Gemara Clarity

Menachos 65a

מנחות ס״ה ע״א

Menachot 65a

Learn Menachos 65a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Menachos 65a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

מרדכי as בלשן, the public עומר harvest ceremony, and the ניסן celebration days marking victories over the צדוקים and בייתוסים

Overview

The amud opens by finishing the discussion of מרדכי. A משנה calls him פתחיה because he 'opened up' hard topics and knew seventy languages. The גמרא objects that every judge of the סנהדרין knew seventy languages. It answers that מרדכי could mix languages together and interpret them, which is why he is called בלשן. Then a new משנה describes the עומר harvest. Court messengers tie the barley in advance, crowds gather, and at nightfall the messenger asks about the sunset, the sickle, the basket and שבת, three times each. The משנה explains that all this publicity was aimed against the בייתוסים, who denied reaping the עומר on the night after the first day of פסח. The גמרא brings a ברייתא about celebration days in ניסן, marking the victories over the צדוקים on the תמיד and over the בייתוסים on the date of שבועות. The amud ends with רבן יוחנן בן זכאי rejecting an old בייתוסי's weak reason with a פסוק, and the point of that פסוק is explained on the next amud.

Opening lines

וְהַיְינוּ דִּתְנַן:

And this is what we learned in a משנה:

פְּתַחְיָה עַל הַקִּינִּין

Petachya was in charge of the bird offerings

זֶה מָרְדֳּכַי,

this is Mordechai;

לָמָּה נִקְרָא שְׁמוֹ פְּתַחְיָה –

why was he called Petachya?

The steps (19)

  1. Proofמרדכי is called פתחיה because he knew seventy languages
  2. ChallengeBut every member of the סנהדרין knew seventy languages
  3. Resolutionמרדכי could mix languages together and interpret them
  4. StatementHow the עומר barley was prepared and harvested
  5. StatementAt nightfall the messenger asks the crowd questions
  6. StatementExtra questions when the reaping falls on שבת
  7. StatementEvery question is asked three times
  8. QuestionWhy is all this needed?
  9. ResponseBecause of the בייתוסים
  10. StatementDays in ניסן with no fasting or eulogizing
  11. StatementWhy 1 to 8 ניסן is a happy time: the תמיד was fixed
  12. QuestionWhat פסוק did the צדוקים use?
  13. ResponseThe צדוקים' פסוק: 'תעשה' in the singular
  14. QuestionHow did the חכמים answer them?
  15. ResponseThe חכמים' פסוק: 'תשמרו' in the plural
  16. StatementWhy 8 ניסן to the end of פסח: the date of שבועות was restored
  17. Challengeרבן יוחנן בן זכאי demands their source
  18. ResolutionAn old man's answer: משה wanted a two-day celebration
  19. Rejectionרבן יוחנן בן זכאי answers with a verse about the eleven-day journey