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One of my favorite moments on today’s daf imagines a strange scenario: As it was stated: If one heard that a child was drowning at sea, and he spread a net to raise fish and the result was that he raised only fish, he is liable for transgressing the Shabbat prohibition of trapping. If heContinue reading “Menachot 64”

I love today’s gem. It starts with a new mishnah that teaches us that if you promise to bring a meal sacrifice prepared in a “maḥavat ” then you can’t bring one prepared in a “marḥeshet.” What is the difference between a maḥavat and a marḥeshet? A marḥeshet has a cover, whereas a maḥavat doesContinue reading “Menachot 63”

Today’s daf teaches us something beautiful about how offerings were waved in the Temple. The Torah describes the owner of the sacrifice bringing the offering, but the priests also have a role. The Gemara explains how this worked: The priest places his hands beneath the hands of the owner and waves the offering together withContinue reading “Menachot 61”

It’s pretty amazing that we’ve made it 60 pages into menachot without discussing HOW to present the meal offering until today. MISHNA: There are four categories of meal offerings: Those that require bringing near, a rite that requires the priests to carry the offering in their hands and bring it near the southwest corner ofContinue reading “Menachot 60”

On our daf today, the rabbis outline what sacrifices are offered with frankincense, with oil, with both, and with neither. MISHNA: There are four types of meal offerings: Those that require both oil and frankincense, those that require oil but not frankincense, those that require frankincense but not oil, and those that require neither frankincenseContinue reading “Menachot 59”

Our daf today teaches that you cannot bring offerings with leaven or with honey in them. There is one exception for both – the loaves of Shavuot and perhaps the first fruits may have honey (which can be derived from fruit) but only as a garnish – not the main sacrifice. So, the question isContinue reading “Menachot 58”

Once, when I was a kid, I took a big bite out of the raw chicken my mom had on the counter that was waiting to be seasoned. I didn’t get sick – but she almost did seeing me! It’s very important to cook your food, especially if it might have e-coli or bacteria. OnContinue reading “Menachot 57”

Today’s gem focuses on the ancient practice of bloodletting. In particular – the bloodletting of animals! The Sages taught in a baraita (Tosefta, Bekhorot 3:6): In the case of an unblemished firstborn kosher animal whose blood circulation is constricted, a condition that can be healed only through bloodletting, one may let the animal’s blood byContinue reading “Menachot 56”