Menachot 50: Morning and Afternoon Sacrifice and Ketoret Offering

In the morning and then in the afternoon, daily sacrifices were brought to the Temple along with the the ketoret, incense offering.  Yesterday's Mishna described a disagreement about whether a specific sacrifice or the ketoret was offered in the morning.

The Tanna Kama permits the afternoon korban, sacrifice, to be offered at its proper time if it was not brought in the morning.  Rabbi Shimon permits the afternoon korban only if it was accidentally forgotten in the morning.  Rava says that the kohanim are punished if they do not bring the morning sacrifice and then other kohanim bring the offering in the afternoon.  

If the ketoret was not brought in the morning, the Tanna Kamma allows it to be brought in the afternoon as usual.  Rabbi Shimon says that the full amount of the ketoret is brought in the afternoon if the morning half was forgotten. The Gemara explains: since the ketoret was unusual and the person who brought it would become wealthy, it was never forgotten and the kohanim were never punished.  

What does "unusual" mean?  Rashi says that the korban was a form of a common burnt offering  while the ketoret was unique and limited to two daily offerings.  In Masechet Yomi, we learned that no kohen would deserve to offer the ketoret more than once in his life.

Menachot 48: Wine and Teruma

Some brief notes on today's daf:

We learn from Steinsaltz that wine presses were constructed one atop another.  They were carved from rock and connected so that the grapes could be pressed above and the juice would flow below.  The rabbis consider what should be done when the wine is not ritually pure.  Teruma wine is permitted to the priests only.  If it has become ritually impure, it cannot be consumed by anyone.

The rabbis teach that when a barrel of teruma wine breaks and spills into the upper wine chamber while the lower level contains teruma wine, is the teruma wine wasted?  Some of the considerations:

• is there enough wine in the lower chamber to nullify the teruma wine?
• has even a revi'it, a small amount, been saved by using ritually pure vessels to draw the teruma wine from the upper chamber?
• are no pure vessels available?
• is it possible to save the ordinary wine in the lower chamber or is this a form of defilement of teruma?

Menachot 47: Shavuot Offerings - Loaves and Sacrifices

We learn about the offerings for Shavuot:

• two categories of burnt offerings - one for musaf sacrifices and the two lambs brought as peace offerings
• a sin offering
• a peace offering
• two holiday loaves

Daf 45 target us that each of these offerings was offered independently excepting the loaves and the burnt offerings which are meant to be brought together. Some rabbis argue whether or not the loaves must be brought with other offerings. We learn that the loaves could not be eaten until the slaughters were completed and the blood was collected and sprinkled.

The rabbis discuss what to do if the sacrifices and/or sprinkling of blood were not done properly. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi says that sprinting with the wrong intention means that the animal has been only partially sanctified. Abaye and Rava argue about how to define the level of sanctification. Rabbi Elazar b'Rabbi Shimonarguies rules that the loaves are sanctified only if the slaughter and the sprinkling of the blood are both done properly. A number of different proof texts are presented to defend each opinion.

Menachot 44: Tzitzit Preventing One from Sin

On fulfilling the mitzvah of tzitzit, the Gemara tells us a story:

• a man was very stringent about tzitzit
• he sent 400 gold dinars to a prostitute living in a sea-side town to hire her
• the day of his appointment her maid let him enter
• She prepared six silver and one gold bed, with silver ladders and then a gold ladder between them
• She lay naked on the top bed and he went up to her but was hit in the face by his tzitzit
• he fell to the ground and she fell as well
• She swore, "By the Roman Capitol I will not leave you alone until you tell me what defect you saw in me"
• He replied "Never have I seen a woman as beautiful as you, but G-d commanded us tzitzit, and 'I am the Lord your G-d" is written twice to tell us that G-d will punish us in the future and G-d will reward us in the future.  The tzitzit were like witnesses testifying against me"
• She said "I will not leave you until you tell me your name, your town, your teacher, and your school". 
• He wrote this for her
• She divided her estate: 1/3 for the government, 1/3 for the poor, and 1/3 she took with her along with the beds
• at the Bet Madras of Rabbi Chiyya, she said "Master, teach your students about me and have them convert me"
• Rabbi Chiyya asked, "My daughter, perhaps you have set your eyes on one of the disciples?" 
• She showed him the handwritten note and he said, "Go and take possession of your purchase"
• The beds prepared for him in transgression could now be prepared for him halachically

The rabbis interpret this story in a number of ways.  Most agree that it teaches us about repentance based on love for G-d can turn sins into merits where we can reach greater states of holiness.

Menachot 41: Obligations to Wear Tzitzit

A brief note:

• if we do not perform a positive commandment, we are not punished
• if we go against a negative commandment, we are punished
• if we do not choose to wear tzitzit, we are not punished
• in "a time of great anger and judgement", we might be punished for missing opportunities for self-improvement and negligence in not performing mitzvot
• Tosafot says that Jewish and Heavenly courts set out punishments for not performing positive commandments
• Tosafot say that punishment applies when one is obligated in a mitzvah (sukka, etc.)
• Tzitzit is only obligated if the person is wearing a four-cornered garment (which requires tzitzit)

Menachot 38: Single-Part Mitzvot, Techelet

A very brief note on today's daf:

We embark on Perek IV, which is devoted to mitzvot that involve items that do not rely on other parts.  Up for discussion are a number of examples, including the tzitzit of the tallit.  The rabbis discuss something called techelet, a blue-green dye which was commanded to decorate certain holy items.  The dye came from a chilazon which was determined like to  have been a particular snail.  Techelet was rare, even in the times of the Talmud.

Menachot 37: Where do We Place the Teflon?

Just a tiny note on today's daf:

• Torah teaches the tefilin are placed on the head and on the arm. 
• Early sages believed that we should be placing the tefillin in particular spots on the head and arm
• Each placement commanded in the Torah is interpreted to mean different parts of the head and arm by different groups of rabbis

Menachot 36: When to Wear Tefilin

Some brief thoughts regarding today's daf:

• the refilling are considered a positive time-bound mitzvah
• When do we NOT wear tefillin?
• During the day and some of the day, excluding Shabbat/festivals?  Rabbi Yosei Ha Gelili
• When we need an ot, a sign?  If we have a sign, we do not need a sign - this would exclude Shabbat and holidays
• Some believe it is belittling the holiness of Shabbat to were tefilin.  
• The Sages forbid people from wearing tefilin on Shabat in public

Menachot 34: The Mezuza, the Tefillin, and the Holiness of the Head

We already learned that like the mezuza's holding of Torah, the tefillin hold representations of the four parshiyot.  Today's Gemara examines the differences between the tefillin worn on the head and those worn on the arm.  The head holds a box with four pieces of parchment.  Each is placed in a separate compartment that together form the box.  Rashi explains that the soft raw hide is placed over a mold with four protrusions that stretch the leather.  The four compartments can be see from the outside of the container because they are pressed together.  A baraita tells us that all four parshiyot are written down on one sheet of parchment in a single compartment.

Can one piece of parchment be exchanged for the other?  Do the tefillin placed on the head stay on the head because of their greater holiness?  Rashi teaches that two of the three letters of the holy name of G-d, shin/dalet/yud are on the head - the shin is seen on the box, the dale is on the knot at the back and the yud is made from a knot at the back of the tefillin. The yud is the only letter made as a knot on the tefillin placed on the arm.  Other rabbis argue that the head is the centre of our intellect and this is holier than the hand.

Menachot 33: Does the Mezuza Protect Us? How?

Some notes on today's daf:

• We learn from Rava that we must affix the mezuza on the doorpost facing the public domain
• if the doorpost is wide, the mezuza should be placed in the tefach, four fingerwithdth length, closest to the public/outside
• The rabbis argue that this is so that the mezuza can be reached easily when entering a home
• Rabbi Chanina of Sura argues that this allows the mezuza to protect the entire house
• Rashi suggests that the mezuza protects us from destructive forces
• The Gemara quotes Tehillim 121:5, where Rabbi Chanina suggested that G-d dwells outside of our homes, guarding us from the outside unlike a king whose servants live outside of his home
• proof texts include the blood left on the doorposts to protect the sons of Israelite slaves in Egypt before the exodus
• the mezuza mentions long life to us and our children, and it may have included the names of angels in the past
• of course some rabbis believe the that mitzvah should be done for its own sake and not for 'protection'
• The Rambam asserts that the mezuza should not be used as an amulet (Hilchot Tefillin 5:4)
• The Rambam adds that the 'protection' that the mezuza offers comes in the form of a reminder of G-d and thus it keeps us from sin

Menachot 32: Mezzuza on a Stick, Queen Helene

The rabbis continue their conversation about the mezuza begun days ago. Shmuel is quoted by Rav Yehuda: putting a mezuza on a stick so that it can be placed near or tied to the doorpost does not fulfil the mitzvah.   At the same time we know that King Munbaz did these things when staying at an inn or traveling.

Rashi teaches that because the mitzvah was not fulfilled, the person would not be offering the protection that a mezuza provides. When King Munbaz was traveling, he was not required to keep the mitzvah of mezuzua.  The Talmud Yerushalmi notes that if this were during wartime, it would not be a necessary mitzvah.

Steinsaltz teaches us more about Munbaz.  He was the King of Adiabene (end of the Second Temple period).  It was in northern Syria on the banks of the Euphrates.  Queen Helene, who is mentioned elsewhere in the Talmud (Nazir), studied Talmud with her sons Munbz and Izitus with Jews who travelled through her kingdom.  

In the generation before the destruction of the second Temple, Queen Helene converted to Judaism along with other leaders in her community.  She visited Jerusalem, donated to the Temple and to people who were poor.  Her sons sent troops to help the Jewish uprising at the time of the Great Revolt.  When Queen Helene died, Munbaz allowed his brother to be king and only took the throne when his brother died.  Josephus records stories of the conversions in this family.

Menachot 29: Why the Righteous Are Not Always Rewarded

Today's daf tells one of the more well-known stories in the Talmud.  Rabbi Yehuda said in the name of Rav that Moshe found G-d affixing crowns to the to the letters in the Torah at the top of Mount Sinai. G-d explained that he was doing this after the fact because one day, many years from now, Akiva ben Yosef will derive many halachot from the crowns.  Moshe asked to see him.  G-d said, "Turn around." and Moshe sat at the back of eight rows of students listening to Rabbi Akiva lecture.  Moshe was upset because he could not follow the arguments.  Then disciples asked for a source, and Rabbi Akiva said that it was given to Moshe at Sinai, which calmed Moshe.  

Moshe then returned to G-d, incredulous that G-d would choose him to deliver Torah when he had people like Akiva.  G-d said "be silent, for this is My decree."  Moshe asked to see Akiva's reward after witnessing his Torah.  G-d had Moshe turn around again and he viewed people weighing out Akiva's flesh in market stalls.  Moshe was devastated.  How could that be the reward for such Torah mastery? Again, G-d said, "be silent, for this is My decree".

The rabbis discuss this at length.  G-d's thoughts are said to be different than those of people - in fact, we cannot understand G-d's thinking at all.  Perhaps as the Sages said, G-d's first decree was to create a world filled with perfect justice, but He then learned that we were not capable of fulfilling that decree.  Those who are exceptional, like Rabbi Akiva, are judged according to the letter of the law.

This notion of the righteous being judged by a heavier hand reminds me of another line of Jewish thought.  We must find ways of explaining why those who are righteous fall ill and die, why they are poor and suffering, why they experience tragedy.  The argument that G-d judges the righteous will a more exacting hand is one more explanation of "why bad things happen to good people".

Menachot 27: Separating Parts From the Whole?

Some brief notes on today's daf:

• A Mishna teaches us that there are a number of rituals where many different parts are required to create a "whole"
• Sukkot includes ritual with the lulav, etrog, hadas, myrtle, and aravah, willow, (Vayikra 23:40) together
• Perhaps the Mishna's ruling about separating the 'parts' refers to a time when one does not have all four species; if one has them all, they need not be together
• Perhaps the Mishna's ruling refers to the ritual of picking up each item one by one
• Because this is a single mitzvah, Rabbeinu Tam suggests separating them is not possible
• Perhaps the items are taken together - but they are tied together
• Rabbis argue about whether or not tying is required

We know from our current practice of the mitzvah of lulav that the four species are bound together.  It is amazing that the traditions we reference today in ancient texts are the same traditions that we will practice in a few weeks.

Menachot 26: With or Without a Keli, a Vessel

The Mishna introduced in today's daf rules that the kometz must be placed in a proper vessel to be fit for sacrifice.  Simon disagrees; he believes that the sacrifice will be valid regardless of the fitness of the vessel. 

Rashi suggests that the meal offering requires a proper vessel so that it is sanctified to begin with .  The disagreement between rabbis thus regards the second stage of offering, where the kometz is placed in the vessel and the inherent nature of the vessel.  

Rambam states that Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Chiyya quotes Valikra (6:10), suggesting that the first stage of the sacrifice is being discussed.  He compares the meal offering to a chatat, a sin offering, and an ashram, a guilt offering.  If one performs the offering like that of the chatat, the right hand is used (where the blood is sprinkled by the priest's right hand onto the altar).  If one sacrifices like with an asham, the left hand is used (for in guilt offerings the blood is poured from the vessel onto the altar with the priest's left hand).

We are told about some possible understandings of Rabbi Shimon's directions.  First, Rabbi Shimon might allow the meal-offering to be transferred by hand and thus he would not require a vessel for this service.  Second, Rabbi Shimon might allow one to make this sacrifice by hand or by vessel.  In this case, the Mishna would teach that the meal offering is permitted to be brought without a vessel as long as the right hand is used in the process of offering.

Menachot 25: The Power of the Tzitz, Frontplatm

A new Mishna shares what should be done when the kometz, the handful of meal-offering taken by a priest, becomes tamei, ritually impure.  The Mishna teaches that the offering is valid even if it is sacrificed in a state of ritual impurity.  This is because the tzitz, the frontplate worn by the high priest, provides atonement for ritual defilement in the Temple. If, however, the meal-offering was removed from the Temple grounds and thus became tamei, the tzitz will not atone for the ritual impurity.

The rabbis discuss the Mishna's prevention of its suggestion in the past tense: a ritually impure kometz "that was sacrificed".  This might suggest that the the sacrifice should not be brought at all.  It would only be accepted as valid after-the-fact.  We are told that Rashi (Masechet Gittin 54) says that sacrificial blood that had become tamei could be sprinkled and the kometz could be sacrificed according to Torah law.  Rabbinic law is more stringent.  Later in Masechet Pesachim (34) Rashi comments that the tzitz only atones for ritual impurity in the Temple after-the-fact, but it cannot permit sacrifices brought in the best possible way.

The rabbis disagree about how and in which circumstances the tzitz will atone for tumah.  We learn that the Tosefta report Rabbi Akiva's ruling: the tzitz even has the power to atone for offerings that were taken out of the the Temple grounds.

Menachot 24: Mixed Meal-Offerings by Proportion

Today's daf focuses on mixing the flour in the kometz, the handful of meal-offering offered by a priest.  Issues discussed include:

• the construction of the vessel - compartments, materials
• introducing too little or too much of any ingredient
• using one's finger to separate fit amounts of flour from other flour
• imparting ritual impurity across different barriers
• different amounts of offering 
• how ritual purity might be affected by different amounts of meal-offering

The specificity of today's measures is very telling.  Clearly the meal-offering is considered to be of great importance.  Is this because of its role in atonement?  Because of who might be doing the offering?  Because of another factor?

Menachot 23: Mixing Matza Dough with Spices

A brief note on today's daf:

• is the kometz permitted if two handfuls have become mixed?
• the Gemara discusses a baraita regarding how matza is baked
• as long as the spices or sesame seeds are less than the amount of dough, the matza is fit for fulfilling the mitzvah at the Pesach seder
• Tosafot wonder if this referred to a clump of spices in one mouthful of matza
• One spice mentioned is called ketzach, nigella sativa of the ranunculaceae family 
• Steinsaltz teaches that this is known as fennel flower, nutmeg flower, roman coriander, blacked or black cumin
• ketzach has been used as a spice, as medicine, and as a domesticated plant

Menachot 22: Who Brings Wood to the Altar?, Sacrificing Mixtures

Our daf begins with a discussion about wood.  Is the person sacrificing his/her offering required to bring his/her own wood to the altar? And because the wood will be placed on the altar, must it be sanctified or checked in some way?  Should that be the responsibility of the king, or of others?

We are introduced to a new Mishna:

• if a handful of meal-offering was mixed with 
• a handful of another meal-offering
• the meal-offering of the high priest
• the meal-offering of libations that come with burnt/peace offerings,
• which all are burned entirely on the altar
• they are fit for sacrifice
• Rabbi Yehuda says that if the handful was mixed with that of the high priest or of libations, it is unfit
• this is because it is too thick (one log of oil mixed with a tenth an ephah of flour)
• the meal offering of the high priest and of libations, the mixture is too loose (three log of oil mixed with a tenth of an ephah of flour)
• These mixtures absorb from each other based on increasing or decreasing oil in the meal offerings and thus they are all invalid

The Gemara discusses another similar but very different case discussed in Masechet Zevachim.  If water or wine were added to the blood to be sacrificed, would the sacrifice become unfit?  Considerations included the thickness or looseness of the blood-like mixture.  The rabbis also considered the appearance of the mixture in these cases.  Further the Gemara notes the importance of ascending to the altar in a state of holiness, perfectly prepared according to halacha.