Study Zevachim folio 53A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
He ascended the ramp of the altar and turned right to the surrounding ledge and he continued east, and he came to the southeast corner and sprinkled the blood of the sin offering there and then to the northeast corner and sprinkled the blood there, and then to the northwest corner and sprinkled the
Talmud: How does the priest perform the rite of sprinkling the blood on the corners of the altar? There is a dispute between R' Yoḥanan and R' Elazar. One says that the priest places the blood within a cubit on this side or a cubit on that side. He places the blood wherever he wants, provided that
The Talmud comments: According to the opinion of R' Elazar, son of R' Shimon, who says that the sprinkling of the blood of a sin offering itself is performed only on the actual corner, the one-by-one-cubit projection above each corner of the altar, everyone agrees that the blood may be sprinkled an
The Talmud raises an objection to the opinion that 1 cubit on either side of the edge is still considered on the edge, from a baraita: With regard to communal sin offerings and individual sin offerings, how is the placement of their blood on the altar performed? The priest would ascend the ramp of t
The Talmud answers: This is what the baraita is saying: The optimal manner to perform the mitzva is to sprinkle the blood on the edge of the corner. But if he did the sprinkling on the cubit on this side, or the cubit on that side, we have no problem with it, and he has still fulfilled the mitzva.