Menachot 51a (נא.) — the Talmud in English

It is therefore like the daily meal-offering: Just as the daily meal-offering overrides Shabbat, as it is written regarding Shabbat, “in addition to the regular burnt-offering,” so too this one overrides Shabbat.

Rava said:

What is the reason that it is not baked on the previous day? Because it is written: “

On a griddle

you shall make it with oil,”

which teaches that it requires a service vessel

for its baking.

And if you were to bake it on the previous day,

it would

become disqualified through being left overnight,

since it had already been sanctified in a service vessel through its baking. And as we learned in tractate Me’ila, once meal-offerings have been sanctified in a vessel, they are fit to become disqualified through being left overnight. If so, this proves that it is baked on Shabbat so that it will not become disqualified through being left overnight.

It was taught

in a baraita

in accordance with Rava’s opinion:

From the fact that it is written, “

on a griddle,” it teaches that it requires a vessel.

And the baraita continues to expound this verse:

From the fact that it is written, “

with oil” —

to add oil to it.

As will be explained below, what this addition is.

And I do not know how much

is considered an addition.

I therefore reason: “Oil” is stated here

with regard to the griddle-cakes offering,

and “oil” is stated elsewhere, with regard to the libations meal-offering,

of the lambs of the daily offering: “and a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed

with oil”; just as there

with regard to the libations of the daily offering, and likewise with all libations of lambs, the verse there states “a quarter of a hin,” meaning

three log for each tenth of an ephah

of flour,

so too here,

with regard to the griddle-cakes offering,

three log for each tenth of an ephah

of flour. Accordingly, we learn that the additional oil means three log, and not the measure of a freewill meal-offering, whose law will be explained below.

Or follow this path

in your derivation and learn from a freewill meal-offering:

“Oil” is stated here

with regard to the griddle-cakes offering,

and “oil” is stated

also

with regard to a freewill meal-offering:

“and he shall pour oil upon it”;

just as there, one log

is required for each tenth of an ephah [as is learned below, in the chapter “Two Measures,” from the verse [Leviticus 14:21]: “and one tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a meal-offering, and one log of oil”],

so too here, one log.

Let us see to whom

the griddle-cakes offering is similar.

We derive

the griddle-cakes offering, which is

regular, communal, obligatory, overrides Shabbat, and overrides ritual impurity,

meaning that it is

r

egular and

o

bligatory, and overrides

S

habbat and

r

itual impurity,

from a regular, communal, obligatory offering that overrides Shabbat and overrides ritual impurity,

as the meal-offering accompanying the daily offering is also

regular, obligatory, overrides Shabbat, and overrides ritual impurity.

Therefore, one should learn one from the other, since they resemble each other in all these laws.

But we do not derive

the griddle-cakes offering, which is

regular, communal, obligatory, overrides Shabbat, and overrides ritual impurity,

from a freewill meal-offering,

which is not regular, communal, obligatory, overrides Shabbat, and overrides ritual impurity.

For any offering that has no fixed time does not override Shabbat or ritual impurity.

Or follow this path: We derive

the griddle-cakes offering, which is

individual, brought because of itself, and accompanied by frankincense,

which is a meal-offering

o

f an individual, brought

b

ecause of itself [and not like the libations of the daily offering, which are obligatory because of the sacrifice]. It has frankincense

f

rom a freewill meal-offering, which also possesses all these characteristics, whose mnemonic is

individual, because of itself, and frankincense.

And we do not derive the griddle-cakes offering, which has

these characteristics,

from the libations of the daily offerings,

which do not have these characteristics,

since they are a communal offering and not an individual one, are not brought because of themselves, and do not require frankincense.

which do not have I-B-I,

since they are a communal offering rather than an individual's offering, are not brought because of themselves, and do not require frankincense.

Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Beroka, says:

Since it is impossible to decide by logical derivation whether to learn from an offering that is regular, communal, obligatory, overrides Shabbat, and overrides ritual impurity, or from one that is individual, brought because of itself, and accompanied by frankincense, we learn from the verse to which offering it is similar. It is stated with regard to the griddle-cakes offering: “

a regular meal-offering of fine flour.” -

It is therefore like the regular meal-offering. Just as the regular meal-offering

has the measure of

three log per tenth of an ephah, so too this one,

the griddle-cakes offering,

has three log per tenth of an ephah.

Rabbi Shimon says:

There is another uncertainty here concerning the measure of the oil:

The verse added oil here [

as we said above, “with oil,” to add oil to it, and I do not know how much]

and added oil in the meal-offering

of the libations

of lambs.

The measure of oil in the libations meal-offering is greater than the measure of oil in a freewill meal-offering [which is only one log].

Just as there,

with every libation of a lamb, the measure is

three log per tenth of an ephah, so too here,

with regard to the griddle-cakes offering,

three log per tenth of an ephah.

Or follow this path: The verse added oil here

with regard to the griddle-cakes offering,

and added oil in the meal-offering

of the libations

of bulls and rams. Just as there are two log per tenth of an ephah,

for with a bull one brings thirteen tenths of an ephah of fine flour and half a hin of oil, which is six log, a ratio of two log per tenth of an ephah; and with a ram one brings two tenths of an ephah and one-third of a hin of oil, which is four log, a ratio of two log per tenth of an ephah; so we learn with regard to the griddle-cakes offering

so too here,

that since we learned that oil is to be added, one should bring

two log per tenth of an ephah.

Let us see

the griddle-cakes offering

to whom

it

resembles. We derive a meal-offering that consists of one tenth of an ephah from a meal-offering that consists of one tenth of an ephah,

and therefore the griddle-cakes offering should be learned from the libations of a lamb, which consist of one tenth of an ephah of fine flour and three log of oil.

But we do not derive a meal-offering that consists of one tenth of an ephah from a meal-offering

of the libations of a bull and a ram,

which consist of two and three tenths of an ephah.

This concludes the baraita.

And we raised a difficulty concerning it:

The matter itself is difficult. You said

that we learn from the verse

“with oil,” to add oil to it,

which indicates that we learn an addition to the ordinary measure.

And then it teaches: “Oil” is stated here, and “oil” is stated with regard to a freewill meal-offering,

and we wanted to learn it from a freewill meal-offering, where the smallest measure for a tenth of an ephah is established. But if you learn that the measure of oil is one log, as in a freewill offering, there is no addition here at all! And we answer:

Abaye said:

The first clause and the final clause are the statements of two different tannaim, and

who is the tanna who says, “with oil —

to add oil”? It is Rabbi Shimon.

He is uncertain only whether to learn from the libations of a lamb or from the libations of a bull and a ram. In truth, more than one log is required, since “with oil” is expounded as teaching that oil must be added to it.

And in the logical derivation, who is the one going back

to say, “Or follow this path,” deriving it from a freewill meal-offering?

It is Rabbi Yishmael,

son of Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Beroka. In his view, “with oil” is not expounded with regard to the griddle-cakes offering as teaching that oil must be added to it; rather, it is expounded as establishing its measure of oil, as in a freewill meal-offering.

Rav Huna, son of Rav Yehoshua, said: The entire baraita is the opinion of Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Beroka.

And when we expressed uncertainty that perhaps only one log is brought with it, despite the fact that there is a verse teaching that oil is to be added to it,

this is what the tanna is saying:

The tanna is uncertain what is to be derived from “with oil”: Is it indeed expounded as

“with oil” — to add oil to it,

meaning more than the ordinary measure, or

is it to establish oil for it,

teaching that it contains oil like other meal-offerings and is not dry? If so,

that is unnecessary,

since

because it is written with regard to it, “on a griddle,”

it is like a griddle meal-offering,

and it is consequently known that it contains at least one log of oil.

Or

perhaps

it does not

come to say “with oil”

except to establish oil for it,

teaching that it is not a dry offering without any oil at all.

For if the Merciful One had not written “with oil,” we would have said: Let it be like the meal-offering of a sinner,

which is dry [and “on a griddle” does not teach that oil is required, as in a freewill meal-offering, but teaches that it is to be brought in that same vessel].

Then he said again,

Rabbi Yishmael:

It should also be

that the verse comes

to establish oil for it;

nevertheless,

it should follow from logical derivation

that more than one log is brought with it [as discussed in the baraita: “Let us see to whom it is similar”].

And he reasoned by logical derivation, but it did not yield a conclusion for him,

since it was not decided from where its law should be learned, whether from the individual, because of itself, and frankincense offering, or from the regular, communal, obligatory offering that overrides Shabbat and ritual impurity.

And he required the verse, “a regular meal-offering of fine flour,”

since it is like the regular meal-offering, which contains three log of oil per tenth of an ephah,

as Rabbi Yishmael concludes his statement.

Rabba said: The entire baraita is the opinion of Rabbi Shimon.

And although the baraita discusses what the measure of oil is, even one log does not require a verse —

“if it had not been stated”

this teaching,

this is what it is saying:

Indeed, if you expound

“with oil”

it certainly comes

to add oil to it,

more than one log.

For if it were only to establish oil for it,

teaching that it should not be dry like the meal-offering of a sinner,

it would not be necessary

to write the verse “with oil,”

because it is written with regard to it, “on a griddle,”

and it is

like a griddle offering,

which certainly is not dry. From the fact that it is written “with oil,” it necessarily means that oil is to be added to it beyond one log.

And Rabbi Shimon comes to discuss what I would have thought without this exposition:

Before “with oil” is stated, I have

a basis to learn

by logical derivation

whether its measure is one log or three log.

And he reasoned by logical derivation,

whether one derives an offering that is regular, communal, obligatory, overrides Shabbat, and overrides ritual impurity from another such offering, or an offering that is individual, brought because of itself, and accompanied by frankincense from another such offering, as we said above. But ultimately

it did not yield a conclusion for him

how to decide,

and he required “with oil”

to teach that an addition of oil is required [and not merely the measure of a freewill offering, which is one log, since that would not be an addition of oil].

Then Rabbi Shimon said again

that it still must be determined whether the addition of oil in the griddle-cakes offering is three log, as in the libations meal-offering, or

whether it should be like the meal-offering of bulls and rams,

as that too constitutes an addition, from which one derives a measure of two log.

Then he said again,