Menachot 51a — the Talmud in English

”. It is like the meal-offering of the tamid offerings: just as the meal-offering of the tamid offerings overrides Shabbat, as it is written concerning Shabbat, “beside the continual burnt-offering,” so too this overrides Shabbat.

Rava said:

What is the reason that it is not baked from the previous day? Because it is written

“On a griddle

you shall make it with oil,”

teaching that a service-vessel is required

for its baking;

and if he baked it from the previous day,

it would

become invalid to him through overnighting,

since it had already been consecrated in a service-vessel through its baking. And as we learned in tractate Me'ila: once the meal-offerings were consecrated in a vessel, they became fit to become invalid through overnighting. If so, this proves from here that it is baked on Shabbat so that it should not become invalid through overnighting.

It was taught

in a beraita

in accordance with Rava:

From the fact that it is written

“On a griddle,” teaching that a vessel is required.

And the beraita continues to expound this verse:

From the fact that it is written

“With oil”—

to add oil to it.

And as explained below, what the addition is.

And I do not know how much

is considered an addition.

I reason: “Oil” is stated here

in the griddle-offering,

and below, in the libation-offering,

of the lambs of the tamid, “and a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed

with oil”; just as below

in the meal-offering of the libations of the tamid, and likewise in all the libations of lambs, “a quarter of a hin” is written there, that is,

three log for a tenth

of an ephah of flour,

so here too

in the griddle-offering,

three log for a tenth

of an ephah of flour. And according to this, we learn that the addition of oil means three log, and not like the freewill meal-offering, whose law will be explained below.

Or go along this route

in your reasoning, and learn from the freewill meal-offering:

it is stated here

in the griddle-offering,

“oil,” and it is stated

also

in the freewill meal-offering, “

and he shall pour oil upon it,

“oil”; just as below, one log

per tenth [as we learn below, in chapter “Two Measures,” from the fact that it is written [Leviticus 14:21], “and one tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil for a meal-offering, and a log of oil”]—

so here too, one log.

Let us see to which it resembles,

the griddle-offering.

We reason

from the griddle-offering, which is

T-B-SH-T,

that is, it is

T

regular,

B

brought as an obligation, and overrides

SH

abbat and

T

impurity,

from T-B-SH-T,

since the meal-offering of the libations of the tamid is also

regular, brought as an obligation, overrides Shabbat, and overrides impurity;

therefore, one should learn one from the other, since they resemble one another in all these laws.

But we do not reason

from the griddle-offering, which is

T-B-SH-T, from

the freewill meal-offering,

which is not T-B-SH-T.

For every offering whose time is not fixed does not override Shabbat and impurity.

Or go along this route: we reason

from the griddle-offering, which has

I-G-L

that it is a meal-offering of

I

an individual of the High Priest, and is brought because of

G

itself [and not like the libations of the tamid, which are an obligation of the sacrifice]. And it has with it

L

frankincense,

from

the freewill meal-offering, which also has all these things, whose mnemonic is

I-G-L:

an individual, because of itself, frankincense. But we do not reason from the griddle-offering, which has

I-G-L, from

the libations of the tamid offerings,

which does not have I-G-L,

for they are a communal offering and not an individual’s, and it is not brought because of itself, and likewise they do not require frankincense.

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

Since it is impossible to decide to learn by reasoning from T-B-SH-T or from I-G-L, we learn from the written text to which it resembles, for it is stated concerning the griddle-offering:

“A continual meal-offering of fine flour.” -

It is for you like the meal-offering of the tamid offerings; just as the meal-offering of the tamid offerings

whose law is

three log per tenth, so too this,

the griddle-offering,

three log per tenth.

Rabbi Shimon says:

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

he increased oil here

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

and he increased in the meal-offering

of the libations of

lambs oil,

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

Just as below,

in all the libations of a lamb, the measure is

three log per tenth, so here too,

in the griddle-offering,

three log per tenth.

Or go along this route: he increased here

in the griddle-offering

oil, and he increased in the meal-offering

of the libations of

bulls and rams oil; just as below, two log per tenth

—for for a bull he brings thirteen tenths of an ephah of flour and half a hin of oil, which are six log, in a ratio of two per tenth; and for a ram he brings two tenths and a third of a hin of oil, which are four log, in a ratio of two log per tenth—and we learn for the griddle-offering

so here too,

since we learned for an addition of oil, he shall bring

two log per tenth.

Let us see

the griddle-offering

to whom

it

resembles. We reason from a meal-offering brought as one tenth from a meal-offering brought as one tenth,

and therefore one should learn the griddle-offering from the libations of a lamb, which are one tenth of an ephah of flour and whose oil is three log.

But we do not reason from a meal-offering brought as one tenth from a meal-offering

of the libations of a bull and a ram,

brought as two and three tenths.

This concludes the beraita.

And we raised it as a difficulty:

This itself is difficult: you said

that we learn from the verse

“with oil,” to add oil to it,

which implies that we learn an addition beyond the ordinary measure,

and then it teaches: “Oil” is stated here and oil is stated in the freewill meal-offering,

and we wished to learn it from the freewill meal-offering, where the smallest measure per tenth is established; but if you learn that the measure of the oil is one log, as in the freewill offering, is there not no addition here at all? And we answer:

Abaye said

the beginning and the end are two tannaim, and

who is the tanna of “with oil

—to add”—it is Rabbi Shimon.

And 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 we learn from “with oil” to add oil to it.

And in the reasoning, who is returning

to say, “Or go along this route,” to reason and learn from the freewill meal-offering?

Rabbi Yishmael

son of Rabbi Yohanan ben Beroka is. And according to his view, we do not expound “with oil” in the griddle-offering as “to add oil to it”; rather, we expound it to establish a measure of oil for it, as in the freewill offering.

Rav Huna, son of Rav Yehoshua, said: The entire [passage] is Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yohanan ben Beroka.

And as for our uncertainty that perhaps only one log is given in it, even though there is a verse to add oil to it,

and this is what he is saying:

the tanna is uncertain what is learned from “with oil”: is it indeed expounded

“with oil”—to add oil to it,

that is, beyond the ordinary measure,

for if it is to establish oil for it

and to teach that it contains oil and is not dry,

that is not needed,

for

since it is written concerning it, “on a griddle,”

it is like a griddle-offering,

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

Or

perhaps,

it does not

come, “with oil,”

except to establish oil for it,

and to teach that it is not dry, without any oil at all,

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

which is dry [and what is written, “on a griddle,” does not teach us that oil is required, as in the freewill offering, but teaches us that he shall bring it in that same vessel].

He then said,

Rabbi Yishmael:

let it also be

that the verse

came to establish oil for it;

still,

it should come by reasoning

that more than one log is given in it [and as was discussed in the beraita, “Let us see to whom it resembles”],

and he reasoned, but it did not come out for him,

for it was not decided from where to learn its law, whether from I-G-L or from T-B-SH-T,

and the verse was needed, “a continual meal-offering of fine flour,”

for it is like the meal-offering of the tamid offerings, which has three log of oil per tenth,

as Rabbi Yishmael concludes his statement.

Rabba said: The entire [passage] is Rabbi Shimon.

And as for the fact that the beraita discusses what the measure of the oil is, although for one log no verse is needed—

“if it had not been stated”

this teaching,

he is saying. And this is what he is saying:

indeed, if you expound

“with oil”

then certainly

“to add oil to it”

—it comes to add beyond one log,

for if it is to establish oil for it,

and to teach that it should not be dry like the meal-offering of a sinner,

it is not needed

the verse “with oil,”

since it is written concerning it, “on a griddle,”

it is

like a griddle-offering,

and certainly it is not dry. And from the fact that “with oil” is written, it necessarily means to add oil to it, more than one log.

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

Before “with oil” is stated, I have

to learn

by reasoning,

whether its measure is one log or three log?

And he reasons

whether one reasons T-SH-B-T from T-B-SH-T, or I-G-L from I-G-L, as we said above. And in the end

it does not come out for him

how to decide,

and “with oil” is needed

to teach that an addition of oil is required [and not as in the freewill offering, whose measure is one log, and this is not an addition of oil].

He then said

Rabbi Shimon that it is still necessary to reason whether the addition of oil in the griddle-offering is three log, like the meal-offering of libations, or

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

for this too is an addition, whose law is two log.

He then said,