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Week 151 - Sunday - 13 October 2002

MENAHOT: CHAPTER 7: MISHNAH 6

Whence that he who says "I take upon myself a thank-offering" may bring it only from the unconsecrated? Because it is written (Deut. 16:2): "You shall sacrifice the pesah to the Lord your God, of the flock and the herd." But is the pesah not brought only from the lambs and from the goats?! Why then is it written "the flock and the herd"? In order to liken to the pesah all that comes from the flock and the herd: just as the pesah, brought as an obligation, may be brought only from the unconsecrated, so also may anything that is obligatory be brought only from the unconsecrated. Hence he who says, "I take upon myself a thank-offering," "I take upon myself a peace-offering," since they are obligatory, they may be brought only from the unconsecrated. And the drink-offerings in every case may be brought only from the unconsecrated.

Kehati

The above continuation of the preceding mishnah reveals the source of the halakhah (mentioned there) that obligatory offerings must be brought from the unconsecrated.

Whence - do we know - as we learned in the preceding mishnah that he who says "I take upon myself a thank-offering" may bring it only from the unconsecrated?

Because it is written (Deut, 16:2): "You shall sacrifice the pesah to the Lord your God, of the flock and the herd." But is the pesah not brought only from the lambs and from the goats?! - thus (Ex. 12:5): "Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year, you shall take it from the sheep or from the goats."

Why then is it written - in the above cited verse –“the flock and the herd”? -

In order to liken to the pesah all that comes from the flock and the herd: - by extending the pesah sacrifice rule to all obligatory offerings thus:

Just as the pesah, brought as an obligation, may be brought only from the unconsecrated - the original pesah offering in Egypt necessarily entailed unconsecrated animals, since no ma’aser sheni existed before the Israelites entered the Promised Land. That this limitation likewise applies to the subsequent generations is learned from the following reference to the above offering (Ex. 13:5): "and you shall keep this service in this month," wherein all the rituals performed "in this month" are perceived as immutable requirements for all times. Hence, just as the pesah in Egypt was derived from the unconsecrated, so also must the pesah of the later generations proceed from the unconsecrated; moreover, just as the pesah, which is an obligatory offering, is confined to the unconsecrated –

So also may anything that is obligatory be brought only from the unconsecrated. Hence he who says - i.e., vows,

“I take upon myself a thank-offering" or "I take upon myself a peace-offering," since by vowing to offer them - they are - rendered - obligatory, they may be brought only from the unconsecrated - and not from ma’aser sheni money.

And the drink-offerings - that accompany the peace-offerings - in every case - even if one pledges to bring a thank-offering or a peace-offering from ma'aser, when he may use ma’aser sheni money (see preceding mishnah), nevertheless they may be brought only from the unconsecrated - and not ma’aser sheni money, which the Torah permitted for the peace-offering alone, seeing that it is consumed by its owners. However, the drink-offerings, of which no one partakes, since they are totally consumed by the altar, may not derive from ma'aser sheni money, which may be spent on food and drink alone (see introduction to preceding mishnah).

MENAHOT: CHAPTER 8: MISHNAH 1

All offerings of the congregation or of the individual may be brought from the Land or from outside the Land, from the new or from the old, except the omer and the Two Loaves, which may be brought only from the new and from the Land. And all may come only from the choicest. And which is the choicest? Mikhmas and Mezonihah rank first for fine flour. Second to them is Hafarayim in the valley. All the provinces qualified, but they used to bring it from the above.

Kehati

All meal offerings of the congregation or of the individual may be brought from the produce of the Land - of Israel - or from produce grown outside the Land - from the new produce or from the old produce, except the omer and the Two Loaves, which may be brought only from the new produce and from the Land; - thus regarding the omer (Lev. 23:10): "when you come to the Land which I give you, and shall reap its harvest, then you shall bring an omer of the firstfruits of your harvest..." Regarding the Two Loaves it is written (ibid. ibid. 16-17): "to the morrow of the seventh Shabbat shall you number fifty days, and you shall offer a new meal-offering to the Lord. You shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves..." –

And all the meal-offerings may come only from the choicest produce, thus (Deut.12:11): "and all your choice vows."

And which fine flour and oil is the choicest for the meal-offering? From Mikhmas - possibly the city so called in 1 Sam. 13 - and Mezonihah - some read "Zanohah," i.e., Zanoah, a city in the Judean Plain, mentioned in Josh. 15:34. These two localities rank first in quality for fine flour.

Second to them - in superior fine flour - is Hafarayim in the valley - some read Afarayim, i.e., Efrayin (2 Chron. 13:19): "And Aviya pursued after Yarov'am, and took cities from him, Bet-El... and Efrayin with its hamlets"; two localities were so called, one in the mountain and one in the valley, of which the latter excelled in choice flour (Rashi, Tosafot). The fine flour for the meal-offerings from

All the provinces in Eretz Israel (Rashi) qualified, but they used to bring it from the above places that produced flour of unsurpassed quality.

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