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Menachos 25a

מנחות כ״ה ע״א

Menachot 25a

Learn Menachos 25a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Menachos 25a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Which sin the ציץ covers: why טומאה and not יוצא, the left hand, or a בעל מום, and how impure blood is accepted.

Overview

The משנה rules that if the קומץ of a מנחה became טמא and was offered anyway, the ציץ makes the offering acceptable. If the קומץ went out of its area (יוצא), the ציץ does not help. A ברייתא reads the פסוק "ונשא אהרן את עון הקדשים" and rules out פיגול and נותר, so the sin the ציץ carries must be טומאה, which is allowed for the ציבור. רבי זירא asks why it is not יוצא, which is allowed on a במה. אביי answers that the פסוק says "לפני ה׳", so the sin has to be one allowed inside the מקדש. רבי אילעא suggests the left hand, which is used on יום הכפורים. אביי answers that there the left hand is the proper way, so no sin is pushed aside. רב אשי answers that the ציץ covers a flaw in the offering, not a mistake by the person. רב סימא suggests a בעל מום, since blemishes are allowed for birds, but רב אשי shows that the תורה says a בעל מום is never accepted. Finally, a ברייתא rules that impure blood sprinkled by mistake is accepted for an individual, while a communal offering is accepted either way. It starts on the rule for a גוי, which continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

מַתְנִי׳ נִטְמָא הַקּוֹמֶץ וְהִקְרִיבוֹ

MISHNA: If the handful became impure and he offered it,

הַצִּיץ מְרַצֶּה

the frontplate makes it acceptable.

יָצָא וְהִקְרִיבוֹ

If it went out and he offered it,

אֵין הַצִּיץ מְרַצֶּה

the frontplate does not make it acceptable,

The steps (12)

  1. StatementThe ציץ helps for a טמא קומץ but not for one that went out
  2. QuestionWhich sin does the frontplate carry?
  3. ResponseThe frontplate carries the sin of impurity
  4. Challengeרבי זירא: why not say the sin of going out?
  5. Resolutionאביי: the ציץ only covers a sin that is allowed 'before ה׳'
  6. Challengeרבי אילעא: maybe the ציץ covers service done with the left hand
  7. Resolutionאביי: on יום הכפורים the left hand is the proper way, not a sin pushed aside
  8. Resolutionרב אשי: the ציץ covers a flaw in the offering, not in the person
  9. ChallengeMaybe the ציץ covers a blemished animal
  10. ResolutionThe פסוק says a blemished animal is never accepted
  11. StatementBlood that became impure: by mistake it works, on purpose it does not
  12. StatementCommunal and גוי offerings follow different rules