Menachot 78a — the Talmud in English

He said

explained

Rabbi Yitzhak bar Avdimi: “

They shall be”

with two yods]

is written, and the additional yod comes to teach the number ten for the loaves of the thanksgiving-offering, which is hinted in the verse “You shall bring

”.

And we challenge this

Say: ten kapizei [

small measures, less than an issaron] -

That is to say: Even when we asked, “And say two issaronim,” the question was: From where do we equate the loaves of the thanksgiving-offering with the two loaves regarding the size of a single loaf, which is an issaron, so that there are ten issaronim for the leavened loaves of the thanksgiving-offering? Perhaps Scripture equated all ten loaves of the thanksgiving-offering with the two loaves, to say: Just as the two loaves come from two issaronim, so the ten loaves of the thanksgiving-offering all come from two issaronim, and each loaf is consequently less than an issaron. If so, what benefit is there in the extra yod for the number ten? After all, we still do not know whether they are ten issaronim or ten small loaves, each less than an issaron, which altogether are two issaronim

!

He answered

Rava: Scripture spoke of issaronim.

The master said in the beraita:

We learned ten

[issaronim]

for the leavened.

Ten for the unleavened—where [is this derived]?

The verse says: “For the cakes of leavened bread,”

corresponding to the leavened [loaves] that come unleavened:

And we challenge this:

But does something learned through a hekesh [

namely, the ten issaronim for the leavened [loaves], which were learned through the hekesh of “You shall bring” to the two loaves],

return and teach through a hekesh, so that you equate the unleavened [loaves] with the leavened ones, making them ten issaronim like them!? And we answer: “

And we answer:

From it and another matter”

it is; that is to say, what is true of the leavened [loaves], that they are ten issaronim, we do not learn entirely from the two loaves, for concerning the two loaves these were not two issaronim. Rather, the teaching is from the two loaves together with what is written in the body of the leavened loaves: in the leavened loaves themselves it is explained that there shall be ten loaves, for this is learned through a gezeira shava from the separation of the tithe, as though it were written in the body of the verse. And from the two loaves we learn through the hekesh of “You shall bring” that there shall be an issaron in each loaf; and from both of them we know that the leavened [offering] contains ten issaronim -

it is not entirely learned from the two loaves. For the fact that the leavened offering contains ten tenths is not learned entirely from the two loaves, since the two loaves themselves did not contain ten tenths. Rather, it is learned from the two loaves together with what is written explicitly concerning the leavened loaves. The leavened loaves themselves are shown to number ten, since this is learned by an identical expression from the portion given from the tithe, as though it were written explicitly concerning them. From the two loaves we learn, through the analogy of “you shall bring,” that each loaf contains one tenth. From both sources together we know that the leavened offering contains ten tenths.

And every “

from it and another matter”

is not a hekesh,

and it may return and teach through a hekesh.

But we still challenge:

That works according to the one who says: “

from it and another matter”

is not a hekesh

and it may return and teach.

But according to the one who says

in any event it

is a hekesh

and it does not teach,

what is there to say!?

And we answer: “

You shall bring,”

which is stated concerning the two loaves,

is an amplification

it is; it is an amplification to include the loaves of the thanksgiving-offering as like the two loaves, and this is not a hekesh.

is intended to include the loaves of the thanksgiving offering, making them like the two loaves; this is not an analogy.

a. It is written in the command concerning the practical performance of the seven days of the inauguration that Moses performed for Aaron and his sons when the Tabernacle was erected [Exodus 29:1]: “And this is the matter that you shall do for them [for Aaron and his sons], to sanctify them to serve as priests for Me: take one bull, the son of cattle, and two rams without blemish [the first a burnt-offering and the second a peace-offering, and it is called ‘the ram of inauguration’]. And unleavened bread [boiled], and unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil [these are three kinds], you shall make them of wheat flour. And you shall place them upon one basket, and offer them in the basket, and the bull and the two rams. And you shall take from the ram the fat and the fat-tail, and the fat covering the innards, and the diaphragm over the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat that is upon them, and the right thigh, for it is a ram of inauguration. And one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer from the basket of unleavened bread that is before the Lord. And you shall place all upon the palms of Aaron and upon the palms of his sons, and wave them as a waving before the Lord. And you shall take them from their hands and burn them on the altar upon the burnt-offering, for a pleasing fragrance before the Lord; it is a fire-offering to the Lord.”

b. It is written in the passage of the nazirite [Numbers 6:13]: “And this is the law of the nazirite: On the day that the days of his naziriteship are completed, he shall bring him [himself] to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. And he shall offer his offering to the Lord: one year-old male lamb without blemish as a burnt-offering, and one year-old female lamb without blemish as a sin-offering, and one ram without blemish as a peace-offering. And a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour [unleavened] mixed with oil, and wafers of unleavened bread anointed with oil [these are two kinds], and their meal-offering and their libations... And he shall make the ram a peace-offering to the Lord, together with the basket of unleavened bread, and the priest shall make its meal-offering and its libation... And the priest shall take the cooked foreleg from the ram, and one unleavened cake from the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and he shall place them upon the palms of the nazirite after he shaves his nazirite-crown. And the priest shall wave them as a waving before the Lord.”

It is holy for the priest, in addition to the breast of the waving and the thigh of the teruma; and afterward the nazirite shall drink wine.”

c. In the Mishna at the beginning of the chapter it was explained that the loaves of the thanksgiving-offering are three kinds of unleavened bread: cakes, wafers, and boiled loaves; and they all came from ten מדבריות issaronim—and according to the Jerusalem measure: fifteen kavim—which were made into ten equal loaves of each and every kind. Corresponding to them, he brought ten leavened loaves from ten issaronim, which are fifteen Jerusalem kavim.

Mishna:

The inaugurations [

that is, the inauguration loaves]

came as

the kinds of

unleavened bread of the thanksgiving-offering,

namely:

cakes, wafers, and boiled loaves, all unleavened. They came from fifteen Jerusalem kavim, like the unleavened bread of the thanksgiving-offering, which are ten מדבריות issaronim; and they were equal to them in their number, namely: three kinds of ten loaves each.

all unleavened. They came from fifteen Jerusalem kav, like the unleavened bread of the thanksgiving offering, which is ten “desert” issaron; and they were equal to them in number, namely, three types of ten loaves each.

The naziriteship-offering [

that is, the naziriteship loaves]

came as two portions [

two parts]

like the unleavened bread of the thanksgiving-offering,

namely:

cakes and wafers,

all unleavened,

and it did not have a boiled loaf,

as did the thanksgiving-offering; and they came like the two portions in their number and in the measure of the fine flour in them.

It follows—

the quantity of fine flour in the naziriteship loaves—

ten Jerusalem kavim [

which are two portions of the fifteen kavim in the unleavened bread of the thanksgiving-offering],

which are six issaronim

and still [

and another two-thirds of an issaron], which are equal to two-thirds of ten issaronim in the unleavened bread of the thanksgiving-offering.

Gemara:

We learned in the Mishna: The inaugurations came like the unleavened bread of the thanksgiving-offering—cakes, wafers, and boiled loaves.

The Gemara asks:

From where are these words, from where [do we know] that at the inaugurations they brought also boiled cakes? For Scripture said only “unleavened bread,” in addition to the cakes and wafers mentioned explicitly; and from where [do we know] that this “unleavened bread” is boiled bread?

from where do we know that the inauguration offerings included boiled-and-baked loaves? The verse mentions only “unleavened bread,” in addition to the loaves and wafers that it explicitly names. From where do we know that this “unleavened bread” refers to boiled-and-baked loaves?

He said,

explained

Rav Hisda said in the name of Rav Hama bar Gurya:

explained:

Because

the verse says [Leviticus 8:26], on the days of the inaugurations, when Moses did as he was commanded: “And from the basket of unleavened bread that was before the Lord

[Leviticus 8:26], concerning the days of inauguration, when Moses did as he had been commanded:

he took one unleavened cake and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer,”

he took one unleavened loaf, one loaf of oil bread, and one wafer.”

and behold,

what is it “

oiled bread,” and is it

not boiled bread? It is called “oiled bread” because in boiled bread he put twice as much oil as in the cakes.

called “oil bread” because twice as much oil was placed in a boiled-and-baked loaf as in the ordinary loaves?

Rav Avya challenges it: Say it is an antha of oil, perhaps “a cake of oiled bread” means a cake of congealed oil!?

means a cake made of congealed oil!?

Rather, from here we learn that the third kind at the inaugurations was boiled bread, and

from here we learn that the third type in the inauguration offerings was a boiled-and-baked loaf, and

as Rav Nahman bar Rav Hisda expounded in the name of Rabbi Tavla:

It is written [Leviticus 6:13]: “This is the offering of Aaron and his sons, which they shall offer to the Lord on the day that He anoints him: a tenth of an eifa of fine flour as a regular meal-offering, half of it in the morning and half of it in the evening. On a griddle, with oil it shall be made boiled; you shall bring it, baked, a meal-offering of pieces, to a pleasing fragrance to the Lord. And the anointed priest in his place from among his sons shall make it; an eternal statute for the Lord, it shall be entirely burned.”

And included in this passage is that the High Priest shall bring every day the “griddle-offering,” and likewise that a priest shall bring this offering at the beginning of his service; and it is called the “inauguration-offering,” as explained above, 51b.

For it is written: “

This is the offering of Aaron and his sons which they shall offer to the Lord

on the day that He anoints him”—

And what have we learned for his sons from “

the day that He anoints him”? That is, since Scripture said “him,” referring to Aaron, why did Scripture first say “Aaron and his sons”?

That is: Since the verse says “he,” referring to Aaron, why did it first say “Aaron and his sons”?

Rather, it equates his inauguration [

this is the inauguration-offering of an ordinary priest]

with his anointing [

this is the griddle-offering that the High Priest brings every day]; and it teaches:

Just as his anointing is boiled bread, for Scripture says, “On a griddle, with oil it shall be made boiled; you shall bring it,”

as the verse states, “On a griddle with oil it shall be made, boiled and baked,”

so his inauguration is boiled bread, teaching that an ordinary priest also brings boiled bread; and likewise at the inaugurations, it is the day of inauguration and he brings boiled bread.

teaching that an ordinary priest also brings a boiled-and-baked loaf. The same applies to the inauguration offerings: it is the day of initiation, and he brings a boiled-and-baked loaf.

Rav Hisda said: A High Priest who approaches the service [

who begins the service]

needs

to bring

two

issaronim of an eifa:

One for his anointing, that is, the “meal-offering of an anointed priest” that the High Priest brings every day.

that is, the “meal-offering of a anointed priest,” which the High Priest brings every day.

And one for his inauguration, for the service, since included in the passage is also the “inauguration-offering” of one entering the service for the first time.

into the service, since this passage also includes the initiation offering of one entering the service for the first time.

Mar bar Hiyya said: Three,

issaronim he brings, as he proceeds to explain.

And they do not disagree,

Rav Hisda, who said two issaronim, and Mar bar Hiyya, who said that he brings three issaronim, because:

This

that Rav Hisda said that he brings only two issaronim is in a case such as one who

performed

already

the service when he was an ordinary priest,

and then brought a tenth of an eifa for his inauguration as an ordinary priest; he need bring only one inauguration-offering for his inauguration as High Priest, and he brings the griddle-offering and the inauguration-offering.

This

that Mar bar Hiyya said that he brings three issaronim is in a case such as one who

did not perform service when he was an ordinary priest,

and he must bring one issaron for his inauguration as an ordinary priest and one for his inauguration as High Priest; together with the griddle-offering, there are three issaronim.

We learned in the Mishna:

“Naziriteship came with two portions”

“as the matza of the thanksgiving-offering”:

loaves and wafers, but it does not have a boiled offering:

The Sages taught:

It is stated in the passage of the loaves of the thanksgiving-offering: “Upon loaves of leavened bread he shall bring his offering, upon the sacrifice of the thanksgiving-offering of his peace-offerings”; and therefore Scripture said

“his peace-offerings”

in order

to include the peace-offerings of a nazirite

[for the loaves that he brings with them]:

for ten Jerusalem kavs

of fine flour [which are two portions of the fine flour in the matzot of the thanksgiving-offering],

and for a quarter-log of oil

[which is half of what he brings for the matzot of the thanksgiving-offering]—

That is to say, Scripture came to teach you that the loaves and wafers of naziriteship have a measure of their fine flour and a measure of their oil equal to the loaves and wafers of the thanksgiving-offering. This, then, is the measure of the fine flour that was in the loaves and wafers of the thanksgiving-offering, and this is the measure of the oil that was in them, for he would bring a half-log in the thanksgiving-offering: half of it for the boiled offering and half of it for the loaves and wafers.

One might have said

that Scripture included

“his peace-offerings” for everything that is stated in the passage?

Perhaps Scripture came to equate them also with regard to the boiled offering, and to teach us that, besides the loaves and wafers stated explicitly in it, he should also bring matzot of a boiled offering—

Scripture therefore says in the passage concerning the nazirite: “And a basket of

In the passage concerning the nazirite: “and a basket of unleavened bread,”

matzot,”

as it explains and proceeds.

The Gemara asks:

“What is the teaching?”

How do we learn from “matzot” that he does not bring a boiled offering?

Rav Pappa said:

The verse “a basket of matzot” came to teach that he brings only

something concerning which it is said

“matzot”

to exclude a boiled offering,

for

even concerning the thanksgiving-offering

it was not said

“matzot” in the verse [even though it was matza], as the verse says: “And fine flour of a boiled offering, loaves mixed with oil.”

in the verse [although it was unleavened bread], as the verse says: “and fine flour boiled into cakes mixed with oil.”

The school of Rabbi Ishmael taught

another source that he does not bring a boiled offering in naziriteship:

For

“a basket of matzot”

is

a general statement,

whereas that which Scripture specified concerning naziriteship,

“loaves and wafers,”

is

a specification,

and we hold:

“A general statement and a specification: the general statement includes only what is in the specification,”

so we have learned:

“Loaves and wafers, no”

[indeed, the nazirite brings], but

“nothing else, no,”

the nazirite brings, and Scripture said “his peace-offerings” only to teach us the measure of the fine flour and the measure of the oil in the loaves and wafers of the nazirite, that they should be equal to those of the thanksgiving-offering.