This chapter discussed mitzvot and offerings with regard to which the failure to fulfill one component does not prevent one from fulfilling another component. The beginning of the chapter dealt with the white and sky-blue strings of ritual fringes. The mishna explains that each of these two components can be fulfilled independently, and if one does not have sky-blue strings he can still fulfill the mitzva of wearing white strings. The Gemara then expanded the discussion to address in depth the topic of sky-blue wool. This discussion included clarification of how the sky-blue dye is produced and how the sky-blue strings are tied onto a garment. The Gemara also engaged in a more general discussion concerning ritual fringes, including the relationship between the corners of the garment and the strings, as well as the size and other characteristics that determine whether a garment is required to have ritual fringes. The Gemara also cited homiletical expositions emphasizing the importance of the mitzva and its meaning. This chapter contains the primary discussion of the mitzva of ritual fringes in the Talmud, and serves as the source for most of the halakhot of ritual fringes. The chapter then discussed various offerings that are interconnected, and clarified when the lack of one prevents the sacrifice of the other and when it does not. In many instances, one may sacrifice an offering even though one is not able to sacrifice a related offering. This is true not only of different offerings brought on the same day, e.g., the daily offerings and the additional offerings, but even of components of the same offering. It is possible to sacrifice one of the animals required for the additional offering if the others are not available. There are some additional offerings where each individual component prevents the fulfillment of the mitzva with the others. This is true of the additional offerings of Sukkot and the offerings of Shavuot mentioned in Leviticus, chapter 23. This chapter also contained an extensive discussion of the two loaves of Shavuot and the communal peace offering of two sheep that accompanies them. The Gemara explores the question of their interdependence and the nature of their relationship. The daily offering, the incense, and the griddle-cake offering of the High Priest are all sacrificed in two halves, half in the morning and half in the afternoon. In all these cases, if the morning offering was not sacrificed, the afternoon offering may still be sacrificed. An exception to this is the case where the service of a new altar had not yet been initiated, as it must be initiated by means of the daily offering of the morning. There is a unique requirement in the case of the griddle-cake offering of the High Priest, which is that he must bring the entire offering at one time and then divide it in half. Therefore, if the High Priest sacrificed the morning component of his griddle-cake offering, and he then died and a replacement was appointed, the new High Priest must bring another complete offering in the afternoon and sacrifice half of it. The Gemara tangentially delved into the topic of this unusual offering, which, on the one hand, is an offering incumbent on an individual, the High Priest, and on the other hand is part of the fixed communal Temple service. These were the main topics discussed in this chapter. Other topics that were discussed tangentially include the apparent contradictions between the verses in Ezekiel and the Torah concerning the Temple service; whether the court instructs people to sin in order to achieve a greater religious gain; and priorities among offerings depending on their relative sanctity and frequency.

Tractate Menaḥot discusses the halakhot of various offerings, specifically those that are brought from grain, i.e., wheat or barley, as well as the libations of oil and wine sacrificed in the Temple. Menaḥot therefore complements tractate Zevaḥim, which examines the halakhot of offerings brought from livestock or birds, and there are many parallels between the two tractates. Just as there are various types of animal and bird offerings, so too, there are several types of meal offerings: Voluntary meal offerings, obligatory meal offerings, meal offerings brought as atonement for a transgression, individual meal offerings, and communal meal offerings. Similarly, just like animal offerings, there are portions of the meal offerings that are burned on the altar and other portions consumed by the priests. But whereas animal offerings are divided into two categories: Offerings of lesser sanctity and offerings of the most sacred order, all meal offerings are classified as offerings of the most sacred order. Accordingly, their consumption is permitted only to male members of the priesthood, and they may be eaten only inside the Temple courtyard. Perhaps most importantly, the four sacrificial rites performed during the service of a meal offering parallel the four rites performed with an animal offering. In other words, the removal of a handful from the meal offering, the sanctification of that handful in a service vessel, its conveyance to the altar, and the burning of the handful on the altar parallel, respectively, the slaughter of an animal offering, the collection of its blood, the conveyance of that blood to the altar, and the presentation of the blood on the altar. Additionally, just as the presentation of the blood of an offering renders the remainder of that offering permitted for consumption by the priests or for sacrifice on the altar, so too, the burning of the handful on the altar renders the remainder of the meal offering permitted to the priests for consumption. Furthermore, just as the improper performance of one of the rites of an animal offering, or improper intent during one of these rites, disqualifies the offering, so too, meal offerings are disqualified through improper performance of one of their rites or improper intent during one of them. There are also certain differences between meal offerings and animal offerings. Whereas an animal offering is fit for slaughter in its natural state, a meal offering must be prepared before it can be brought as an offering. Additionally, an animal offering is a single body, i.e., the animal itself, whereas a meal offering comprises several elements, namely, the flour, oil, and frankincense. Together, tractates Zevaḥim and Menaḥot provide an extensive analysis of the sacrificial rites of all offerings sacrificed in the Temple. It is worth noting that the latter part of Menaḥot deals with halakhot applying to all sacrificial offerings. The tractate also concludes with a celebrated general statement: It is written with regard to an animal burnt offering: “An offering made by fire, of a pleasing aroma” (Leviticus 1:9), and with regard to a bird burnt offering: “An offering made by fire, of a pleasing aroma” (Leviticus 1:17), and also with regard to a meal offering: “An offering made by fire, of a pleasing aroma” (Leviticus 2:2). This teaches that one who brings an expensive offering and one who brings a less expensive offering are equal before God, provided that they direct their hearts toward Heaven. There are many ways to categorize the various types of meal offerings. One can distinguish between meal offerings that are voluntary, those that are obligatory, and those that are brought as atonement for a transgression. One can also differentiate between individual meal offerings and communal ones, or between meal offerings that are brought as independent offerings and those that are brought in conjunction with slaughtered offerings. Furthermore, one can distinguish between meal offerings based on their contents, as some are brought from wheat while others are brought from barley, and some contain oil and frankincense, whereas others contain only one of these ingredients or even neither. Meal offerings can also be classified by the manner of their preparation: Some are sacrificed as a raw mixture of flour and oil, while others are baked or fried before they are sacrificed. Of these, most meal offerings are baked or fried to form unleavened bread, while a minority of them are prepared as leavened bread. Additionally, most meal offerings undergo the sacrificial rite of the removal of a handful, which is the only part of the offering that is sacrificed upon the altar. Some meal offerings are burned in their entirety upon the altar without the removal of a handful. In total, there are fifteen different types of meal offerings: Eleven are meal offerings brought by an individual, three are communal offerings, and the last includes all meal offerings that accompany the libations brought with slaughtered offerings. With regard to this last type, there is no distinction between the individual and the community. Of the eleven types of individual meal offerings, five are voluntary offerings, described in the Torah according to their manner of preparation (see Leviticus 2:1–10): A meal offering of flour, a meal offering of loaves, a meal offering of wafers, a meal offering prepared in a pan, and a meal offering prepared in a deep pan. The remaining six are the meal offering of a sinner, brought by one who is obligated to bring a sliding-scale offering and cannot afford to bring an animal or bird (see Leviticus 5:11–13); the meal offering of jealousy, brought by a sota (see Numbers 5:25); the inaugural meal offering, brought by all priests when they begin their service in the Temple (see Leviticus 6:13); the griddle-cake offering of the High Priest, brought daily by the High Priest, half of which is sacrificed in the morning and the other half of which is sacrificed in the afternoon (see Leviticus 6:15); the loaves brought with a thanks offering (see Leviticus 7:12–14); and the loaves of a nazirite, sacrificed by a nazirite together with the offerings he must bring at the completion of his naziriteship (see Numbers 6:14). There are three types of communal meal offerings: The omer meal offering (see Leviticus 23:10–11), the two loaves of bread brought on Shavuot (see Leviticus 23:17), and the shewbread, placed every Shabbat on the Table inside the Sanctuary (see Leviticus 24:5–8). The halakhot of the bread sacrificed with the inaugural ram offerings brought by Aaron and his sons when they were anointed as priests (see Leviticus, chapter 8) are also discussed in this tractate. Tractate Menaḥot also contains halakhic deliberations concerning topics not directly related to meal offerings, which are nevertheless examined at length due to their mention in the mishnayot. In fact, the overwhelming majority of halakhot and aggadic literature pertaining to the mitzvot of ritual fringes, phylacteries, and mezuza are found in Menaḥot. There are additional discussions relating to these topics dispersed throughout the rest of the Talmud, but the main analyses of the commentaries and rabbinic authorities on these topics are based on the passages in this tractate. In all, tractate Menaḥot has thirteen chapters, the final nine of which appear in this volume. Some chapters focus on a single topic, while others deal with multiple issues. Chapter Five describes the methods of preparation of the various types of meal offerings. Chapter Six extensively analyzes the halakhot pertaining to the omer meal offering. The chapter discusses the proper manner of harvesting and preparing the grain used for the omer as well as the permissibility of consuming the new crop after the sacrifice of the omer meal offering. The Gemara also cites many of the Sages’ proofs that the omer must be sacrificed on the sixteenth of Nisan. Some halakhot relating to the two loaves of bread sacrificed from the new crop on Shavuot are examined as well. Chapter Seven continues the discussion with regard to the preparation and sacrifice of the various meal offerings. Chapter Eight addresses the various halakhot of the thanks offering. The topics discussed include the different types of bread, i.e., meal offerings, brought with the thanks offerings, as well as the relationship between the thanks offering, which is a slaughtered animal, and the loaves sacrificed with it, e.g., if and when a disqualification occurring with regard to one of them disqualifies the other. The halakhot of the offspring of a thanks offering and the substitute of a thanks offering are dealt with here as well. Chapter Nine describes the optimal locations from which grain should be harvested for use in communal meal offerings, as well as the locations producing the best oil and wine. The methods for producing the best crop are also listed here, as well as those instances in which only the very finest produce would be used for an offering. Chapter Ten addresses many topics, including which vessels were used for measuring and the manner of taking proper measurements, the responsibility of those providing the materials for offerings, and some of the halakhot of the requirement to place one’s hands upon an offering before its slaughter. Chapter Eleven discusses in part the two loaves of bread that were prepared from the new crop and sacrificed on Shavuot. The majority of the chapter concerns the shewbread, from the manner of its preparation to its consumption by the priests. Chapter Twelve presents as its central topic the halakhot pertaining to the redemption of all items of sanctity, and the details of the consecration of meal offerings. Finally, Chapter Thirteen discusses those terminologies that can be used to effect a vow, and sets guidelines for their interpretation and the obligations they incur.