Menachot 89a (פט.) — the Talmud in English

And therefore

he should make

the mouths

of the lamps from

any kind of gold

—anything, even if it is not refined.

This teaches us that the verse, “A talent of pure gold … all these vessels,” teaches that he should make all the lamps from pure gold.

We learned in the Mishna:

“

Half a log of oil for the thanksgiving-offering”:

The baraita taught:

in a

Rabbi Akiva says:

It is written in the passage concerning the thanksgiving-offering [Leviticus 7:12]: “If he offers it for a thanksgiving-offering, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of the thanksgiving-offering loaves of unleavened bread mixed with oil [ten loaves of unleavened bread], and wafers of unleavened bread spread with oil [ten wafers], and fine flour boiled, loaves mixed with oil [ten boiled loaves]. With loaves of leavened bread he shall offer his offering [ten leavened loaves, without oil] with the sacrifice of his peace-offering of thanksgiving”—

And

what does it teach us when it states

“with oil”

twice concerning the loaves and the wafers?

It would have been sufficient for it to state “with oil” once, and we would know that both of them come with oil:

Had it stated only

“with oil”

once, I would have said that it is—

the thanksgiving-offering loaves—

like all meal-offerings, requiring one log

of oil.

Now that it is written

“with oil, with oil”

twice,

it is

a multiple expression following a multiple expression

and a multiple expression following a multiple expression serves only to restrict: The verse restricted it to half a log

for all three types together.

The Gemara challenges the wording of the baraita: Had it stated only “with oil” once—and if you are expounding only the second “with oil,” is it

a multiple expression following a multiple expression? After all,

it is

only one multiple expression

alone;

is it not?

And we answer:

Rather,

change the wording as follows:

Had it not stated

“with oil”

at all, I would have said that it is like all meal-offerings, requiring one log

of oil, since this meal-offering is no inferior to the other meal-offerings—

Now that it is stated

“with oil, with oil”

both of them superfluous,

it is a multiple expression following a multiple expression, and a multiple expression

following a multiple expression serves only to restrict;

and to teach

that the verse restricted it to half a log.

The baraita adds and explains:

Could it be that this half-log is divided

equally

among the three types—

namely,

for the loaves, the wafers, and the boiled loaves?

When it states

“with oil”

concerning the boiled loaves, although “with oil”

does not need to be stated concerning the boiled loaves [it was unnecessary to state “with oil” concerning the boiled loaves]—

Rather, the verse increased

the amount of

oil for the boiled loaves

more than for the other types.

How so?

He brings half a log of oil and divides it; half

[a quarter-log]

for the loaves and the wafers, and half for the boiled loaves.

Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya said to

Rabbi Akiva:

Akiva!

Even

if you multiply all day long

“with oil,”

I will not accept it from you

as a derivation from the verse.

Rather: Half a log of oil for the

loaves of

the thanksgiving-offering,

and a quarter-log of oil for the

loaves of

the nazirite-offering, and for the eleven days between one menstruation and the next—

that is, the law concerning a menstruating woman who sees blood during the eleven days following her seven days of menstruation: if she sees blood for one or two days during these days, she is a minor zava, who is prohibited for one day after them; and if she sees blood for three days, she is a major zava, who requires seven clean days and an offering. But during other days, if she sees blood—even for several days—she is a menstruating woman for seven days from the beginning of her sighting, and she immerses and becomes pure; she requires neither seven clean days nor an offering.

These three matters—

a halakha transmitted to Moses from Sinai—

are not learned from the verses.

We learned in the Mishna:

He measured with a log

for all the meal-offerings; even for a meal-offering of sixty tenths he gives it sixty logs. Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov says: Even a meal-offering of sixty tenths requires only its one log, as it is stated: “For the meal-offering, and a log of oil.”

The Sages taught:

A leper who becomes pure brings two unblemished lambs [one as an burnt-offering and one as a guilt-offering], and one unblemished yearling ewe [as a sin-offering], and three tenths of fine flour for the accompanying meal-offering. An impoverished leper, however, brings one lamb as a guilt-offering and one tenth of fine flour for the accompanying meal-offering.

It is written concerning an impoverished leper:

“One tenth mixed with oil, and a log” [“And if he is poor and cannot afford it, then he shall take one lamb as a guilt-offering for a waving, to make atonement for him, and one tenth of fine flour mixed with oil for a meal-offering, and one log of oil”].

This teaches concerning

every

tenth

and every tenth among the other meal-offerings

and every isaron among the other meal-offerings

that it requires one log

of oil.

The words of the Sages. Rabbi Neḥemya and Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov say:

Even a meal-offering of sixty tenths requires only its one log,

as it is stated:

“For the meal-offering”—

meaning any meal-offering, however large—

“and a log of oil.”

And

we challenge

phrase,

Rabbi Neḥemya and Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov:

What do they do with this

“one tenth mixed with oil, and a log”

[what do they expound from it]?

And we explain:

That

verse

is needed

for its own subject

[to teach its own law],

for the Merciful One said that he should bring

[to teach that he should bring] an impoverished leper

one tenth

for the accompanying offering of his guilt-offering.

And the other one—namely, the Sages—holds: For its own subject,

to teach that the guilt-offering of an impoverished leper requires one tenth for its accompanying offerings,

is not necessary,

because we can know this

from the fact that the Merciful One specified concerning an affluent leper

that he brings

three offerings and three tenths.

Therefore, we know automatically that

here,

in the case of an impoverished leper,

who brings one offering,

he brings

one tenth.

he brings

And the other one—Rabbi Neḥemya and Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov—holds:

It was necessary for the verse to teach us that an impoverished leper brings one tenth for the accompanying offering of the lamb, because if the verse had not revealed this,

it might have entered your mind to say:

Since the Merciful One took pity on him,

the leper,

to bring in poverty

[to bring, when he is poor, one offering instead of three offerings], therefore,

say—I would have said that the verse was lenient with him in this respect as well, that

he need not bring a meal-offering at all,

even though an affluent leper brings an accompanying meal-offering for each of his offerings.

And the other one—the Sages—holds: The verse did not need to teach us that the impoverished leper brings an accompanying meal-offering with his one offering, because as for exempting him

entirely

from the offering of an affluent person, which requires meal-offerings,

we have not found

[such a ruling]. The Gemara further explains:

And the Sages, what do they do with this

“for the meal-offering and a log of oil,”

which Rabbi Neḥemya and Rabbi Eliezer expounded according to their view—

what do they expound from it

[what do they derive from it]?

That verse came to teach

one who volunteers a meal-offering, that he may not offer less than the amount

[of fine flour]

that requires a log, and what is that? One tenth—to teach that it is impossible to volunteer less than one tenth. And the other one—Rabbi Neḥemya and Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov—holds:

You learn two things from it: The verse stated one matter, and we hear two.

We learned in the Mishna:

Six

logs

for a bull, four for a ram, and three for a lamb:

And we explain:

From where do we know

that this is the measure for the accompanying offerings of the bull, the ram, and the lamb?

Because

it is written

[Numbers 28:14]:

“And their accompanying offerings: half a hin shall be for a bull,

a third of a hin for a ram, and a quarter of a hin for a lamb, of wine.”

that these are the measures for the accompanying offerings of a bull, a ram, and a sheep?

Because

it is written

But

a hin is twelve logs,

namely, twelve logs,

as

it is written

concerning the anointing oil [Exodus 30:24]: “And

olive oil, a hin,”

and

it is written

[there, verse 31]: “This shall be a sacred anointing oil for Me throughout your generations,” and “ this”

has the numerical value of twelve—

[there, verse 31]:

“This shall be a sacred anointing oil for Me throughout your generations,”

Accordingly, half, one third, and one quarter of a hin, mentioned concerning the accompanying offerings, are six, four, and three logs.

“this”

We learned in the Mishna:

Three and a half

logs of oil

for the menorah, half a log for each lamp:

And we explain:

We learned in the Mishna: Three and a half logs of oil for the menorah, half a log for each lamp: The Gemara explains: From where are these matters derived? For the Sages taught:

From where are these matters derived?

As the Sages taught: It is written [Exodus 27:20]: “And you shall command the children of Israel, and they shall take for you pure olive oil, crushed, for illumination, to kindle a lamp continually. In the Tent of Meeting, outside the curtain that is before the Testimony, Aaron and his sons shall arrange it” “from evening until morning” before the Lord. And what does it teach us? Give it its measure, so that it will burn continually from evening until morning. Alternatively: “

It is written [Exodus 27:20–21]: “And you shall command the Children of Israel, and they shall take for you pure olive oil, crushed, for illumination, to kindle a lamp continually. In the Tent of Meeting, outside the curtain that is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall arrange it,”

From evening until morning”

teaches:

There is no service that is valid from evening until morning except this one alone—namely, the kindling of the lamps, which is valid from sunset until morning.

for the menorah, half a log for each lamp:

And we explain:

From where are these matters?

For the Sages taught:

It is written [Exodus 27:20]: “And you shall command the children of Israel, and they shall take for you pure olive oil, crushed, for illumination, to kindle a lamp continually. In the Tent of Meeting, outside the curtain that is over the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall arrange it”

And the Sages calculated: Half a log

of oil is needed for the lamp to burn

from evening until morning

[from evening until morning]. The amoraim disagreed as to how they calculated it: Some say: When the Sages calculated how much oil was needed for the menorah to burn from evening until morning, they calculated from more to less: They placed a log of oil in it and it burned for longer, and they reduced the measure until they found that half a log was the appropriate measure. And some say: They calculated from less to more: At first they placed a quarter-log in it, but it did not burn throughout the entire night, until they arrived at the measure of half a log. The Gemara explains their rationales:

The one who says that they calculated from less to more

says this because

the Torah spared the money of Israel. Therefore, they initially calculated with a small amount of oil until they reached the correct measure, since the remainder of the oil left in the lamp has no remedy other than pouring it out.

of oil is needed for the lamp to burn

from evening until morning

[from evening until morning]. The amoraim disagreed about how they made this calculation: Some say: When the Sages calculated how much oil was needed for the menorah to burn from evening until morning, they calculated from greater to lesser: they first placed one log of oil in it, and it burned for longer, then they reduced the amount until they found that half a log was the appropriate measure.

of oil is needed so that the lamp will burn

And some say: They calculated from lesser to greater,

initially placing a quarter-log in it, which did not burn throughout the entire night, until they reached the measure of half a log.

The Gemara explains the reasoning behind their opinions:

The one who says that they calculated from lesser to greater

does so because

the Torah spared the property of Israel.

Therefore, they initially measured with a small amount of oil until they reached the correct measure, since the oil remaining in the lamp has no use other than being poured out.

And some say: They estimated from below upward,

at first they put a quarter-log into it, and it did not burn all night, until they arrived at the measure of a half-log.

And the Gemara explains their reasoning:

The one who says that they estimated from below upward,

because

the Torah spared the money of Israel,

and therefore they initially estimated with a small amount of oil until they reached the correct measure, since there is no remedy for the remainder of the oil left in the lamp except to pour it out.

And according to the one who says that they measured from top to bottom,

because he holds:

there is no poverty in a place of wealth,

and in the Temple they are not concerned about pouring out the remaining oil.

Mishna:

The meal offering of the libations of a bull, and likewise the meal offering of the libations of a ram, were mixed with two log of oil for each issaron, as the meal offering of the libations of a bull consists of three issaron and requires six log of oil, while the meal offering of the libations of a ram consists of two issaron and requires four log of oil. But the mixture of the meal offering of the libations of a lamb was more fluid, as it was mixed with three log of oil per issaron.

One may mix the libations of

the

bulls with the libations of

the

rams, whose meal offerings are mixed in equal measure. The Gemara will explain whether our Mishna is dealing with mixing the meal offerings of the libations or with mixing the wine libations; and it will further explain whether they may be mixed even initially, along with additional details.

Likewise, one may mix

the

libations of lambs

these

with the libations of lambs

others.

Likewise, one may mix the libations

of an individual with

libations

of the community,

if their mixtures are equal.