Menachot 88b — the Talmud in English

Outside it is

, they purified the leper outside the camp, and why do we need to sanctify the water

?

And if you should say: in order to sanctify the oil for my loaves

—the nazirite

, as explained in the Mishna, in which they measured a quarter-log of oil for the nazirite; even so, it is impossible to say this, for:

The nazirite’s bread becomes sanctified with sanctity of the body through the slaughtering of the ram

as explained in the Mishna above, 78b; and why do we need to sanctify the oil

? Rabbi Hiyya said to him:

For this reason the quarter-log measure was anointed

, with which he measured for the high priest’s griddle-cakes a quarter-log of oil for each and every cake

, and the oil became sanctified through the quarter-log measure.

He applied to him

Rabbi—who was in the Land of Israel—to Rabbi Hiyya, who had come up from Babylonia, when he heard his answer: “

A man from a distant land is his counselor.”

We learned in the Mishna:

What was the half-log used for

? A half-log of water for the woman suspected of adultery and a half-log of oil for the thanksgiving-offering:

Rabbi was sitting and raising a difficulty: Why was the half-log measure anointed!?

For:

If

it was for sanctifying water

of the woman suspected of adultery,

as we learned in the Mishna that this measure was used for that purpose; even so, it is impossible to say this, for:

Is it so that the

water

of the non-sacred is

the water of the woman suspected of adultery!? Surely

“holy water”

is written

concerning the water he would take for the woman suspected of adultery, meaning water from the basin, in which it had become sanctified; and if so, there is no need to sanctify it a second time

!? If

it was to sanctify the oil of my loaves

of the thanksgiving-offering,

as explained in the Mishna, that he measured with it the half-log for the loaves of the thanksgiving-offering; even so, it is impossible to say this, for

the loaves of the thanksgiving-offering become sanctified through the slaughtering of the thanksgiving-offering

, as explained above, 78b, and if so, why do I need to sanctify the oil

!? Rabbi Shimon, son of Rabbi, said to him, [

Rabbi Shimon answered his father]:

With it he divided a half-log of oil for each and every lamp

of the menorah

He said to him: “

?

He said to him: “ Lamp of Israel

[illuminator of the eyes of the Sages],” indeed

so it was.

Rabbi Yohanan said in the name of Rabbi:

The lamp

of the menorah

that was extinguished

during the night, before the time for kindling, which is during the day, had ended:

The oil is treated as refuse and

and

the wick is treated as refuse,

that is, the oil and the wick are like refuse, and he does not kindle with them again; rather

what does he do? He cleans it,

that is, he removes the oil and the wick from the lamp,

and puts oil in it

other oil and another wick

and kindles it.

Rabbi Zeira was sitting and raising a question [

Rabbi Zeira sat and was uncertain]:

When he puts into it—

into a lamp that was extinguished in the middle of the night—

oil,

does he:

put into it according to the original measure

—that is, a half-log of oil, just as he put into it at night when he kindled it—

or

does he put into it only oil

according to how much was lacking,

meaning, he puts into it anew an amount equal to the measure of oil that he threw out.

Rabbi Jeremiah

resolved

Rabbi Zeira’s uncertainty

:

It is obvious that he puts into it according to the original measure

he puts into it,

for if it is according to how much was lacking, how would we know what it lacked

, how would we know how much he removed

!?

And if you say that he estimates it

;

that is, he measures the oil that remained, and according to that measure he fills the lamp—

then

were there only “

seven measures of liquid in the Temple”!? Surely

there would be very many measures [

it would turn out that he needed more measures than seven] in order to estimate the measure of oil remaining in the lamp. He applied to him

Rabbi Zeira applied to Rabbi Jeremiah the verse: “

And your splendor

[and your sharpness]

advance, ride on concerning truth, and humility of righteousness,”

meaning, you are sharp, as we expounded in Shabbat 63b: “And your splendor, advance, ride”—these are two Torah scholars who sharpen one another in halakha.

It was also stated: Rabbi Abbahu said in the name of Rabbi Yohanan, and some say Rabbi Hanina said in the name of Rabbi:

A lamp that was extinguished: the oil is treated as refuse, the wick is treated as refuse; what does he do? He cleans it, puts into it oil according to the original measure, and kindles it.

Rav Huna, son of Rav Yehuda, said in the name of Rav Sheshet:

It is written concerning the menorah [Exodus 25]: “And you shall make a menorah of pure gold; hammered work shall the menorah be made; its base and its shaft, its cups, its knobs, and its flowers shall be from it... And their knobs and their shafts shall be from it; all of it hammered work, one piece of pure gold. And you shall make its lamps, seven; and its tongs and its fire-pans, pure gold. A talent of pure gold shall he make it, with all these vessels.”

A lamp

[that is, all the lamps]

of the

menorah of the

Sanctuary was made of sections,

that is, the lamps were one hammered piece with the menorah, but they were made in such a manner that they could be bent.

And its reasoning is, because

Rav Sheshet held:

held:

When it is written concerning the menorah:

concerning the menorah:

“a talent” [“A talent of pure gold shall it be made”]

and “

and

“hammered” [“entirely hammered from one piece of pure gold”]

“

concerning the menorah and

also concerning

its lamps it is written,

and if so, the lamps were one piece of gold with the menorah, and he cannot remove the lamps from the menorah—

And

since

the menorah requires

preparation

every morning, namely, to remove from it the burned wick and to clean it—

if it were not made in sections, it could not be properly prepared for him [Since it requires preparation, necessarily the lamps were made in a manner that enabled them to be bent; otherwise he could not perform the preparation properly].

They raise an objection from

He raised an objection from the beraita that we learned in it:

from the beraita that we learned in it:

How does he perform

the preparation every morning? He

removes

the lamps

and places them in the tent, [he removes the lamps from the menorah and places them in the Temple],

and

and wipes

the lamps

with a sponge, puts oil in them, and lights them,

so it is explicitly stated that they were not one piece with the menorah, and the preparation was not performed by way of bending!?

And we answer:

it is

Rav Sheshet

who says in accordance with this tanna, as it is taught:

The Sages say: They would not move it from its place,

that is, they would not move the lamps from their place on the menorah at the time of the preparation, because they were one piece.

And we raise an objection: On the contrary,

by implication, if he wished to move it, he could move it [if he wished to move them from their place, he could], and if so, this is not like the view of Rav Sheshet, who holds that they were one piece.

Rather, say: It was not moved from its place,

Rather, say: It did not move from its place,

because he could not move it, since it was one piece.

And who are the Sages,

who hold that the lamps were one piece with the menorah?

It is Rabbi Elazar bar Tzadok, as it is taught: Rabbi Elazar son of Rabbi Tzadok says:

It had, on its upper side, something like a sheet of gold,

a gold covering for each and every lamp, which was made like a small boat—

And

when he prepared it, he pressed it

toward the sheet

toward its mouth, [of the lamp, which is the place of the wick], and the lamp became exposed, and he bent the lamp downward.

And

And

when he put oil in it, he pressed it

toward the sheet

toward its head [toward the place where the lamp joins the menorah], and through the hole in the sheet he put in the oil.

And this dispute of the tannaim, whether the lamps were one piece with the menorah, is

a dispute between the tannaim

in the dispute of these tannaim

who also disagreed about it,

as it is taught:

The menorah and its lamps come from the talent,

and they were one piece,

but its tongs and its fire-pans do not come from the talent.

Rabbi Nehemiah says: The menorah came from the talent, but neither its lamps nor its tongs nor its fire-pans come from the talent.

Thus, they disagreed whether its lamps come from the talent and were one piece with the menorah, or not.

And we explain:

Over what do they disagree,

the tannaim who disagreed concerning the lamps, whether they were one piece with the menorah?

Over this verse, as it is taught:

It is written:

“A talent of pure gold shall it be made,”

we learn that the menorah comes from the talent—

From where

to include also

its lamps,

that they should come from the talent and be one piece with it,

the verse says: “A talent of pure gold shall it be made,

all these vessels.”

all these vessels.”

I might think that I should include even

its

tongs and its fire-pans,

that they should come from the talent—

The verse says: “A talent of pure gold shall it be made,”

which means: It, but not the vessels.

it,

and the meaning is: it, but not the vessels.

The words of Rabbi Nehemiah.

Before the Gemara finished bringing the entire beraita and the dispute of the tannaim in it concerning the lamps, whether they were one piece with the menorah, the Gemara raises an objection:

The view of Rabbi Nehemiah is difficult

in the first beraita, where he holds that even its lamps do not come from the talent,

against the view of Rabbi Nehemiah

in the second beraita, where he holds that its lamps come from the talent!?

And we answer:

There are two tannaim and [their statements are] according to Rabbi Nehemiah,

there are two approaches of tannaim regarding the view of Rabbi Nehemiah.

Here the Gemara returns to the continuation of the beraita:

Rabbi Joshua ben Korha says:

The menorah comes from the talent, but neither its tongs nor its fire-pans nor

even

its lamps come from the talent,

for it says “it” [and this is like the view of Rabbi Nehemiah in the first beraita].

But how do I understand “A talent of pure gold shall it be made,

that they should all be made of gold,

all these vessels,”

to teach

that they shall all be of gold,

but not from the talent.

Thus we find tannaim who also disagreed concerning the lamps, whether they were one piece with the menorah. And we raise an objection against Rabbi Joshua ben Korha, who interpreted the verse as concerning the making of the vessels from gold, and not concerning the talent and the one-piece construction:

But

gold is explicitly written concerning it,

for it is written:

“And you shall make its seven lamps, and he shall raise up its lamps and make light toward its front side, and its tongs and its fire-pans of pure gold,”

so it is explicitly stated concerning the lamps and the tongs that they were gold, and why do we need to include these from “all these vessels”!?

And we answer:

“It was necessary”

“all these vessels”

only

to teach

concerning the mouths of the lamps—

the place where the wick burns there—that it too shall be of pure gold; for if the verse had not taught us this,

it might enter your mind:

Since the mouths of the lamps become black, [because in that place the gold becomes black from the fire of the wick], therefore let us say:

the Torah has spared the money of Israel,

the Torah is considerate of the money of the Jewish people,