For much of Tractate Zevachim, the Gemara has been discussing the manner in which the priests performed the sacrificial service. Today we learn about the uniform worn by the priests and the function served by each piece of their attire — including, perhaps surprisingly, the way in which the sounds made by bells on the robe’s border might hearken to a different sound: that of evil speech.
Exodus chapter 39 details the priestly vestments, including the shades of thread woven into the various garments, the materials used (linen and wool), the 12 precious gems adorning the breastplate, and more. On today’s daf, we get some further details about the bells adorning the hem of a priest’s robe:
And (the tailor) brings 72 bells that contain inside them 72 bell clappers, and he suspends them on (the skirts): 36 of each (i.e., pomegranates and bells) on this side (of the robe), and 36 on that side. Rabbi Dosa says in the name of Rabbi Yehuda: There were 36 (bells): 18 from this side and 18 from that side.
The rabbis disagree about just how many bells were on the priest’s robe. Rabbi Dosa’s objection that there were 36 rather than 72 prompts another question about counting:
Rabbi Inini bar Sason says: Just as there is a disagreement here, so is there a disagreement with regard to (the total number of) shades of (leprous) marks. As we learned in a mishnah (Nega’im 1:4): With regard to the total number of shades of leprous marks, Rabbi Dosa ben Harkinas says: There are 36, while Akavya ben Mahalalel says: There are 72.
The Talmud continues by explaining the jump in topics from priestly vestments to leprosy to sacrificial offerings:
And Rabbi Inini bar Sason says: Why was the passage about offerings (Leviticus, chapters 1–7) juxtaposed to the passage about priestly vestments (Leviticus, chapter 8)? To tell you that just as offerings effect atonement, so too, priestly vestments effect atonement.
Leviticus chapter 8 also discusses the priestly uniform. Using the principle of juxtaposition — learning something specific from two seemingly unrelated Torah passages found adjacent to one another — the Talmud explains that offerings, such as those brought by a person who has recovered from leprosy, are connected to the priests’ clothing because both can result in atonement. But how?
The tunic atones for bloodshed, as it is stated: “And they killed a goat, and dipped the tunic in the blood” (Genesis 37:31). The trousers atone for forbidden sexual relations, as it is stated: “And you shall make them linen trousers to cover the flesh of their nakedness” (Exodus 28:42). The mitre (headdress) atones for the arrogant. From where is this derived? Rabbi Hanina says: An item at an elevation, (i.e., on the head of a priest) shall come and atone for an elevated heart.
The Gemara looks at the priests’ clothing and explains how each piece atones for a different type of sin. A priest’s tunic recalls the coat of many colors worn by Joseph. Because his brothers dipped it in blood to convince their father Jacob that Joseph had been torn apart by beasts, the tunic atones for bloodshed. Trousers, which cover a person’s genitals, atone for sexual impropriety. Because wearing a tall headdress might give even a priest a swelled head, that item atones for arrogance. The daf continues in this manner, ultimately reaching the matter of evil speech, or lashon hara:
The robe atones for malicious speech. From where is this known? Rabbi Hanina says: An item that produces sound (from the bells sewn on the robe’s hem) shall come and atone for an evil sound.
This explanation also helps answer the question of what ties the priests’ bells to the malady of leprosy. In Numbers chapter 12, Miriam is struck with leprosy after she speaks against her brother Moses and his wife, Tzipora. The rabbis therefore understand leprosy to be the punishment for evil speech. And as we learn today, the priests’ robes, chiming with a different tune, provide atonement for it.
Read all of Zevachim 88 on Sefaria.
This piece originally appeared in a My Jewish Learning Daf Yomi email newsletter sent on December 11, 2025. If you are interested in receiving the newsletter, sign up here.
