Babylonian Talmud, First Edition, Tractates Me'ilah, Kinim, Tamid and Midot , Venice: Daniel Bomberg, 1522

This volume contains the final four tractates of the Mishnaic order Kodashim. These tractates deal chiefly with sacrifices and the attendant Temple rites. Me'ilah deals with the unlawful use and enjoyment of hekdesh (i.e., things consecrated to the Temple, especially sacrifices.) Kinnim means "nest" or "birds in a nest," and deals with the pairs of sacrificial birds brought to the Temple for a variety of ritual sacrifices, some of which were considered obligatory and others, voluntary. Middot (measures) gives exact details and measurements of the building of the Temple and of its component parts, intended perhaps to serve as a guide for the future rebuilding of the Temple. The descriptions refer to the Temple as rebuilt by Herod. They reflect the memory of those sages who were still alive following the destruction of the Temple, and who passed on an oral description of it to their disciples. Tamid is an abbreviated form for olat ha-tamid (daily burnt-offering), and refers to the twice-daily sacrifices as set out at various places in the Hebrew Bible. The tractate is not actually concerned with these sacrifices; rather, it gives a description of the priests' daily Temple service, from the moment the priests set about their work early in the day until after the tamid sacrifice was organized later in the morning.