MISHNA: The daily afternoon offering is slaughtered at eight and a half hours of the day, which is two and a half hours after midday, and is sacrificed, i.e., its offering on the altar is completed, at nine and a half hours of the day. On the eves of Passover, when the Paschal lamb must be offered after the daily offering, the daily offering is sacrificed earlier; it is slaughtered at seven and a half hours and sacrificed at eight and a half hours, whether it occurs during the week or on Shabbat. If Passover eve occurs on Shabbat eve, when the Paschal lamb must be offered even earlier to ensure that it will be roasted before the onset of Shabbat, the daily offering is slaughtered at six and a half hours and sacrificed at seven and a half hours, and the Paschal lamb is offered thereafter.

GEMARA: The Gemara asks: From where are these matters derived, i.e., that the daily afternoon offering is sacrificed between eight and a half hours of the day and nine and a half hours?

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: As the verse concerning the daily offering says: “The one lamb you shall offer in the morning and the second lamb you shall offer in the afternoon [bein ha’arbayim]” (Numbers 28:4). He understands this as follows: The term for afternoon in the verse is a Hebrew phrase, the literal meaning of which is “between [bein] the evenings [arbayim].” In this context, it is referring to the period lasting from when the day begins progressing toward the evening, just after midday, until sunset. Divide this period between two evenings. How? Two and a half hours here constitute one evening, and two and a half hours there constitute another evening, and there is one hour in between to perform the ritual of sacrificing the daily offering. Consequently, the time of the daily offering must be during the hour that begins two and a half hours after midday and ends two and a half hours before sunset. That is the time determined in the mishna.

Rava raised an objection: We learned in our mishna that on the eves of Passover the daily offering is slaughtered at seven and a half hours and sacrificed at eight and a half hours, both during the week and on Shabbat. And if it could enter your mind to say that the daily offering must be slaughtered at eight and a half hours by Torah law, how can we do it earlier merely for convenience?

Rather, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi’s source is rejected, and instead Rava said: The mitzva of the daily offering is from when the sun begins to descend westward so that the evening shadows slant eastward, shortly after midday. What is the reason for this? It is because the verse states: In the afternoon [bein ha’arbayim], which we understand to mean from the time that the sun begins to descend westward [ma’arav].

Therefore, on the rest of the days of the year, when there are many voluntary vow offerings and free-will offerings that must be sacrificed, these offerings are brought after the daily morning offering. As the Merciful One says with regard to the daily offering: “The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it, it shall not be extinguished; and the priest shall kindle wood on it every morning; he shall prepare the burnt-offering upon it and shall cause the fats of the peace-offerings to go up in smoke upon it” (Leviticus 6:5).

And the Master said that the phrase: “The fats of the peace-offerings upon it” should be interpreted in the following manner: “Upon it,” i.e., after this daily morning burnt-offering; only then should the priest complete all the other offerings. This teaches that all the other offerings must be sacrificed after the daily morning offering and prior to the daily afternoon offering. Since many offerings must be sacrificed prior to the daily afternoon offering, rather than sacrificing the latter at six and a half hours, as soon as it is permitted to do so, we postpone the offering for two hours, and sacrifice it at eight and a half hours of the day.

On the eves of Passover, on the other hand, when there is the Paschal lamb that must be brought after the daily afternoon offering, and sufficient time must be left for the slaughter of the numerous Paschal lambs, we advance the daily afternoon offering one hour and sacrifice it at seven and a half hours. When Passover eve occurs on Shabbat eve, when there is also the roasting of the Paschal lamb, which does not override the Shabbat prohibitions and therefore must be completed before Shabbat, we establish its sacrifice at the earliest time that its halakha allows, at six and a half hours.

The Sages taught in a baraita: With regard to the daily offering, like its arrangement during the week, so is its arrangement on Shabbat; this is the statement of Rabbi Yishmael. Rabbi Akiva says: Like its arrangement on Passover eve.

The Gemara asks: What is the baraita saying? How is it to be understood? Abaye said: This is what it is saying: With regard to the daily offering, like its arrangement on Passover eve that occurs during the week, when it is slaughtered at seven and a half hours, so is its arrangement on Passover eve that occurs on Shabbat, when it is also slaughtered at seven and a half hours. There is no distinction in this regard between Shabbat and a weekday; this is the statement of Rabbi Yishmael. Rabbi Akiva says: Like its arrangement on Passover eve that occurs on Shabbat eve, when it is slaughtered at six and a half hours, so is its arrangement when Passover eve occurs on Shabbat, when it is also slaughtered at six and a half hours. Therefore, the mishna that teaches that on Passover eve, the daily offering is slaughtered at seven and a half hours and offered at eight and a half hours, both during the week and on Shabbat, is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yishmael.

The Gemara seeks to clarify: According to this explanation, with regard to what principle do these tanna’im disagree? The Gemara answers: They disagree about whether or not the additional offerings of Shabbat precede the bowls of frankincense. On Shabbat, in addition to the regular daily rite, additional Shabbat offerings were sacrificed, and the frankincense that had been placed in bowls on the showbread the previous Shabbat and remained there throughout the week was burned on the altar. The dispute is as follows: Rabbi Yishmael holds that the additional offerings precede the bowls. Therefore, the priest sacrificed the additional offerings at six hours, as everyone agrees that the time to sacrifice the additional offerings is at six hours; and he offered the bowls at seven hours; and then he sacrificed the daily offering at seven and a half hours. Rabbi Akiva holds that the bowls precede the additional offerings. Therefore, the priest offered the bowls at five hours, sacrificed the additional offerings at six hours, and sacrificed the daily offering at six and a half hours.

Rava strongly objects to this explanation. Is Rabbi Akiva teaching: Like its arrangement on Passover eve that occurs on Shabbat eve? He did not formulate his opinion in this manner; he merely teaches: Like its arrangement on Passover eve. Therefore, the above explanation does not correspond to Rabbi Akiva’s formulation. Rather, Rava said an alternative explanation of the dispute. This is what the baraita is saying: Like the arrangement of the daily offering on an ordinary day during the week, so is its arrangement on Shabbat that occurs on Passover eve. The daily offering is sacrificed at eight and a half hours; this is the statement of Rabbi Yishmael. Rabbi Akiva says: Like its arrangement on Passover eve that occurs on a weekday, so is its arrangement on Passover eve that occurs on Shabbat, at seven and a half hours. Therefore, the mishna that teaches that the time to sacrifice the daily offering on Passover eve is the same both during the week and on Shabbat is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Akiva.

The Gemara asks: According to this explanation, with regard to what point do they disagree? They disagree with regard to the possibility that the meat will become warm and spoil before it is roasted. Rabbi Yishmael holds that we are concerned lest the meat become warm and spoil. As the daily offering is slaughtered earlier on Shabbat, the Paschal lamb is also slaughtered earlier. Since it is prohibited to roast the meat until the conclusion of Shabbat, the concern is that the meat will spoil with the passage of time. And Rabbi Akiva holds: We are not concerned lest the meat become warm and spoil. Therefore, it is possible to slaughter the Paschal lamb earlier, even when Passover eve occurs on Shabbat.