Con respecto a las siete ramas de la menorá, la [ausencia de] una invalida a las otras. Con respecto a las siete lámparas en él, la [ausencia de] una invalida a las otras. Con respecto a las dos porciones de las Escrituras en la mezuzá , la [ausencia de] una invalida a la otra; e incluso una letra invalida el todo. Con respecto a las cuatro porciones de la Escritura en tefilín , la [ausencia de] una invalida a las otras; incluso una letra invalida el todo. Con respecto a las cuatro franjas, la [ausencia de] una invalida a las otras, ya que las cuatro juntas son un mandamiento. El rabino Ismael dice: los cuatro son cuatro mandamientos separados.
Bartenura on Mishnah Menachot
שבעת קני מנורה – as it is written (Exodus 25:32): “Six branches shall issue from its sides,” and the biddle branc, makes seven branches of the Menorah.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Menachot
Introduction
The mishnah continues to list mitzvoth in which the absence of one element disqualifies the fulfillment of the entire mitzvah. The mishnah is quite simple to understand. Below I have mostly provided biblical references.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Menachot
שתי פרשיות שבמזוזה – the Shema/”Hear [O Israel]” (i.e., Deuteronomy 6:4-9) and V’Haya Im Shamoah/”If you will surely hearken “(i.e., Deuteronomy 11:13-21).
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English Explanation of Mishnah Menachot
Regarding the seven branches of the menorah, the [absence of] one invalidates the others. Exodus 25:31-32.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Menachot
ואפילו כתב אחד מעכבן – even one letter which is attached to its neighbor and is not surround by a certain kind of parchment according to the legal requirement is invalid in a Mezuzah and in Tefillin/phylacteries and in a Torah scroll.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Menachot
Regarding the seven lamps on it, the [absence of] one invalidates the others. The “lamps” refers to the cups that held the oil and the wicks.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Menachot
ארבע פרשיות שבתפילין –“Kadesh”/”Sancify/Consecrate to Me” (Exodus 13:1-10), “V’Haya Kee Yeviakha”/”And when [the LORD] has brought you”(Exodus 13:11-16), “Shema”/Hear [O Israel] (Deuteronomy 6:4-9) and “V’haya Im Shamoah”/”If you will surely hearken” (Deuteronomy 11:13-21).
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English Explanation of Mishnah Menachot
Regarding the two portions of Scripture in the mezuzah, the [absence of] one invalidates the other; indeed even one letter can invalidate the whole. The two portions are Deuteronomy 6:4-9, the Shema, and Deuteronomy 11:13-21, Vehaya im Shamoa. If even one letter is missing or not written correctly, the mezuzah is invalid.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Menachot
מעכבות זו את זו – whether in the Tefillin/phylactery of the head where they write each individual portion in a self-contained piece of superior split parchment, or whether in the Tefillin/phylactery of the hand where all four [of the portions] are written on one piece of superior parchment.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Menachot
Regarding the four portions of Scripture in the tefillin, the [absence of] one invalidates the others; indeed even one letter can invalidate the whole. The four portions are: the two portions that are in the mezuzah and Exodus 13:1-10 and Exodus 13:11-16.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Menachot
ארבעתן ארבע מצות – but they are not indispensable to each other, but the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yishmael.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Menachot
Regarding the four fringes, the [absence of] one invalidates the others, since the four together form one mitzvah. Rabbi Ishmael says: the four are four separate mitzvot. Numbers 15:38 and Deuteronomy 22:12. According to the first opinion, if one corner of the garment does not have tzitzit, then the mitzvah has not been fulfilled. Rabbi Ishmael holds that each corner is its own mitzvah and therefore if one is missing he has fulfilled his mitzvah.
