Talking Talmud

On the lehem ha-panim, the 12 loaves of the shewbread - what happened to this offering when the Israelites were traveling in the wilderness, and need to switch the loaves from shabbat-to-shabbat? Would the bread become invalidated through the moving? Also, a new mishnah on how the 2 loaves of Shavuot and the 12 loaves of the shewbread are the same in processing. Including what is consecrated and r...

Closing chapter 10: A new mishnah! On the ways that semichah (laying on of hands) is more stringent than the requirement of waving the animal parts, and the ways that the waving is more stringent than semichah. And a potential contradiction as to whether the laying on of hands was as limited as the mishnah makes it sound (with a very nice resolution, too). Opening chapter 11! With a new mishnah -...

Yesterday's mishnah raised the case of heirs bringing a sacrifice on behalf of someone who died before being able to offer it - and whether they would do the laying on of hands. Here, we are privy to a contradiction in the materials over whether they do it. Plus, another mishnah, with the list of all those who can, under the right circumstances, do the laying on of hands (semichah). Also, more...

On the requirement of "semicha" - the laying on of hands before slaughtering an animal, and how it's the subject of the first recorded debate in the Oral Law. Plus, the way the placing of hands is part of the process of offering the sacrifice, together with atonement. Also, which animals require that laying on of hands? It's not all of them - where a bull does require it, but the...

The Torah mentions offerings that are voluntary, and that theoretically could come to include a burn-offering, but the Torah also specifies the burnt-offering so that the details of accompaniment are also learned (for example, the libations). And we see the halakhic hermeneutical principles of deriving the general, the specific, and the general -- which concludes with a narrower application that o...

2 new mishnayot! 1: All the dry measures used for measuring in the Temple were expected to be heaping measures. But one of the liquid measures for a unique usage (the kohen's grain-offering) was explicitly larger to be used as a level measure. Plus, the question of whether the measuring vessels were consecrated on the inside and on the outside or only on the inside - and the ramifications of t...

It took 3.5 log of oil to light the menorah - half a log per cup (with 6 branches, plus the shamash). That's the precise amount of oil to burn through the night, but did they figure that out by using excess oil and working the amount down, or did they start with a little and keep adding until they made it through the night? Also, a new mishnah: where libations that accompany the animal sacrifi...

More on the measures of liquids - and how the "hin" measuring cup was made by Moses in the wilderness, and then it wasn't used. Plus, a new mishnah - on the quarter-log and its uses, including the ratios of oil to flour. Also, the measure for the menorah's cups, and the process of removing them to fill them.

A final mishnah for chapter 9: On sourcing the wine for libations in the Temple. With limitations on the practices that would damage or sour the wine. Also, the checked the wine for impurities. Plus, speech was understood to be detrimental for wine. And the first two mishnayot of chapter 10: Listing measuring vessels for dry goods, with 2 measures, and for wet, with 7 different measures.

On "shemen ha-mor" - the oil of myrrh, which a discussion of how Queen Esther beautified herself among the other girls in the beauty contest, until the king chose her to be queen. With the question of defining what this oil was used for (an anointing or a depilatory). Also, a new mishnah - with a focus on olives and the several harvests and various pressings of them, attesting to the var...

2 mishnayot! 1 - Which grain is not acceptable - in this case, specifically listed, but after the fact, the grain would be accepted if used. Plus, how one works the land to grow good grain - from sowing to plowing to timing. 2 - The olive trees in Tekoa were the main source of olive oil for the Temple. After that, the trees in Regev. And after that, any other olives were still kosher, as long as t...

Which barley is to be used for the omer offering? During a sabbatical/shemitah year, they couldn't plant, but they could collect the natural growth, which they did. That collection needed to be as for food, however, and not for fuel -- because shemitah produce could not be burned. But it wasn't quite burned either.... Also, a deep dive into "first fruits/bikkurim," and how they w...

On the sanctification of the many kinds of offerings, including the absorption into the sanctity. Plus, leading into the Pesach sacrifice, and when it might be invalidated as the korban Pesach, but still work as a peace-offering. Also, beginning chapter 9! Grain, oil, and wine, as used in the Temple service - from the new mishnah specifying where the grain can come from. The best grain, and from t...

The case of one who designates ma'aser sheni money towards a peace-offering, can that work? The Gemara delves into the level of sacredness of the various properties. Also, a new mishnah! One who takes an oath to bring a sacrifice... which leads us right into the Passover offering, in perfect timing. Really, on the question of what funds can be used to purchase the offering. Also, more on the p...

More on the mnemonic and exchanging a korban todah -- what if the exchange and the original are confused? And then what if one dies? The mnemonic addresses the possible solutions. Also, when one takes a vow to bring a thanksgiving offering must also bring the loaves. But what if the formulation of the vow shifts the focus? But what money can he use for the offering? Sacred or "regular?

What if something happens to the animal designated for the thanksgiving sacrifice? The animal part of the sacrifice is the more significant part, where the loaves are ancillary to the offering. To the extent that even if the loaves were specifically designated, the loss is not considered too problematic. What if the loaves were designated first? Plus, back-up animals for the thanksgiving animals,...

A new mishnah - from the bottom of daf 78: What happens to the thanksgiving offering when there's an issue with the grain-offering part of it -- as compared to the animal part of it? Plus, the connection to the inauguration of Aaron and his sons as kohanim. With a focus on a dispute revolving around a blemished animal vs. the incorrect location for slaughtering, as issues that interfere. But is th...

A new mishnah - with a new discussion of a korban: miluim, the inaugural grain-offerings that were brought by Aaron and his sons. A second mishnah - when the kohen slaughters the thanksgiving offering in the proper place in the Temple courtyard, and the accompanying loaves were brought outside the place - with some dispute as to where that was - which means they were not consecrated.

Chapter 8, focusing on the korban todah, the thanksgiving offering - with a new mishnah. The amount of flour used for this grain-offering was 5 "Jerusalem se'ah" (or 6 "wilderness se'ah"). With all the concomitant conversions. Where the number of se'ah are then assessed for an eiphah, as measured in tenths of an eiphah. Plus, a discussion of the flour for the leaven...

2 mishnayot: 1 - All of the grain-offerings require 500 "rubbings" (between hands) and 300 "poundings" (in kneading, for example). With clear heritage of the knowledge, though it has essentially been lost now. 2- The measure of barley of the omer: one-tenth of a se'ah of barley - and the amounts of flour required for not only the omer, but also other grain-offerings. Includ...

More on the use of oil in the grain-offerings, whether mixing, or smearing, etc. Note the different ways of applying the oil. Plus, a tiny new mishnah: regarding breaking the grain-offering into pieces. And then doused (to some degree) with oil. Note the distinction between the oven vs. cooking on a flame. The Gemara introduces a beraita with the breaking of the product that is to be the grain-off...

A couple of addenda - about the grasshoppers as reapers of the field, and the impossibility of the 16th of Nisan falling out on Shabbat nowadays. Also - for the grain-offering brought by the "sinner" - with the details of what must be in place for this offering to count for the sinner's atonement. Also, 2 new mishnayot: 1 - grain-offerings that are completely burned on the altar, wit...

A new chapter! With a breakdown of the specific various grain-offerings, with an initial focus on the different ways a grain-offering could be prepared. With a question as to whether the variety could be brought together to complete a dedication of an offering. With a focus on the impact of the nature of the way the offering is prepared. Also, voluntary offerings that are usually understood to be...

A daf that covers a range of topics at the end of chapter 5: harvesting a crop for the sake of clearing out the area, rather than for the sake of the harvest... The omer is, of course, supposed to be brought from the standing grain - barley, that is. The Gemara then lists several "less than ideal" ways of offering the omer, all of which are included in the Torah's verse - "you w...

Exclusions when it comes to harvesting the omer and bringing the offering - including an irrigated field, not fully ripe grain. The offering should come from standing grain, unless there's none to be found. Plus, what happens with fields that are "trimmed" via natural means, such as grasshoppers. Plus, making sense of Rabbi Meir's approach vs. Rabbi Shimon's approach.