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Today's Mishnah Yomi

Menachos 9:1 - 9:2

The Mishnah Yomi for Tuesday, September 30, 2025 is Menachos 9:1 - 9:2

Mishnah 1

Mishnayos Menachos Perek 9 Mishnah 1

מנחות פרק ט׳ משנה א׳

1
Two sizes of measuring vessels for dry substances were used in the Temple for measuring flour for the meal offerings. One held a tenth of an ephah and the other held one-half of a tenth of an ephah. Rabbi Meir says: There were three measuring vessels; one that held a tenth of an ephah, another one that also held a tenth of an ephah, and a third one that held one-half of a tenth of an ephah. What purpose did the tenth of an ephah measuring vessel serve? It was the vessel with which one would measure flour for all the meal offerings. One would not measure the flour by using a measuring vessel of a size that held the entire volume of flour required at once, i.e., neither with a vessel of three-tenths of an ephah for the meal offering accompanying the sacrifice of a bull, nor with a vessel of two-tenths of an ephah for the meal offering accompanying the sacrifice of a ram. Rather, one measures the flour for them by repeatedly using the tenth of an ephah measuring vessel to measure the required number of tenths. What purpose did the one-half of a tenth of an ephah measuring vessel serve? It was the vessel with which one would measure the flour for the High Priest’s griddle-cake offering. A tenth of an ephah was required each day; he sacrificed half of it in the morning and the other half of it in the afternoon.
שְׁתֵּי מִדּוֹת שֶׁל יָבֵשׁ הָיוּ בַמִּקְדָּשׁ, עִשָּׂרוֹן, וַחֲצִי עִשָּׂרוֹן. רַבִּי מֵאִיר אוֹמֵר, עִשָּׂרוֹן, עִשָּׂרוֹן, וַחֲצִי עִשָּׂרוֹן. עִשָּׂרוֹן מֶה הָיָה מְשַׁמֵּשׁ, שֶׁבּוֹ הָיָה מוֹדֵד לְכָל הַמְּנָחוֹת. לֹא הָיָה מוֹדֵד, לֹא בְשֶׁל שְׁלשָׁה לְפַר, וְלֹא בְשֶׁל שְׁנַיִם לְאַיִל, אֶלָּא מוֹדְדָן עֶשְׂרוֹנוֹת. חֲצִי עִשָּׂרוֹן מֶה הָיָה מְשַׁמֵּשׁ, שֶׁבּוֹ הָיָה מוֹדֵד חֲבִתֵּי כֹהֵן גָּדוֹל, מֶחֱצָה בַּבֹּקֶר וּמֶחֱצָה בֵּין הָעַרְבָּיִם:
א׳

שתי מידות. עשרון עשרון וחצי עשרון (see Tractate Menahot, Chapter 9, Mishnah 5) – there were two measures of an Issaron/Omer (1/10th of an Ephah), one we measure it heaped/overflowing, that it was small and would not support anything other than an Issaron when it was heaped/overflowing, like the size/limit of its neighbor when it smooth/level. For Rabbi Meir learned it from Scripture as it is written (Numbers 28:29): “and one-tenth for each [of the seven lambs]/עשרון עשרון לכבש האחד [לשבעת הכבשים],” for there were two Issarons there, and if both of them were equivalent, it would be for them one measure. But one is smooth/level and the other is heaped/overflowing. That which is heaped/overflowing in it, he would measure for all of the meal-offerings, that which is smoothed/leveled in it, he would measure for the cakes of the High Priest, but the Sages state that there wasn’t there other than one Issaron, as it is written (Numbers 29:4): “and one-tenth for each of the seven lambsועשרון אחד לכבש האחד [לשבעת הכבשים] ,” and that this particular Issaron was smooth/level, and through it they would measure all of the meal-offerings. And the Halakha is according to the Sages.

לא בשל שלשה לפר – for the meal-offerings of libations of the bull as it is written concerning it (Numbers 28:12): “[As grain offering] for each bull: three-tenths of a measure [of choice flour with oil mixed in],” (and also Numbers 28:28 – though the text does not have ושלשה עשרנים but rather (שלשה עשרנים, they would not measure them with one measure for it holds three Esronim, for there was not a measure there that was larger than an Issaron.

אלא מודדן עשרונות each and every Issaron on its own.

הכי גרסינן, חצי עשרון מה היה משמש, שבו היה מודד לחביתי כהן גדול – and this is the explanation, for the baked cakes of the High Priest, he brings from his home a complete Issaron and they split it with half on half of an Issaron that is in the Temple, and he kneads each half-Issaron on its own, and makes from each half-Issaron six Hallot/loaves, which are for the two halves of the Issaron, twelve Hallot/loaves, and he bakes all of them together and afterwards he divides each Hallah/loaf in half and sacrifices twelve halves in the morning and twelve halves in the evening, but prior to his offering them, he crumbles them to olive-size piece, and doubles each crumble to two, and doesn’t separate them. But the opening of all of the rest of the meal-offerings even though their small pieces are like an olive, he doubles them into two and two into four and separates them as it is taught in the Mishnah (Tractate Menahot) chapter Six (Mishnah 4 – see also Chapter 4, Mishnah 5).

שתי מדות. עשרון עשרון וחצי עשרון. שתי מדות של עשרון היו, אחת מודדים אותה גדושה, שהיתה קטנה ולא היתה מחזקת כשהיא גדושה אלא עשרון, כשעור חברתה כשהיא מחוקה. דר׳ מאיר גמר מקרא דכתיב (במדבר כ״ח:כ״ט) עשרון עשרון לכבש האחד, דשתי עשרונות היו שם ואי שתיהן שוות הויא להו מדה אחת. אלא אחת מחוקה ואחת גדושה. גדושה שבה היה מודד לכל המנחות, מחוקה שבה היה מודד לחביתי כהן גדול, וחכמים אומרים לא היה שם אלא עשרון אחד דכתיב (שם כ״ט) ועשרון אחד לכבש האחד, ואותו עשרון מחוק היה, ובו היו מודדים לכל המנחות. והלכה כחכמים:

לא בשל שלשה לפר. למנחת נסכים של פר דכתיב ביה (שם כ״ח) ושלשה עשרונים לפר האחד, לא היו מודדן במדה אחת שתהא מחזקת שלשה עשרונים, שלא היתה שם מדה גדולה מעשרון:

אלא מודדן עשרונות. כל עשרון עשרון בפני עצמו:

הכי גרסינן, חצי עשרון מה היה משמש, שבו היה מודד לחביתי כהן גדול. והכי פירושא לחביתי כהן גדול, מביא מביתו עשרון שלם, וחוצהו בחצי עשרון שבמקדש, ולש כל חצי עשרון בפני עצמו, ועושה מכל חצי עשרון שש חלות, שהן לשני חצאי עשרון שתים עשרה חלות, ואופה כולן ביחד, ואח״כ מחלק כל חלה לשנים ומקריב שנים עשר חצאין בבוקר, ושנים עשר חצאין בערב, וקודם שיקריב פותת אותן לפתין כזית, וכופל כל פתיתה לשנים, ואינו מבדיל. אבל פתיתת כל שאר מנחות אע״פ שפתין שלהן כזית, כופל אותן לשנים ישנים לארבעה ומבדיל, כדתנן לעיל בפרק ו׳:

Mishnah 2

Mishnayos Menachos Perek 9 Mishnah 2

מנחות פרק ט׳ משנה ב׳

2
There were seven measuring vessels for liquids in the Temple. There was a vessel of one hin, i.e., twelve log. Three vessels were used to measure the oil and wine for the meal offerings and libations that accompanied the sacrifice of an animal. For a bull there was a vessel of one-half of a hin, i.e., six log; and for a ram there was one of one-third of a hin, i.e., four log; and for a lamb there was one of one-quarter of a hin, i.e., three log. In addition, there was a vessel that held one log to measure the oil for all standard meal offerings; and another one that held one-half of a log for measuring the water used in the rite of a woman suspected by her husband of having been unfaithful [sota] and also for the oil used in the loaves accompanying the thanks offering (see 88a); and another one that held one-quarter of a log for measuring the water used in the purification of a leper and also for the oil used in the wafers and loaves that the nazirite brings on the day that his term of naziriteship ends. Rabbi Eliezer, son of Rabbi Tzadok, says: It was not necessary to have several vessels of different sizes; rather, there were graduations [shenatot] on the vessel that held one hin indicating that until here is the quantity needed for the bull, and until here is the quantity needed for the ram, and until here is the quantity needed for the lamb. Rabbi Shimon says: There was no vessel there in the Temple that held one hin, as what purpose could a one-hin vessel serve? That volume of liquid was never used in an offering. Rather, there was an additional measuring vessel of one and a half log there, in the Temple, which completed the tally of seven vessels, with which one would measure the oil used for the griddle-cake meal offering of the High Priest; one and a half log were used in the morning and one and a half log in the afternoon.
שֶׁבַע מִדּוֹת שֶׁל לַח הָיוּ בַמִּקְדָּשׁ. הִין, וַחֲצִי הַהִין, וּשְׁלִישִׁית הַהִין, וּרְבִיעִית הַהִין, לֹג, וַחֲצִי לֹג, וּרְבִיעִית לֹג. רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר בַּר צָדוֹק אוֹמֵר, שְׁנָתוֹת הָיוּ בַהִין, עַד כָּאן לְפַר, עַד כָּאן לְאַיִל, עַד כָּאן לְכֶבֶשׂ. רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן אוֹמֵר, לֹא הָיָה שָׁם הִין, וְכִי מֶה הָיָה הַהִין מְשַׁמֵּשׁ. אֶלָּא מִדָּה יְתֵרָה שֶׁל לֹג וּמֶחֱצָה הָיְתָה, שֶׁבָּהּ הָיָה מוֹדֵד לְמִנְחַת כֹּהֵן גָּדוֹל, לֹג וּמֶחֱצָה בַּבֹּקֶר וְלֹג וּמֶחֱצָה בֵּין הָעַרְבָּיִם:
ב׳

שנתות היו בהין (notches/teeth-like marks – the Hin (12 logs or 72 egg-bulks) measure in the Temple had marks – see Tractate Menahot 87b) – there wasn’t there anything but a Hin, and in it there were signs of nails or notches.

עד כאן לפר – one-half of a Hin.

עד כאן לאיל – one-third of a Hin.

ועד כאן לכבש – one-quarter of a Hin. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Eliezer.

וכי מה היה ההין משמש – that there wasn’t in the Temple a thing that required a complete Hin, for after all, they had no need for the Hin other than for the anointing oil (see Exodus 30:24) in the days of Moses and that kind of oil still exists, and if so, they had no need for a Hin [measurement].

אלא מדה יתירה (but there was a further measure) – it was there to complete the seven measurements.

למנחת כהן גדול – there were for it three LOG of oil, a LOG and a half in the morning and a LOG and a half in the evening.

שנתות היו בהין. לא היה שם אלא הין, ובו היו סימנים מסמרות או פגימות:

עד כאן לפר. חצי ההין:

עד כאן לאיל. שלישית ההין:

ועד כאן לכבש. רביעית ההין. ואין הלכה כר׳ אליעזר:

וכי מה היה ההין משמש. שלא היה במקדש דבר שיהיה צריך להין שלם, שלעולם לא נצטרכו להין אלא בשמן המשחה בימי משה ואותו שמן עדיין הוא קיים ועומד, וא״כ לא היו צריכים להין:

אלא מדה יתירה. היתה שם להשלים השבע מדות:

למנחת כהן גדול. היו לה שלשה לוגין שמן, לוג ומחצה שחרית ולוג ומחצה בין הערביים:

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