Commentary for Menachot 5:1
כָּל הַמְּנָחוֹת בָּאוֹת מַצָּה, חוּץ מֵחָמֵץ שֶׁבַּתּוֹדָה וּשְׁתֵּי הַלֶּחֶם, שֶׁהֵן בָּאוֹת חָמֵץ. רַבִּי מֵאִיר אוֹמֵר, שְׂאֹר בּוֹדֶה לָהֶן מִתּוֹכָן וּמְחַמְּצָן. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, אַף הִיא אֵינָהּ מִן הַמֻּבְחָר, אֶלָּא מֵבִיא אֶת הַשְּׂאֹר, וְנוֹתֵן לְתוֹךְ הַמִּדָּה, וּמְמַלֵּא אֶת הַמִּדָּה. אָמְרוּ לוֹ, אַף הִיא הָיְתָה חֲסֵרָה אוֹ יְתֵרָה:
All grain offerings must be offered unleavened, with the exception of the leavened cakes of the thanksgiving offering and the two loaves [of Shavuot] which are offered leavened. Rabbi Meir says: he takes the leaven from [the grain offerings] themselves and with this they are leavened. Rabbi Judah says: that is not the best way, rather [first of all] he brings leaven and puts into the measuring vessel and then he fills the measuring vessel up [with flour]. But they said to him: even so [it is not satisfactory], for it would be sometimes too little and sometimes too much.
Bartenura on Mishnah Menachot
כל המנחות באות מצה חוץ מחמץ שבתודה – as it is written (Leviticus 7:13): “This offering with cakes of leavened bread added.”
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English Explanation of Mishnah Menachot
Introduction
This chapter teaches general rules with regard to the minhah offering.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Menachot
ושתי הלחם – as it is written (Leviticus 23:15): “baked after leavening.”
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English Explanation of Mishnah Menachot
All minhahs must be offered unleavened, with the exception of the leavened cakes of the todah and the two loaves [of Shavuot] which are offered leavened. There are only two minhah offerings that are offered as leavened bread and not unleavened matzot the leavened cakes that accompany the todah (Leviticus 7:13; these will be explained below in mishnah 7:1) and the two loaves of bread brought on Shavuot (Leviticus 23:17).
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Bartenura on Mishnah Menachot
שאור היה בודה להן מתוכן (leaven is set aside for them from their own [contents]) – from the Issaron/tenth of thanksgiving offering and the two loaves [of bread], he removes the yeast, that he would knead from the fine flour a little after it was measured and preserve it in fine-flour and it leavens on its own and from it the rest leavens, for from another place, he would not be able to ring it so that there wouldn’t be extra meal-offering.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Menachot
Rabbi Meir says: the leaven must be taken from [the minhahs] themselves and with this they are leavened. The rabbis now debate where the leaven (sour dough) that leavens these loaves comes from. According to Rabbi Meir, the leaven is taken out of the minhah of the todah. In other words, he uses some of the flour to make leavened dough, and then he uses this to leaven the entire dough for the minhah. In this way, he can ensure that he doesn’t use more flour than is called for.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Menachot
והיא אינה מן המובחר – and it doesn’t leaven well, because it does not have yeast from the good vinegar.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Menachot
Rabbi Judah says: that is not the best way, rather [first of all] he brings leaven and puts into the measuring vessel and then he fills the measuring vessel up [with flour]. Rabbi Judah says that the problem is that it won’t be enough leaven to cause the dough to rise properly. Rather, he first brings some leaven and puts it into the measuring vessel. Then he fills up the rest with flour until he gets to a tenth. This is what he uses for dough.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Menachot
אלא מביא שאור – that is from good vinegar from within his house, and places it it within the Issaron and adds and fills it in with fine flour.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Menachot
But they said to him: even so [it is not satisfactory], for it would be sometimes too little and sometimes too much. The other sages (or Rabbi Meir) respond that this way of leavening the bread is also problematic. For if the leaven was good leaven, then because it was soft and swollen up, there would actually be too low of a measure, for if the space that the leaven occupied was taken up by flour, there wouldn’t have been enough flour. The opposite is true if the leaven was low quality. If it was thick and dried up, it would take up too little space, and if there was flour in its place, there would be more flour than a tenth. Therefore, this method of leavening is also problematic.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Menachot
אף היא היתה חסרה או יתירה – as for example, the yeast was thick and kneads with difficulty with a little water, it doesn’t hold a large volume as if it were flour and it is found that the Issaron is greater, for if the yeast/leaven were kneaded its yeast/leaven would be greater than now. But if it is not kneaded well, that he placed in a lot of water, it is found that is volume is greater than if it were flour and it was found that the Issaron is less, for were it not for the water, it would not be full. And the Halakha is according to Rabbi Yehuda.
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