when he would stick his thumb into his mouth he could produce several types of music simultaneously, and all of his fellow priests would lurch toward him all at once, from the intensity and the charm of the sound.

§ The mishna mentioned that the house of Garmu was responsible for the preparation of the shewbread, which is the bread baked each week in a special form and displayed for a week on the designated table in the Sanctuary. The Gemara relates a story from a baraita about the house of Garmu and their talent in baking. The house of Garmu was proficient in the preparation of the shewbread and in its removal from the oven without ruining it, but they did not want to teach these skills to others. Therefore, the Sages sent messengers and brought in craftsmen from Alexandria, who were also proficient in the preparation of the shewbread, in an attempt to replace the house of Garmu. However, they were not as proficient as the house of Garmu in its removal from the oven. The complex form of the shewbread rendered it very difficult to remove from the oven without its breaking. The Gemara clarifies the difference between the two manners of preparation. The house of Garmu would ignite the fire within the oven, bake the shewbread in a mold, and remove the bread from the mold only outside the oven, after it was fully baked. And, as they would remove it from the mold at this late stage, it would not spoil. Whereas these Egyptian craftsmen would ignite the fire within the oven and bake the shewbread in the mold, but, out of fear that it would break when removed from the mold, they would remove it from the mold inside the oven before it was fully baked. And the result was that the bread would spoil. Once the Sages realized this matter, that their replacement shewbread was flawed, they said: Everything that the Holy One, Blessed be He, created, He created for His glory, as it is stated: "The Lord has made everything for His own purpose" (Proverbs 16:4). Since spoiled shewbread does not promote the glory of God, we must forgo our honor and request the services of the house of Garmu once again. Therefore, the Sages sent for the house of Garmu, but they did not want to come back to bake until the Sages doubled their compensation. They had been receiving twelve maneh, and now they gave them twenty-four. Rabbi Yehuda says: They had been receiving twenty-four maneh, and now they gave them forty-eight. The Sages said to them: For what reason don't you want to teach the art of shewbread baking to others? The house of Garmu said to them: We have a tradition from our fathers that this House, the Temple, will be destroyed. We do not want to teach our method, so that others should not learn this art and unscrupulously perform it for their idolatry. Although their reason for refraining from teaching their method to others was not accepted, on this other matter the Sages did mention them with praise: That refined bread was never found in their children's possession at all, so that people should not say that they feast upon their shewbread labor.

The mishna states that the house of Avtinas was responsible for the preparation of the incense. The Gemara relates a similar story from a baraita concerning the house of Avtinas and their knowledge of the incense preparation: The house of Avtinas was proficient in the preparations of the incense mixture, which included grinding the incense herbs and blending them together. And they were also expert in identifying the so-called smoke raiser, a plant that caused the incense smoke to rise upward in a straight line to the ceiling, but they did not want to teach these skills to others. Therefore, the Sages sent out messengers and brought in craftsmen from Alexandria in Egypt. And these craftsmen were proficient in the incense mixture, but they were not proficient in identifying the smoke raiser. The incense smoke of the house of Avtinas would rise straight up like a staff to the ceiling, and from there it would spread out and descend, whereas the incense smoke of these Egyptian craftsmen would not rise but would simply spread out immediately. Once the Sages realized this matter, that this incense smoke was flawed, they said: Everything that the Holy One, Blessed be He, created, He created for His glory, as it is stated: "Everything that is called by My name, and I have created for My glory, I have formed it and even made it" (Isaiah 43:7). Since incense smoke that rises straight up is superior, we must forgo our honor and request the services of the house of Avtinas once again. The Sages sent for them, but they did not want to come back until they doubled their compensation. They had been receiving twelve maneh, and now they gave them twenty-four. Rabbi Yehuda says: They had been receiving twenty-four maneh, and now they gave them forty-eight. The Sages said to them: For what reason don't you want to teach the art of incense preparation to others? The house of Avtinas said to them: We have a tradition from our fathers that this House, the Temple, will be destroyed. We do not want to teach our method, so that others should not learn these skills and prepare this incense for their idolatry. Although their reason for refraining from teaching their method to others was not accepted, on these other matters the Sages did mention them with praise: That never did the wife of any one of them leave her house perfumed; and not only that, but when one of them would marry a woman from elsewhere, he would stipulate with her that the marriage was on condition that she may not perfume herself, so that people should not say that they perfume themselves from the preparation of the incense mixture. They did so to fulfill that which is stated: "Then you shall be clear before the Lord and before Israel" (Numbers 32:22).

Rabbi Yosei said: Once I was standing in Jerusalem, and I found a certain child from the house of Avtinas. I said to him: My son, from which family are you? He said to me: I am from a particular family, i.e., the house of Avtinas. I said to him: My son, I will say this about your forefathers: Since they intended to increase their own glory by ensuring that none were as proficient as they at preparing incense and by demanding double their previous wages, and they sought to reduce of the glory of Heaven by taking money from the Temple coffers, therefore they were punished and ultimately their glory was diminished, as after the destruction of the Temple they lost their importance. But the glory of Heaven increased, for God's honor is not dependent upon the existence of the Temple. Rabbi Akiva said: Shimon ben Loga told me: Once I and a certain child from the house of Avtinas were collecting herbs, and I saw him crying, and later I saw him laughing. I said to him: My son, why did you cry? He said to me: I cried for the glory of my father's house, which has been diminished after the destruction of the Temple. I subsequently asked him: And why did you laugh? He said to me: I laughed with joy over the glory prepared for the righteous in the future, when my family will have its role restored to them in the rebuilt Temple. Shimon ben Loga added that he asked that child further: And what did you see that brought these things to mind? He replied: I saw the smoke raiser before me, among the herbs we were collecting. I said to him: My son, show it to me, and I will keep its identity secret so that no one will be able to use it for idolatry. He said to me: Rabbi, I have a tradition from my forefathers not to show it to a soul. Similarly, Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Nuri said: Once I and a certain elderly man were collecting herbs. I encountered a certain elderly man from the house of Avtinas with a scroll in his hand with instructions on how to identify herbs for the Temple incense and how to prepare it. That elderly man said to me: Rabbi, in the past the members of my father's house were discreet [tzenu'in] and cautious. And they would