Menachos 2a

מנחות ב׳ ע״א

Menachot 2a

Learn Menachos 2a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Menachos 2a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

מנחות done שלא לשמן: valid but not counting for the owner, the exceptions of מנחת חוטא and מנחת קנאות, and why further deviation is forbidden

Overview

מסכת מנחות opens with a general rule. If a כהן removes the handful (קמיצה) from a מנחה while thinking of a different kind of מנחה (שלא לשמן), the offering is still כשרה, but the owner has not fulfilled his obligation. There are two exceptions, מנחת חוטא and מנחת קנאות. These become פסולות if any of the four main services is done שלא לשמן, even with mixed intentions in either order. The גמרא asks why the משנה says "אלא" ("but") instead of a simple "and". It answers that only the owner loses out: the מנחה itself stays כשרה, so it is forbidden to keep deviating in its remaining services. This matches רבא's ruling that after an עולה was slaughtered שלא לשמה, its blood may still not be sprinkled שלא לשמה. The גמרא supports this with a סברא: one deviation does not permit more. It also brings a פסוק, "מוצא שפתיך", which calls the offering both a נדר and a נדבה. This teaches that an offering not brought as vowed still stands as a valid נדבה.

Opening lines

The steps (11)

1. StatementMeal offerings done for the wrong purpose are still valid
2. StatementTwo meal offerings are excluded from the rule
3. StatementHow the two exceptions become disqualified
4. StatementWhat mixed intentions means
5. QuestionWhy does the משנה say "but" instead of "and"?
6. ResponseThe word 'but' teaches that the offering itself stays valid
7. ProofThis matches רבא's ruling about a burnt offering
8. ProofA logical reason: one mistake does not permit more
9. ProofA verse support: "what comes out of your lips"
10. ChallengeIs it a vow or a gift?
11. ResolutionIf not done as vowed, it becomes a gift offering