פירוש על מנחות 5:6

לוג ואשם מצורע – it is written with regard to them (Leviticus 14:12): “and he shall elevate [them as an elevation offering before the LORD].”

These require waving but not bringing near: The log of oil of the leper and his guilt-offering, The first fruits, according to Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov, The innards of an individual’s shelamim and its breast and thigh, whether they are the offerings of men or of women, by Israelites but not by others; The two loaves and the two lambs of Shavuot. The mishnah now lists the minhahs that require waving but not bringing near. I will give references to these and brief explanations. The log of oil of the leper and his guilt-offering: Leviticus 14:12 states, “The priest shall take one of the male lambs and offer it with the log of oil as an asham, and he shall wave them as a wave offering before the Lord. The first fruits, according to Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov: see Bikkurim 3:6. The innards of an individual’s shelamim and its breast and thigh, whether they are the offerings of men or of women, by Israelites but not by others: The innards of the shelamim are burned on the altar and the breast and thigh are given to a priest. That they need to be waved is stated in Leviticus 7:30 and 10:15. These parts are waved whether the shelamim is brought by a man or a woman, but only if the man or woman is Jewish. A Gentile can bring a shelamim but it is not waved. The two loaves and the two lambs of Shavuot: see Leviticus 23:20.

והבכורים כדברי ר' אליעזר בן יעקב – we have the reading, meaning to saying, that we prove from him who said plainly first-fruits require waving, and the Halakha is according to him.

How does he perform [the waving]? He places the two loaves upon the two lambs and puts his two hands beneath them and waves them forward and backward and upward and downward, for it is written, “which is waved and which is lifted up” (Exodus 29:27). In describing how an offering is waved, the Torah states that it was waved and lifted up” which seems to be repetitive. The rabbis interpret “waving” as moving it forward and backward and “lifting up” to mean moving it upward and downward.

ואימורי שלמי יחיד וחזה ושוק שלהם – it is explicitly written (Leviticus 10:15): “Together with the fat of fire offering, they must present the thigh of gift offering and the breast of elevation offering, which are to be elevated [as an elevation offering before the LORD].”

The waving was performed on the east side [of the altar] and the bringing near on the west side. The two ceremonies described in these sections were performed on opposite sides of the altar.

אחד שלמי אנשים ואחד שלמי נשים – that require elevation/waving.

The ceremony of waving comes before that of bringing near. If the minhah is one that requires both waving and bringing near (these minhahs are listed in the next section) then first the minhah is waved and then it is brought near. This order is implied in Numbers 5:25, concerning the minhah of jealousy (brought by the suspected adulteress), “The priest shall take from the woman’s hand the minhah of jealousy, and wave the minhah before the Lord, and then bring it to the altar.”

בישראל אבל לא באחרים – it explains in the Gemara (Tractate Menahot 61b) that this is what he said: both those of Israelite men and women, their sacrifices require waving, and the waving itself is by an Israelite [male], but not by women, for it is stated in a Baraitha, that male Israelites wave, but the heathens do not wave; male Israelites wave but the daughters of Israel do not wave.

The minhah of the omer and the minhah of jealousy require bringing near and waving. The two minhahs that require both waving and bringing near are the minhah of jealousy (see above) and the minhah of the omer, which is brought on the 16th of Nisan.

שתי הלחם וכבשי שלמים של עצרת – that come on account of the bread. It is written concerning them (Leviticus 23:20): “The priest shall elevate these – the two lambs- together with the bread of the first fruits as an elevation offering before the LORD,” not on them specifically, but rather near them, the lambs at the side of the bread, according to the words of Rabbi [Judah the Prince] in the Baraitha. And such is the Halakha.

The showbread and the minhah with the libations require neither bringing near nor waving. The showbread and the minhah brought with libations do not require either waving or bringing near.

שנאמר – [concerning the ordination of Aaron] (Exodus 29:27): “the breast that was offered as an elevation offering (i.e., waived) and the thigh that was offered as a gift offering (i.e., raised) [from the ram of ordination – from that which was Aaron’s and from that which was his sons’],” and from that which was offered as an elevation offering and that which was elevated as a gift offering, we derive the rest of the waiving done: the waiving - bringing them forward and backward; and the raising of them – upward and downward.

תנופה היתה במזרח – meaning to say, even in the east of he altar one is able to wave, and all the more so, on the west side which is closer to the Sanctuary.

ותנופות קודמות להגשות – first he waves/elevates and afterwards brings it near. But in the meal-offering of the Omer and the meal-offering of jealousy we are speaking s that they require elevation and bringing near, as it is written with regard to the meal-offering of jealousy (Numbers 5:25): “elevate the grain offering [of jealousy] before the LORD” and afterwards (ibid.,): “and present it on the altar.”