Menachot 2: Meal Offerings For Their Own Sake

Masechet Menachot focuses on sacrifices that are not animal-based.  Plant-based and other sacrifices come in many, many different versions.  We begin with a new Mishna.  It teaches that a priest must remove a handful of meal and put it into a service vessel, bring it to the altar, and burn it.  After that, the priest may eat the remainder; the owner has met his requirements.  The handful was not removed for their sake.  They were removed for the sake of others who will offer.  In these cases, the owner must bring an additional offering.  

Regarding a sinner's offering and the meal offering made because of jealousy (sota, when a husband suspects his wife of adultery).  In these cases, the priest must remove the handful for its own sake or disqualify the offering.  Further, every action must be done for its own sake (putting the handful into the vessel, bringing it to the altar, burning the offering, etc.) or the offering is disqualified.

The Mishna questions how rites can be performed for their sake but also not for their sake, which was one of the restrictions listed for the sinner's offering and the meal offering due to jealousy.  It explains that a priest could remove the handful with two intentions: for the sake of a sinner's meal offering and for the sake of a voluntary meal offering.

The Gemara considers a number of these points:

• the inclusion of seemingly superfluous words
• the limitations of vows that were spoken aloud
• whether the meal offering was taken from a shallow pan or a deep pan (where it was mixed with oil)
• the differences between guilt offerings and voluntary offerings
• the differences between a bird burnt offering and a bird sin offering

A chart would be a helpful tool toward understanding the differences between these menachot.