Menakhot 2 an introduction to massekhet Menakhot.

 Today we begin massekhet Menakhot with daf 2 which deals with the flour or meal offering (minkha) that is described in the second chapter of Leviticus.

“When a person presents an offering of meal to YHVH: The offering shall be of choice flour; the offerer shall pour oil upon it, lay frankincense on it, and present it to Aaron’s sons, the priests. The priest shall scoop out of it a handful of its choice flour and oil, as well as all of its frankincense; and this token portion he shall turn into smoke on the altar, as an offering by fire, of pleasing odor to YHVH. And the remainder of the meal offering shall be for Aaron and his sons, a most holy portion from YHVH’s offerings by fire. When you present an offering of meal baked in the oven, [it shall be of] choice flour: unleavened cakes with oil mixed in, or unleavened wafers spread with oil. If your offering is a meal offering on a griddle, it shall be of choice flour with oil mixed in, unleavened. Break it into bits and pour oil on it; it is a meal offering. If your offering is a meal offering in a pan, it shall be made of choice flour in oil. When you present to YHVH a meal offering that is made in any of these ways, it shall be brought to the priest who shall take it up to the altar. The priest shall remove the token portion from the meal offering and turn it into smoke on the altar as an offering by fire, of pleasing odor to YHVH. And the remainder of the meal offering shall be for Aaron and his sons, a most holy portion from YHVH’s offerings by fire. No meal offering that you offer to YHVH shall be made with leaven, for no leaven or honey may be turned into smoke as an offering by fire to YHVH.” (Leviticus 2:1-11)

Massekhet Menakhot is a continuation of massekhet Zevakhim in terms of what is offered on the altar. In massekhet Zevakhim the sacrifice is an animal while in massekhet Menakhot the offering is a meal offering. Many of the laws concerning animal sacrifices also apply to meal offerings. Just as there are four important stages of an animal sacrifice, there are four parallel important stages of a meal offering. These four stages are: 1, קְמִיצָה (kemitza )- taking a fistful of flour; 2, נְתִינָה בְכָלִי שָרֵת - placing the flour in a second vessel to sanctify it; 3, הולָכָה - bringing it to the altar; 4, הַקְטָרָה- burning the offering on the altar.

The Mishnah begins “When one brings a meal offering to the Temple, the priest removes a handful from it, places the handful into a service vessel, conveys it to the altar, and burns it. At that point, the remainder is permitted to the priests for consumption and the owner has fulfilled his obligation. In this context, the mishna teaches: All the meal offerings from which a handful was removed not for their sake but for the sake of another meal offering are fit for sacrifice. But these offerings did not satisfy the obligation of the owner, who must therefore bring another offering. This is the halakha with regard to all meal offerings except for the meal offering of a sinner and the meal offering of jealousy, which is brought as part of the rite of a woman suspected by her husband of having been unfaithful [sota]. In those cases, if the priest removed the handful not for its own sake, the offering is disqualified.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Tosefot ד"ה  כׇּל הַמְנָחוֹת שֶנִקְמְצוּ שֶלֹא לִשְמָן  כְשֵירוֹת comments even though the Mishnah only mentions the kemitza, the law is the same for the other three important stages of the minkha sacrifice. They add that waving the minkha offering (תְנוּפָה) and bringing the first bowl containing the flour and touching it to the altar (הַרְגָשָה) do not invalidate the minkha even when the priests having a invalidating type of thought.

Just like with animal sacrifices, there are two different types of changes that effect the validity of a minkha offering. These two changes are: 1, שִׁינּוּי קֹדֶשׁ- changing one sub-category of a minkha offering to another; 2, שִינּוּי בְעָלִים -changing for whom the minkha is being offered. Tosefot ד"ה שֶלֹא לִשְמָן also comments that even though the Mishnah deals with changing one subcategory of a minkha offering to another, the same is true when it comes to changing for whom the minkha is being offered.