A List of Ten Extremely Powerful Sounds and Smells of the Temple, According to the Mishnah (Mishnah Tamid 3:8)
This Mishnah describes the powerful sensory experiences linked to the Temple in Jerusalem as perceived from Jericho (Jericho is roughly 12 miles north-east of Jerusalem), emphasizing the reach and impact of the Temple's activities:
Sounds
The opening of the large gate could be heard from Jericho.
The unique sound of a shovel-like instrument (מגרפה) used in the Temple was audible.
The noise from a machine (מוכני)1 crafted by Ben-Katin (בן קטין)2 for the Basin was heard.
Gabini, the Temple crier (גביני כרוז),3 was heard announcing daily duties for priests, Levites, and Israelites.
A flute (חליל) played during specific days (twelve annually) in the Temple was heard.
The clashing of cymbals (צלצל) could be heard.
The singing of the Levites during the service in the Temple was audible.
The sound of the shofar, blown several times each day, reached Jericho.
Some said (ויש אומרים) that the voice of the High Priest was heard uttering the name of God (meaning, the Tetragrammaton) on Yom Kippur.
Smells
The fragrance of the incense prepared in the Temple was strong enough to be sensed in Jericho.
R’ Elazar ben Diglai (רבי אליעזר בן דגלאי - an otherwise-unkown sage) noted that his father’s goats in distant Mikhvar / Mkawer (הר מכור, in modern-day Jordan) would sneeze from the fragrance of the incense, highlighting its potent reach.
The Passage
מיריחו היו שומעין קול שער הגדול שנפתח.
מיריחו היו שומעין קול המגרפה.
מיריחו היו שומעין קול העץ שעשה בן קטין מוכני לכיור.
מיריחו היו שומעין קול גביני כרוז.
מיריחו היו שומעין קול החליל.
מיריחו היו שומעין קול הצלצל.
מיריחו היו שומעין קול השיר.
מיריחו היו שומעים קול השופר.
ויש אומרים, אף קול של כהן גדול בשעה שהוא מזכיר את השם ביום הכפורים.
מיריחו היו מריחים ריח פטום הקטרת.
אמר רבי אליעזר בן דגלאי, עזים היו לבית אבא בהר מכור, והיו מתעטשות מריח פטום הקטרת:
From Jericho the people would hear the sound indicating that the large gate had been opened.
From Jericho the people would hear the sound produced in the Temple by the instrument that had the form of a shovel.
From Jericho the people would hear the sound of the wood that ben Katin crafted into a mechanism of pulleys for the Basin.
From Jericho the people would hear the voice of Gevini the Temple crier, who would proclaim in the Temple each day: Arise, priests, to your service, and Levites to your platform, and Israelites to your non-priestly watch.
From Jericho the people would hear the sound of the flute that was played in the Temple twelve days each year.
From Jericho the people would hear the sound of ben Arza clashing the cymbals in the Temple.
From Jericho the people would hear the sound of the song of the Levites in the Temple.
From Jericho the people would hear the sound of the shofar that was sounded several times each day in the Temple.
And some say that in Jericho the people would hear even the voice of the High Priest at the moment that he mentioned the ineffable name of God on Yom Kippur.
From Jericho the people would smell the fragrance emanating from the preparation of the incense in the Temple.
Rabbi Elazar ben Diglai said: There were goats belonging to my father that grazed in the cities of Mikhvar, located at a distance from Jerusalem, and they would sneeze from the fragrance of the preparation of the incense that they smelled.
From Greek mēkhanḗ - “contrivance, machine, device, gear”, which is also the source for the English word “machine”.
Ben-Katin is mentioned in a few other Mishnahs as well, see the citations in the Hebrew Wikipedia entry linked.