Komentarz do Menachot 5:13

כל המנחות באות מצה חוץ מחמץ שבתודה – as it is written (Leviticus 7:13): “This offering with cakes of leavened bread added.”

Introduction This chapter teaches general rules with regard to the minhah offering.

ושתי הלחם – as it is written (Leviticus 23:15): “baked after leavening.”

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).

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.

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.

והיא אינה מן המובחר – and it doesn’t leaven well, because it does not have yeast from the good vinegar.

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.

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.

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.

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.

שנאמר כל המנחה אשר תקריבו לה' לא תעשה חמץ – it refers to the first clause [of the Mishnah] as it teaches that they are watched so that they do not become leavened, and it is speaking of prior to grabbing a handful . But the residue/remnants we derive from a different verse, as it is written (Leviticus 6:10): “It shall not be baked with leaven; [I have given it] as their portion [from My gifts],” even the portion of the priests which are the residue of the meal-offering that remained from the handful, even this shall not be baked with leaven, and with leaven, it is especially mentioned regarding the residue, but it is permitted to knead them with honey and to fry them with oil in it.

Introduction Our mishnah deals with the prohibition of allowing a minhah to become hametz, for as we learned in yesterday’s mishnah, nearly all minhahs must be brought as matzot.

עריכתה (rolling it) – when he engages it with his hands after kneading, and they are liable for each and every one, for since it is says (Leviticus 2:11): “[No grain offering that you offer to the LORD] shall be made with leaven,” he is not able to be liable except for one [offering], the inference teaches us that “it should not be baked” (Leviticus 6:10), that baking was included and why was it excluded, to make an analogy of Biblical verses to it, just as baking is special that it is the action of an individual and one is liable for it on its own, even I include kneading it and rolling it and all individual actions regarding it, to include forming and smoothing the surface of the dough which is the action of an individual and we are liable for it on its own. And forming and smoothing the surface of the dough is smoothing its face in water and even though it does not appear so much as an action.

All minhahs must be kneaded with lukewarm water and must be watched lest they become leavened. In order to delay the leavening process, the minhah was kneaded with lukewarm water, and it was carefully watched so that it would not become leaven.

If one allowed the remainder to become leavened he has transgressed a negative commandment, for it is written, “No minhah which you shall bring to the Lord shall be made leavened” (Leviticus 2:11). Even the remainders of the minhah, the part of the minhah eaten by the priests, were not allowed to become leaven. If one did allow any part of the minhah to become leaven, he transgressed the negative commandment found in Leviticus 2:11.

One is liable for the kneading, and for rolling and for baking. If a minhah becomes leaven and one performs any one of these acts, kneading, rolling the dough or baking it, he is liable.

מנחת סולת – a person who vows a mere free-will meal-offering, brings fine flour and oil and frankincense and mixes it and takes a handful as it is prior to baking it. And for which it is written (Leviticus 2:1): “he shall pour oil upon it, lay frankincense on it,” all of these others we derive from the meal-offering of fine flour where it is written regarding the meal-offering of fine flour (Leviticus 2:1): “when a person,” that implies that all meal-offerings of an individual require oil and frankincense.

Some [minhahs] require oil and frankincense, some require oil but not frankincense, some frankincense but not oil, and some neither oil nor frankincense.
These require oil and frankincense: the minhah of fine flour, that prepared on a griddle, that prepared in a pan, the cakes and the wafers, the minhah of the priests, the minhah of the anointed high priest, the minhah of a gentile, the minhah of women, and the minhah of the omer.
The minhah offered with the drink-offerings requires oil but not frankincense.
The showbread requires frankincense but not oil.
The two loaves, the sinner's minhah and the minhah of jealousy require neither oil nor frankincense.
This mishnah teaches which minhah requires oil and frankincense, which requires one of the two, and which require neither.
Section one: As the mishnah typically loves to note, all of the possible combinations can actually occur. I shall give references for each of these types of minhahs.
Section two:
The minhah of fine flour; that prepared on a griddle; that prepared in a pan: Leviticus 2:1.
The cakes and the wafers: Leviticus 2:4.
The minhah of the priests: A priest who volunteers to bring one of these minhahs.
The minhah of the anointed high priest: See above 4:5.
The minhah of a gentile; the minhah of women: who volunteered to bring one of these minhahs.
And the minhah of the omer: Leviticus 2:14-15.
Section three: Numbers 15:4ff.
Section four: Leviticus 24:7.
Section five: The two loaves are those brought on Shavuot. The sinner’s minhah is referred to in Leviticus 5:11 and the minhah of jealousy is that brought by the suspected adultress (the Sotah (Numbers 5:15). In both cases the Torah specifically states not to put frankincense or oil on them.

והחלות והרקיקין – a meal-offering of grain that is baked in an oven is called, the loaves [of bread] and the wafers. For if he requires loaves [of bread], he brings them and if he requires wafers, he brings wafers.

ומנחת כהנים – a Kohen who volunteers to donate one from these five meal-offerings.

מנחת כהן משיח – the meal-offering of unleavened cakes (see Tractate Menahot, Chapter 4, Mishnah 5).

גוי – [a heathen] who freely donates a meal-offering as we derive from "איש איש"/anyone (Leviticus 17:8 – “If any one of the house of Israel or of the strangers who reside among them offers a burnt-offering or a sacrifice”) which teaches that heathens bring votive offerings and free-will offerings like Israelites.

ומנחת נשים – a woman who vowed to donate a meal-offering.

ומנחת נסכים – which does not require frankincense, for oil is stated with it but not frankincense (see Numbers 15:4-5).

ולחם הפנים – it is written regarding it (Leviticus 24:7): “With each row you shall place pure frankincense, [which is to be a token offering for the read, as a gift to the LORD].” But oil is not written there.

שתי חלות – of Atzeret/Shavuot, but it is not mentioned on them neither oil nor frankincense (see Leviticus 5:11: “he shall not add oil to it or lay frankincense on it, [for it is a purification offering].”

מנחת חוטא ומנחת קנאות – it is written explicitly regarding them (Leviticus 5:11): “he shall not add oil to it or lay frankincense to it” (and Numbers 5:15: “No oil shall be poured upon it and no frankincense shall be laid upon it for it is a grain offering of jealousy.”).

וחייב על השמן – if he placed upon the meal-offering for a sinner or on the meal/grain-offering of jealousy.

Introduction This mishnah deals with the consequences of adding oil or frankincense to a minhah that did not require it.

נתן כלי – which contains oil.

One is liable for the oil on its own and for the frankincense on its own. If one adds oil and frankincense to a sinner’s minhah or to a minhah of jealousy, neither of which require either oil or frankincense, he has transgressed two negative commandments, for with regard to both of these the Torah specifically says not to place either oil or frankincense. Each is its own separate prohibition.

על גבי כלי – of the meal/grain-offering of the sinner.

If he put in oil, he has rendered it invalid, but if frankincense, he can remove it. If he put oil into a minhah that does not require oil, the minhah is invalid, and there is nothing he can do to remedy it. However, if he puts frankincense in, he can simply pick out the frankincense and the minhah will remain valid.

לא פסלה – and we don’t say that behold he transgressed on what is written in the Torah (Leviticus 5:11): “he shall not add oil to it [or lay frankincense to it],” for the Torah did not warn other than that he should not place the oil into the fine-flour or into the flour.

If he put oil on the remainder, he has not transgressed a negative commandment. If he put oil on the part of the minhah eaten by the priests, the “remainder”, then he has not transgressed the prohibition and the part offered on the altar remains valid.

If he put one vessel above the other vessel, he has not rendered it invalid. If he put a vessel that has in it oil or frankincense on top of a vessel that has in it the minhah, he has not transgressed or rendered the minhah invalid because the vessels separate the substances.

טעונות הגשה – with regard to the thanksgiving offering of he southwestern corner [of the altar] as it is written (Leviticus 2:8): “[When you present to the LORD a grain offering…it shall be brought to the priest] who shall take it up to the altar.”

Introduction This mishnah begins to note which minhahs must be brought to the altar (see Leviticus 2:8, 6:7), which have to be waved, which require one and not the other, and which require both. “Bringing near” refers to bringing the minhah close to the southwestern corner of the altar before the handful is removed. Note that the structure of this mishnah is nearly identical to the structure of mishnah three.

והחלות והרקיקין – an offering of grain baked in the oven.

Some [minhahs] require bringing near but not waving, some require bringing near and also waving, some require waving but not bringing near, and some require neither bringing near nor waving. As was the format in mishnah three, the mishnah begins by noting that all of the combinations with regard to requiring bringing near and waving are possible.

מנחת כהנים – that is completely burned.

These require bringing near but not waving: the minhah of fine flour, that prepared on a griddle, that prepared in a pan, the cakes and the wafers, the minhah of the priests, the minhah of the anointed high priest, the minhah of a gentile, the minhah of women, and the minhah of the omer. These minhahs are brought near to the altar, but they are not waved. The list is the same as that in section one of mishnah three.

וכל שאין בהם קמיצה – to permit the residue/remnants from the meal-offering for the Kohanim, and they don’t have bringing near [of the sacrifice]. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Shimon.

Rabbi Shimon says: the minhah of the priests and the minhah of the anointed high priest do not require bringing near, since no handful is taken out of them, and where no handful is taken out bringing near is not necessary. Rabbi Shimon says that since the minhahs of the priests and of the anointed high priest are not eaten at all, but rather are entirely burned, they need not be brought near to the altar. Rather they are just put on the altar and burned.

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.”

שלשה מינין – the individual peace-offering, and the communal peace offering which are the lambs of Atzeret/Shavuot, and the guilt offering of the leper. These three kinds [of offerings] require between the three of them three rituals: laying of the hands [while the animal is yet alive, waving of the animal while alive and the waving of slaughtered animals.

Rabbi Shimon says, there are three kinds [of sacrifices] which require three commandments; two [of the three] apply to each kind, but none of them require a third.
And these are they: the shelamim of the individual, the shelamim of the community and the asham of the leper.
The shelamim of the individual requires the laying on of hands for the living animal and waving after it is slaughtered, but it does not require waving while alive.
The shelamim of the community requires waving while alive and also after it is slaughtered, but it does not require the laying on of hands.
The asham of the leper requires the laying on of hands and also waving while alive, but it does not require waving after it is slaughtered.
In this mishnah Rabbi Shimon compares three sacrifices and three requirements, with each sacrifice requiring two of the three requirements. We should note that Rabbi Shimon seems more interested in the curious fact that three sacrifices can be compared in this manner than in the actual rules that apply to these sacrifices. Perhaps the mishnah is somewhat of a mnemonic, a means by which to remember certain rules. Alternatively it is just a neat fact that Rabbi Shimon enjoyed relating.
Instead of explaining the mishnah line by line, I will be explaining it all at once below.
The three sacrifices under discussion in this mishnah are 1) the shelamim brought by an individual (Leviticus 7:11ff); 2) the shelamim brought by the community on Shavuot (Leviticus 23:20); 3) and the asham brought by the leper (Leviticus 14:14). The three commandments are: 1) waving while the animal is alive; 2) waving after slaughtering; 3) laying on of the hands (see Leviticus 3:2). All three sacrifices require two of the three commandments, but none of the sacrifices require all three actions.

שתים – rituals from these three are done with each kind, but the third is not done with them, because there are only two for each kind.

שלמי יחיד – it is written with them laying of the hands in [the Torah portion of] Vayikra (i.e., Leviticus 3:2: “He shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering and slaughter it at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.”).

ותנופה שחוטים – regarding their breast and thigh, in [the Torah portion of] Tzav (i.e., “Command Aaron” – see Leviticus 7:31-32).

שלמי צבור – it is written with them waving while alive (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],” that is while they are alive, and the waving of those that are slaughtered, that the breast and thighs are theirs, as we derive from the individual’s peace offerings. But placing of the hands [on the head] is not required, for the Halakha was decided for it that there aren’t in all of the communal sacrifices other than two laying of the hands alone, the lay of the hands on the scapegoat [of Yom Kippur] (Leviticus 16:21) and [the laying of hands] on the bull for an unwitting communal sin (Leviticus 4:15).

אשם מצורע – it is written concerning it, a living waving (Leviticus 14:12): “And he shall elevate them [as an elevation offering before the LORD],” in [the Torah portion of]: “This shall be the ritual of the leper.” But laying of the hands, that it is impossible for an individual sacrifice that he should not lay his hands upon the head of his sacrifice.

אבל לא תנופה שחוט – that the All-Merciful excluded concerning the individual peace-offering, (Leviticus 7:30): “the breast to be elevated as an elevation offering before the LORD,” אותו/it – to exclude the guilt offering of the leper which does not require the elevation of something already slaughtered.

מרחשת עמוקה – as it is written (Leviticus 7:9): “and any that is prepared in a pan” implying within it, so we see that it has something inside/within.

Introduction Leviticus 7:9 mentions minhahs “prepared in a pan or on a griddle.” Our mishnah teaches the difference in how these two minhahs are prepared.

ומעשיה רוחשין (and what is inside it moves/vibrates – like jelly – see Tractate Menahot 63a) – that the oil within moves about within it. The language of (Genesis 1:16): “that creep on the earth,” which we translate in Aramaic as moves/swarms. But there are those who have the reading that its contents are soft, that is to say, that is kneaded product/dough is soft.

One who says, “I take upon myself [to offer a minhah] prepared on a griddle,” he must not bring one prepared in a pan; If [he says, I take upon myself to offer a minhah prepared] in a pan,” he must not bring one prepared on a griddle. The first thing the mishnah asserts is that a minhah prepared in a pan is indeed different from one prepared on a griddle. Therefore, one who vows to bring one type of minhah cannot bring the other.

ומחשבת צפה – as it is written (Leviticus 7:9): “or on a griddle,” implying on it but not within it. So we see, it has nothing inside/within.

What is the difference between a griddle [mahabat] and a pan [marheshet]? The pan has a lid to it, but the griddle has no lid, the words of Rabbi Yose the Galilean. Rabbi Hanina ben Gamaliel says: a pan is deep and what is prepared is spongy; a griddle is flat and what is prepared on it is hard. There are two opinions as to what the difference was between a griddle and a pan. According to Rabbi Yose the Galilean, the pan had a lid but the griddle did not. Rabbi Hanina ben Gamaliel says that the pan was deep and since there was more oil, the cake prepared was softer than that prepared on the flat griddle. What is interesting to me is that these rabbis, living only one hundred years after the destruction of the Temple, already dispute how minhahs were prepared in the Temple. Clearly, they have no historical record to turn to, and therefore must decipher how things were done by reasoning out various verses in the Torah. This is probably quite common in Seder Kodashim and demonstrates well that much of the material in this Seder is not a record of what went on in the Temple but rather an interpretation of what the Torah says should have gone on in the Temple.

צפה – it is not deep but rather its edges float near its rim/border of the vessel, like “floating on the top of the water.”

ומעשיה קשים – that the dough that fries in it that which was kneaded is hard in order that it not pour outside, for the utensil lacks a rim/border.

כופח (small stove, brazier)– in a place where broke one pot and sometimes they heat it and brake dough in it.

Introduction This mishnah continues to teach the differences between how different menahot (pl. of minhah) are prepared.

רעפים (hot tiles) – TULASH in the foreign tongue. Made from earthenware and they heat it in a kiln.

[If a man said,] “I take upon myself [to offer a minhah baked] in an oven,” he must not bring what is baked in a stove or on tiles or in the cauldrons of the Arabs. Rabbi Judah says: he may bring what is baked in a stove. Leviticus 2:4 refers to a minhah baked in an oven. According to the first opinion, this means that the minhah must actually be baked inside an oven. This used to be done by placing the loaf on the sides of the hot oven where it would be baked, similar to the way in which pita is still made. He is not allowed to cook it on a stove or on tiles, or in the type of cauldrons that Arabs at the time of the Mishnah used to prepare their bread. These were holes dug in the ground, lined with plaster and then heated up to bake bread. Rabbi Judah says that when the Torah specifies a “minhah baked in an oven” it includes a minhah baked on a stove.

ויורות הערביין (fire places of the Arabs/a cavity in the ground laid out with clay – see Tractate Kelim, Chapter 5, Mishnah 10 and Tractate Menahot 63a) – a kind of indentation/hole made in the ground and they fastened with plaster and they burn fire inside it until it becomes white hot and they bake dough in it.

[If he said,] “I take upon myself [to offer] a baked minhah,” he may not bring half in loaves and half in wafers. Rabbi Shimon permits it for it is one kind. Leviticus 2:4 refers to loaves of matzah and matzah wafers. The mishnah interprets this to mean that the minhah can be brought either as loaves of matzah or matzah wafers. One cannot bring half as loaves and half as wafers. Rabbi Shimon says that since both the loaves and wafers are both “one kind” meaning they are essentially the same, one can bring half of his minhah as loaves and half as wafers.

אם רצה יביא מעשה כופח – for the brazier is a small stove, but the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yehuda.

מנחת מאפה – it is written regarding it loaves and wafers (see Tractate Menahot, Chapter 6, Mishnah 5).

לא יביא מחצה חלות – for all the meal-offerings come in groups of ten, and this he should not bring as five loaves and five wafers, but rather either all of them are loaves or all of them are wafers.

מפני שהוא קרבן אחד – for both of them are written in one-meal offerings, therefore he is able to bring half of this kind and half of another kind. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Shimon.