Menachos 97b

מנחות צ״ז ע״ב

Menachot 97b

Learn Menachos 97b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Menachos 97b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Which measurements of the מזבח in יחזקאל's פסוק use the small five-handbreadth cubit, tested against the red line, the משנה in מדות, and the size of the עזרה.

Overview

The גמרא finishes a פסוק in יחזקאל about the מזבח and matches each phrase to a part of it: the יסוד, the סובב, the קרנות, and the מזבח הזהב. רבי מאיר and רבי יהודה both learn from the word 'זה'. רבי מאיר says only the מזבח הזהב uses the small five-handbreadth cubit, and רבי יהודה says all the כלים do. The גמרא then asks which measurements of the outer מזבח use the small cubit. A first idea, that the height from the יסוד to the סובב uses small cubits, fails. It would put the blood of an עולת העוף below the red line. A second idea, that the three insets (כניסה) use small cubits, fixes the height. But it clashes with the round widths in the משנה in מדות, and 'לא דק' cannot explain the 24 by 24 area of the מערכה, which a פסוק fixes exactly. Saying that six of the base's cubits were short also fails, because the courtyard's 187 cubits would no longer add up. So the גמרא begins a new reading: 'חיק האמה' is the height of the יסוד and 'אמה רחב' is an inset, and the reading continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (20)

1. StatementExplaining each phrase of the altar verse
2. Statementרבי מאיר and רבי יהודה read 'this' differently
3. StatementA first suggestion: the base to the ledge uses small cubits
4. ChallengeWorking out the altar's height under this suggestion
5. ChallengeAdding up the altar's height and finding the middle
6. ChallengeThe bird offering's blood would end up below the red line
7. ResolutionThe verse describes setbacks, not heights
8. ResolutionWith the new reading, the numbers work out
9. QuestionRestating the new reading before testing it
10. ChallengeThe משנה says the second level is exactly 30 by 30
11. ChallengeThe סובב level should be 28 cubits and 4 handbreadths
12. ChallengeThe corners make the leftover handbreadths add up to a full cubit
13. ChallengeIt should be twenty-seven
14. ResolutionThe משנה was not exact
15. ChallengeThe wood area should then be twenty-five
16. ChallengeA פסוק confirms that 24 is exact
17. ResolutionMaybe six of the base's cubits were short cubits
18. RejectionThen the courtyard would have an extra cubit
19. ProofThe courtyard's measurements add up exactly with a 32-cubit מזבח
20. ResolutionA new reading of the words in the פסוק