Yoma, Mishnah 6. In the previous mishnah we learned about placing the blood on the four corners of the golden altar inside the Sanctuary, and now we continue on to the next placement of the blood.
The words of the mishnah:
"Hizah al tohoro shel mizbeach sheva pe'amim" - he would sprinkle seven times on the 'tohoro' of the altar, that is, on the clean surface on top of the golden altar.
"U'she'yarei hadam hayah shofech al yesod ma'aravi shel mizbeach hachitzon" - the remainder of the blood he would take and carry out of the Sanctuary to the outer altar, and pour it on the yesod - the ledge, the rim at the base of the altar - on its western side.
The two holes in the yesod:
At the southwestern corner of the altar, on top of the yesod, there were two holes into which the blood was poured: one was set more toward the west, and the other more toward the south.
The western hole: blood that was brought out from inside the Sanctuary, such as the blood of Yom Kippur - the kohen came from the direction of the west, and therefore he first encountered the western hole, and there he poured the remainder of the blood.
The southern hole: the remainder of blood that had been placed on the outer altar - the kohen would come down from the ramp, turn around and head back toward the altar, and he first encountered the southern hole, which was nearer to him, and there he poured the remainder.
"Eilu va'eilu mit'arvin ba'amah v'yotz'in l'nachal Kidron":
The two types of blood - both the blood that came from inside the Sanctuary and the blood of the other offerings placed on the outer altar - were poured into different holes, yet both reached the same area and joined together in the 'amah', the channel through which the water flowed in the Azarah, and from there the water together with the blood flowed out to the Kidron Valley.
"V'nimkarin lagananin l'zevel, u'mo'alin bo":
Since blood is rich in iron and minerals, it would be sold to gardeners for use as fertilizer. The gardeners were required to pay the Temple treasury for the use of the blood-soaked soil, since the blood belongs to the Temple treasury, and if they were not to pay for it they would transgress the prohibition of me'ilah - improper use of consecrated property.
Me'ilah by rabbinic law:
In practice it turns out that this me'ilah is only by rabbinic law: by Torah law, once the mitzvah of the blood has been completed it no longer has sanctity, and it does not really belong to the Temple treasury. It is only that the Sages granted it the status of consecrated property, and therefore the gardeners are required to purchase it from the Temple treasury so that they should not come to transgress me'ilah.
In summary: in this mishnah we learned the continuation of the service of the blood: the seven sprinklings on the tohoro of the golden altar; the pouring of the remainder of the blood on the western yesod of the outer altar; the difference between the western hole, into which the remainder of the blood brought from the Sanctuary was poured, and the southern hole, into which the remainder of the blood of the outer altar was poured; the mixing of the blood in the amah and its flowing out to the Kidron Valley; and its sale to gardeners for fertilizer, regarding which one transgresses me'ilah - by rabbinic law.