Now this is that which you shall offer upon the altar, two lambs of the first year day by day continually. The one lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer in the afternoon. (Exodus 29:38–39)

And you shall make an altar to burn incense upon; of acacia wood you shall make it. (Exodus 30:1)

And Aaron shall burn upon it incense of sweet spices; every morning, when he cleans the lamps, he shall burn it. And when Aaron lights the lamps in the afternoon, he shall burn it, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations. (Exodus 30:7–8)

Tractate Tamid and the subsequent tractate, Middot, are the last tractates in Seder Kodashim, the Order of Consecrated Items, in the Babylonian Talmud. Tractate Tamid describes the order and details of the daily Temple service, while tractate Middot describes the structure of the Temple. The Mishna of Tamid is one of the earliest tractates, as it was redacted shortly after the destruction of the Temple. It includes particulars of the Temple service reported by Sages who were firsthand witnesses to these procedures. The contents of the tractate are therefore presented as testimonies for future generations about the lost practices of the Temple. According to a tradition of the Sages, tractate Tamid was taught by Rabbi Shimon Ish HaMitzpa (see Yoma 14b; Jerusalem Talmud, Yoma 2:2), who was a contemporary of Rabban Gamliel the Elder in the era of the Temple. Some maintain that only part of the tractate was taught by Rabbi Shimon Ish HaMitzpa, as the tractate also includes statements of other Sages (Jerusalem Talmud, Yoma 2:2). A unique feature of this tractate is that it contains almost no disputes between Sages or exegetical derivations. Furthermore, it is not taught prescriptively, in the form of mitzvot, prohibitions, or other instructions for how one must behave in a particular area of halakha. Rather, it is presented as a descriptive narrative, a retelling of events. According to Rambam’s Commentary on the Mishna, this is the reason tractate Tamid is one of the last tractates in Seder Kodashim. As is the case for tractates Kinnim and Middot, there is no parallel Tosefta for Tamid. Nevertheless, whereas Kinnim and Middot have no Gemara, Tamid includes brief sections of Gemara in the first, second, and fourth chapters, including passages of aggada. The redaction of these sections postdates the redaction of most of the Talmud. The particulars of the Temple service described here include the priest’s preparations for the daily service and the first rites performed each morning in the Temple: The sacrifice of the daily offering, the burning of the incense, and the preparation of the lamps of the Candelabrum. The particulars of the sacrificial rites of each type of offering are discussed in detail elsewhere, primarily in tractates Zevaḥim and Menaḥot. Descriptions of the daily preparations for the Temple service include particulars of the watches kept by the priests and Levites in and around the Temple. The priests were divided into patrilineal families that served in the Temple on different days. The mishna describes the preparations of the members of the patrilineal priestly family who were to serve in the Temple on that day. These descriptions include where the priests awaited their daily assignments and tasks; how a priest is to conduct himself if he is rendered ritually impure, which prevents him from participating in the Temple service; and the conventions for the different lotteries for assigning the privileges of performing the various rites. The last chapter of the tractate includes details of the service of the High Priest, who may perform any rite that he chooses, without having to participate in the lotteries. Tractate Tamid contains seven chapters. According to certain manuscripts and some of the early commentaries (Rambam; Meiri; Ra’avad), the last two chapters are combined, yielding only six chapters. Chapter One describes the locations in which the Temple watch is conducted. The mishna describes the watches kept by the priests, while the Gemara provides additional details with regard to the watches kept by the Levites. The chapter then addresses the first of the four daily lotteries, which determines who is privileged to perform the first daily rite, the removal of a portion of the ashes from the external altar. The chapter concludes with a description of the removal of the ashes. Chapter Two focuses on the preparation of the arrangements of wood upon the altar, which must be arranged and kindled before the offerings may be burned on the altar. Chapter Three commences with a description of the rites allocated to thirteen priests in the second of the four daily lotteries. The mishna details the rites and procedures that are performed before the slaughter of the daily morning offering: Bringing the sacrificial animal from the Chamber of the Lambs, preparing the service vessels, removing the ashes from the inner incense altar, and cleaning five of the lamps of the Candelabrum. Chapter Four discusses the slaughtering of the daily offering. The chapter also provides a detailed description of the flaying and dissection of the offering, as well as the order in which the parts of the offering are brought to the ramp. Chapter Five discusses the rites performed after the daily offering is slaughtered: The priests’ prayers; the third lottery, which determines who is privileged to burn the incense; the fourth lottery, which determines who is privileged to burn the limbs of the daily offering on the altar; the manner in which the priestly vestments were donned and removed; the entry of the other priests to serve in the Temple; and the entry of the Levites to sing the daily psalm. Chapter Six describes the rites of cleaning the remaining two lamps of the Candelabrum and the burning of the incense on the inner altar. Chapter Seven starts by describing the prostration of the priests within the Sanctuary after the completion of the rites of the daily offering. The chapter then turns to the recital of the Priestly Benediction, and delineates the differences between its recitation in the Temple and outside the Temple. The chapter ends with an account of the burning of the daily offering on the altar and the pouring of the wine libation, which are accompanied by the song of the Levites. The tractate’s description of the daily service concludes with a prayer: May it be His will that the Temple be speedily rebuilt in our day, amen. A list of the daily psalms sung by the Levites on each day of the week is appended to these portrayals. There is no commentary from Rashi extant on tractate Tamid. In its place on the margin of the Vilna edition of the Talmud there is a commentary of unknown authorship, referred to as the Commentary on Tamid.