Yoma, Chapter 4, Mishnah 3. In the previous mishnah we learned how the Kohen Gadol performed the second confession, over his bull, before slaughtering it. Our mishnah deals with the process of slaughtering the bull and with the beginning of the incense service, the incense that was brought into the Kodesh HaKodashim.
Slaughtering the Bull and Receiving the Blood:
The mishnah describes that after the confession the Kohen Gadol slaughters the bull, receives its blood in a vessel, and hands it over to the man appointed to guard it: "Shechato, v'kibel bamizrak es damo, u'nesano l'mi shehu memares bo al harovad harevi'i shebaheichal, kedei shelo yikrosh" - he slaughtered it, received its blood in a mizrak, and gave it to the one who stirs it on the fourth row in the Heichal, so that it would not congeal. In detail:
"Bamizrak" - the vessel used for receiving the blood and for throwing it.
"L'mi shehu memares bo" - an appointed man stirs the blood and keeps it until the time of the sprinkling.
"Al harovad harevi'i shebaheichal" - the fourth row of stones in the floor. Although the plain meaning of the words is "in the Heichal," the mishnah means from the Heichal, that is, moving outward from the Heichal, toward the west into the Azarah: this is the fourth row of stones on which the stirring of the blood is done.
"Kedei shelo yikrosh":
The purpose of the stirring is stated explicitly in the mishnah - to prevent the blood from congealing. Once the blood congeals, it can no longer be used for the sprinklings required in the Kodesh HaKodashim and in the Kodesh outside it.
The Beginning of the Incense Service:
At this stage the Kohen Gadol begins the process involving the incense, in the words of the mishnah: "Natal es hamachtah, v'alah l'rosh hamizbe'ach, u'finah gechalim eilach v'eilach, v'chosheh min hame'ukalos hapenimiyos, v'yarad v'hinichah al harovad harevi'i sheba'azarah" - he took the pan, went up to the top of the altar, cleared the coals to this side and to that side, scooped from the inner consumed coals, went down and placed it on the fourth row in the Azarah. In detail:
"Natal es hamachtah" - a vessel that is a kind of shovel.
"V'alah l'rosh hamizbe'ach" - he ascends to the top of the altar.
"U'finah gechalim eilach v'eilach" - he moves the coals aside, to here and to there.
"V'chosheh min hame'ukalos hapenimiyos" - he digs and rakes from the inner coals that have been consumed, those that were well kindled and burned.
"V'yarad v'hinichah al harovad harevi'i sheba'azarah" - he goes down from the altar and places the pan on the fourth row of stones in the Azarah.
This place is in fact the very same row described at the beginning of the mishnah - the place where the man sits with the blood, "on the fourth row in the Heichal." The fourth row in the Heichal and the fourth row in the Azarah indicate exactly the same distance, the same row of stones in the floor of the Azarah.
The reason for placing the pan there is that he must now move on to the next stage: gathering the required amount of incense, which will be placed on the coals in that pan.