Menachos 70b

מנחות ע׳ ע״ב

Menachot 70b

Learn Menachos 70b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Menachos 70b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

The five grains: their source for חלה and מצה, how grain forms join together, and the timing of חדש and the עומר

Overview

The גמרא finishes naming the five grains and infers that rice and millet are not obligated in חלה. ריש לקיש learns this from a גזרה שוה on the word לחם, which links חלה to מצה. מצה itself must come from grain that can become חמץ, and rice and millet only rot. Next, a ברייתא says grain, flour and dough join together, and the אמוראים argue about which law this is for: חדש, חמץ on פסח, מעשר שני, or, according to רבא, food impurity, where only plain food joins. A ברייתא about shelled and unshelled barley supports רבא, and the גמרא settles a contradiction by splitting moist grain from dry grain. The גמרא then gives sources for why חדש and the ban on reaping before the עומר apply only to the five grains. רבי יונה and רבי יוסי בר זבדא argue whether 'before the עומר' means before its reaping or before its offering. The משנה's wording leads the גמרא to move their argument to the clause about grain that took root before the עומר. רבי אלעזר then begins a response that continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (26)

1. StatementNaming the grains in everyday language
2. StatementOnly these grains, not rice or millet
3. QuestionWhere do we learn this?
4. ResponseLearning חלה from מצה through the word 'bread'
5. QuestionHow do we know which grains count for מצה?
6. Responseמצה must come from grain that can become חמץ
7. StatementGrain, flour and dough join together
8. QuestionFor what law do they join?
9. ResponseThree answers: חדש, חמץ on פסח, and מעשר שני
10. Responseרבא: it is about food becoming impure
11. ProofSupport: unshelled barley does not join
12. ChallengeChallenge: seed in its shell counts as normal seed
13. ResolutionMoist grain versus dry grain
14. QuestionSource for the five-grain rule of חדש
15. Responseריש לקיש: 'bread' and 'bread' from מצה
16. QuestionSource for no reaping before the עומר
17. Responseרבי יוחנן: 'first' and 'first' from חלה
18. QuestionWhat does 'before the עומר' mean?
19. Responseרבי יונה: before the reaping of the עומר
20. Responseרבי יוסי בר זבדא: before the bringing of the עומר
21. ChallengeThe משנה's wording fits the view that the cutoff is bringing the עומר
22. ChallengeUnder the reaping view, the משנה should have combined the clauses
23. ResolutionThe argument was really about the משנה's later clause
24. QuestionWhat does 'before the עומר' mean in the later clause?
25. ResponseThe two opinions restated, with the names switched
26. Challengeרבי אלעזר begins to respond