Menachot 49b — the Talmud in English

Rather, obviously,

the Mishna is speaking

where they do not have

enough to offer both the daily offerings and the additional offerings, and he may offer whichever he wishes.

And

there is still room to discuss:

if

they do not have enough for the daily offering and the additional offering

of that day,

and today is Shabbat or a Festival,

why

may he offer whichever he wishes? After all, the daily offering that he has possesses the status of

being more frequent and

it is also

more sacred,

whereas the additional offering is only more sacred. And surely

that which is more frequent

and more sacred

is preferable

to that which is only more sacred!?

Rather, is it not

speaking here of a case in which they have enough offerings for today, and the deficiency is only with regard to the daily offering

of tomorrow,

for if they offer the additional offering today in addition to the daily offering, they will lack a daily offering for tomorrow.

And it teaches

concerning this in the Mishna: “

They do not prevent one another” —

apparently,

the daily offering, which is more frequent, and the additional offering, which is more sacred,

are equivalent to one another,

and he may offer whichever of them he wishes. If so, the uncertainty is resolved: with regard to that which is more frequent and that which is more sacred, neither one has precedence over the other.

Abaye said to him: In reality,

the Mishna is speaking in a situation

where they have

enough for both of them.

And “to precede,”

this is the innovation of the Mishna: they do not prevent one another, for if he preceded the additional offering, this does not prevent it.

And what is difficult for you

is: How does it not prevent it? After all, we learned

that no matter shall precede

the daily offering?

We have resolved it for you: the rule of precedence

is merely a mitzva,

and the tannai is speaking with regard to a matter done after the fact, that it does not prevent it. 6 .

Come and hear

to resolve the uncertainty concerning the daily offering of tomorrow and the additional offering of today—which of them precedes—from the Mishna in tractate Arakhin:

One may not have fewer than six inspected lambs

without a blemish, four days before slaughter, so that they should be

in the Chamber of the Lambs.

And the number of six lambs is exact, for it is

the amount for

the lambs needed

for Shabbat and the two days of Rosh Hashanah

that occur consecutively after Shabbat or before it, for on each day two sheep are offered as the daily offering.

And we raised it:

What are the circumstances?

In what manner are six lambs needed for Shabbat and Rosh Hashanah that are adjacent to one another?

If you say that he has

enough sheep

for the daily offerings and the additional offerings

of Shabbat and Rosh Hashanah, if so, six are not enough, since

there are many.

For on Rosh Hashanah seven sheep of Rosh Hashanah are offered, and another seven sheep of the New Moon, and another two sheep for the additional offering of Shabbat—that is sixteen. And together with the six daily offerings of the three days, there are here twenty-two!?

Rather, is it not

necessarily speaking

where he does not have

enough for the daily offerings and the additional offerings, and they have only six sheep, and the tannai assigns them to Shabbat and the two days of Rosh Hashanah. It follows that we do not say that on Shabbat that falls before Rosh Hashanah, two sheep should be offered as the daily offering and two sheep as the additional offering of Shabbat, and the remaining ones should remain for the following day, the first Festival day of Rosh Hashanah. Rather, on each day only the daily offerings should be offered, and the additional offering is nullified because of the daily offering of tomorrow.

And learn from it: The daily offerings are preferable

to the additional offerings, even though the additional offerings of Shabbat are more sacred, for Shabbat is more sacred than a Festival.

And we reject this:

No,

do not infer this.

In reality,

it is speaking

where he has

enough for the daily offerings and the additional offerings. And do not raise the difficulty that if so, six are not enough, since there are also additional offerings. For the principal law of the Mishna is that he should have six inspected lambs for offering the daily offering, and the law of inspection four days before slaughter was stated only with regard to the daily offering.

And this is what it says: One may not have fewer than six lambs inspected in the Chamber of the Lambs,

which is the measure of daily offerings for three days, because a daily offering requires inspection

four days before slaughter.

But the additional offerings and the other offerings do not require inspection four days [before slaughter].

And whose opinion is it? —

It is the opinion of ben Bag Bag!

As it was taught in a beraita: Ben Bag Bag says: From where is it derived that the daily offering requires inspection four days before slaughter [

for this mitzva was stated only with regard to the Passover of Egypt]?

The verse says

in the passage of the daily offering, “

You shall safeguard it to offer it to Me at its appointed time.” And there it says,

with regard to the Passover of Egypt,

“And it shall be for you for safeguarding until the fourteenth day.”

And we learn “safeguarding” from “safeguarding” by means of a

gzera shava —

just as there,

with regard to the Passover, it requires inspection four days before slaughter,

for it was purchased on the tenth of the month and slaughtered on the fourteenth,

so too here,

with regard to the daily offering,

it requires inspection four days before slaughter.

And from now on, only with regard to the daily offering, concerning which there is a derivation from the words of Scripture, is inspection necessary. And in order that there be time to prepare others that have been inspected, there must be six inspected lambs: he takes the first ones and brings others in for inspection. 8 .

Ravina said to Rav Ashi:

These six sheep are not enough, for

there are seven! For

there is the morning of the first day of the week,

for if Rosh Hashanah falls on Thursday and Friday, followed by Shabbat, and on these days they do not bring others in for inspection, then what will he offer tomorrow, on Sunday morning? After all, on Saturday night he will not have enough time to seek inspected animals [but for the daily offering between the evenings of Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, he will already have enough time on Sunday to seek sheep that have been inspected four days earlier].

And he answers by way of a difficulty:

But according to your reasoning,

is this the only difficulty? For if we explain that they came here to count the requirement for Shabbat and Rosh Hashanah occurring consecutively, then when he is in the middle of the day preceding the three consecutive days, there are still [Tosafot, s.v. it]

eight! For there is

a daily offering

of the afternoon of the eve of Shabbat,

for also on the afternoon of the eve of Shabbat [after which Rosh Hashanah falls on Sunday and Monday] a daily offering must be offered. At that point one may no longer bring another one in for inspection, and it follows that besides these three days, we have one additional daily offering before them and one in the morning after them; together, eight are required!?

He said to him:

That is not difficult, for

indeed, this that he said that there must be six inspected lambs in the Chamber was

after he offered

the afternoon offering on the eve of Shabbat, and these are the six that he

was saying.