Menachos 65
Summary
- Today’s דף is מנחות דף סה, with the שיעור sponsored לזכות רפואה שלימה for נאוה גבריאלה בת נעמי טובה, and the learning is a זכות for her רפואה שלימה בעזרת השם. The text presents מרדכי’s unusual brilliance in decoding ambiguous language about קינין and identifies him as פתחיה and as מרדכי בלשן, then moves to the משנה describing the highly public, repetitive ceremony of קצירת העומר designed to demonstrate that *mimacharat haShabbat* means the day after the first day of פסח and not Sunday. The גמרא continues by framing this as a dispute with the בייתוסים and צדוקים, cites sources from מגילת תענית about celebratory days in ניסן tied to establishing the תמיד and fixing שבועות, and brings multiple תנאיים’ proofs that ספירת העומר and עצרת are set by the calendar day after יום טוב and not by the weekly שבת.
- Today's דף is מנחות דף סה, and today's שיעור is sponsored לזכות רפואה שלימה for נאוה גבריאלה בת נעמי טובה, with the learning serving as a זכות for her רפואה שלימה בעזרת השם. The learning is positioned on דף סד עמוד ב at the first wide line, continuing the theme of מרדכי’s ability to unravel statements that appear like riddles to others, and then transitioning to the משנה on דף סה עמוד א about the fanfare of קצירת העומר meant to refute the בייתוסים’ reading of *mimacharat haShabbat*.
- Three women bring three קינין, with one saying *le-zivati*, one saying *le-yamati*, and one saying *le-onati*, and the assumption is that all refer to types or stages of זיבה requiring one חטאת and one עולה. Mordechai proposes instead that each phrase refers to a סכנה, meaning a dangerous situation survived, so each קן is a נדבה of עולות only: *le-zivati* means a dangerous hemorrhaging, *le-yamati* means danger at the sea, and *le-onati* means danger involving the eye. The investigation confirms Mordechai’s reading, and this supports the משנה’s identification that פתחיה על הקינין is Mordechai, called פתחיה because he “opens” matters, expounds them, and knows seventy languages.
- The מפרשים cited, including the ברטנורא and the תיקון חדש on משניות שקלים, explain that the ממונה על הקינין must be exceptionally wise because of the complex accounting when birds move between groups, making the computations extremely challenging. The third פרק of מסכת אבות states that קינים הם גופי תורה, and the text states that there are very few experts today in מסכת קינים because it is not easy and requires intensive, often mathematically oriented mastery.
- The גמרא challenges the uniqueness of knowing seventy languages by stating that all members of the סנהדרין must know seventy languages, citing רבי יוחנן that only בעלי חכמה, בעלי מראה, בעלי קומה, בעלי זקנה, בעלי כשפים, and those knowing seventy languages may sit so that the court does not rely on a תורגמן. The גמרא answers that Mordechai’s distinction is that he is *balul leshoni*, able to detect blended languages within one phrase, and it reads the פסוק in נחמיה as identifying “מרדכי בלשן” as one person, with בלשן as Mordechai’s descriptor.
- The בן יהוידע explains that “בעלי חכמה” is not merely חכמת התורה, which is assumed, but includes proficiency in other wisdoms. The רמב"ם in הלכות סנהדרין פרק ב requires judges to be “מופלגים בחכמת התורה” and also to know some other חכמות such as רפואות, חשבון, תקופות ומזלות, and אצטגנינות. The רדב"ז explains that medical knowledge is needed to evaluate cases such as whether a medication caused death and to determine when חילול שבת for medicine is warranted for a חולה שיש בו סכנה, distinguishing natural medicine from a רפואה סגולה that is not בדוק ומנוסה, and other אחרונים emphasize the need to assess סכנה states reliably.
- Rashi explains “בעלי כשפים” as needed to counteract a defendant’s sorcery so בית דין can carry out punishment and to expose practitioners, while רב יעקב עמדין rejects the idea that judges practice sorcery and instead frames it as knowledge used to nullify its effects. Tosafos, citing פירוש רב האי גאון, states the purpose is to know the דין by distinguishing עושה מעשה, which is liable, from אחיזת עיניים, which is exempt, and it cites רב אלעזר learning “שלש מאות הלכות בנטיעת קישואין” to support that such knowledge is necessary “להבין ולהורות.”
- The text contrasts Rashi’s explanations of “שלא תהא סנהדרין שומעת מפי התורגמן,” with one view emphasizing not hearing the עדים through a translator and another emphasizing not distorting the litigants’ claims. The רמב"ם in הלכות סנהדרין פרק כ"א rules that a judge should not hear via a translator unless he understands the language of the בעלי דינים and hears their claims directly, and the ר"ן supports this by citing a case in מכות דף ו involving two foreign-language litigants before רבא where a translator was used, showing the principle applies beyond witnesses. The text frames this as a מחלוקת ראשונים about whether the requirement extends from עדים to include בעלי דין as well.
- The מהרש"א argues that if “בלשן” were a separate person after Mordechai, Mordechai’s prominence as “גדול ליהודים” would place him earlier in the list, implying instead that “בלשן” describes Mordechai. The text notes that תוספות previously indicate it is not simple to assume this Mordechai is the Mordechai of the מגילה because that would require an extremely long lifespan.
- The משנה describes that שלוחי בית דין go out ערב יום טוב and make bundles while the grain is still attached to the ground so it will be easier to reap, and the nearby towns gather so the harvesting occurs “בעסק גדול.” After dark they repeatedly ask formal questions—“בא השמש,” “מגל זו,” “קופה זו,” and on שבת “שבת זו”—and the crowd answers “הין,” while on “אקצור” they respond “קצור,” with repetition “שלוש פעמים על כל דבר ודבר” and responses “הין, הין, הין.” The משנה states the reason is “מפני הבייתוסים” who claim that קצירת העומר is not on מוצאי יום טוב but rather on Sunday, and the text explains this is meant to show *mimacharat haShabbat* means the day after the first day of פסח and that שבועות is not fixed to Sunday.
- The תרגום יונתן בן עוזיאל on מגילת רות states that רות ונעמי came to בית לחם on ערב פסח and that בית דין began קצירת העומר then, which the text presents as difficult because no one holds that harvesting is done on ערב פסח. The ליקוטי המאירי resolves this by applying it to the preparatory step of making bundles in advance “כדי שיהא נוח לקצור,” and the text connects this with an earlier debate about whether having three harvesters was for publicity against the בייתוסים or simply to speed the process, noting the רמב"ם’s פירוש המשניות ties the three harvesters to efficiency.
- Rashi states the עומר is reaped “בהמולה גדולה” so the בייתוסים will see it is done on מוצאי יום טוב, and the text reads “כל כך למה? מפני הבייתוסים” as applying to the whole ceremony. ספר החינוך (מצווה ש"ב) says the public celebration causes people to focus on דבר ה' מתוך המעשה והשמחה and fulfills ברוב עם הדרת מלך. The אמרי אמת cites a מדרש about towns gathering in the days of רות ונעמי as support for the חינוך’s reason, arguing this cannot be solely against the בייתוסים because they did not exist then.
- The text raises a difficulty on Rashi from the מדרש’s depiction of this practice in the era of רות ונעמי and offers a resolution based on מהר"ץ חיות. The מהר"ץ חיות explains, regarding a תקנה “מן העולם ועד העולם” attributed to עזרא despite צדוקים arising later, that אפיקורסות existed even before formal movements formed, so enactments could target beliefs present in individuals before becoming organized sects. The text applies this model to explain how public enactments could predate the later organized בייתוסים.
- The text cites ראשונים including ספר הישר, תמים דעים, and the רא"ש in נדרים as grounding the thrice-recited כל נדרי in the principle that דברי חכמים משולשים, with the repeated questions of “מגל זו” as an example. The ברטנורא is cited that תרומת הלשכה and elements of שריפת הפרה also involve triple declaration, and the חיד"א is cited recommending saying כל חמירא three times on ערב פסח as an emphasis pattern.
- The חתם סופר (שו"ת אורח חיים סימן קמ"א) asks why the בייתוסים were willing to fight so intensely that שבועות must fall on Sunday and explains that the underlying issue is whether שבועות functions as a holiday for מתן תורה, which is not explicit in the פסוקים. The explanation states that if שבועות floats by Sundays rather than aligning with the fiftieth day after יציאת מצרים, it would not necessarily coincide with מתן תורה, undermining the basis for celebrating it as such. The text ties this to the idea of כפה עליהם הר כגיגית from שבת דף פ"ח and presents the approach that coercion applied to תורה שבעל פה, while the צדוקים, denying תורה שבעל פה, would frame coercion as applying to תורה שבכתב and thus have no basis for celebrating מתן תורה.
- The גמרא cites a list of days not to fast and some not even to eulogize, and the text explains that an איסור הספד implies at least an איסור תענית. רב שלמה קלוגר (תשובות האלף לך שלמה אורח חיים סימן נט) raises a difficulty from מגילה דף ה עמוד ב where “שמחה” teaches אסור בהספד and “משתה” teaches אסור בתענית, and he rules that a חתן and כלה during שבעת ימי המשתה may fast even though the days are days of שמחה. The cited list states that from ראש חודש ניסן through the eighth day, the תמיד is established and there is no הספד, and from the eighth day through the end of פסח, שבועות is established with at least an איסור תענית.
- The צדוקים claim that an individual may volunteer and bring the קרבן תמיד, deriving it from the singular wording “תעשה.” The response derives from “תשמרו” in “את קרבני לחמי לאשי תשמרו,” reading it as plural and concluding that all תמיד offerings come from the communal תרומת הלשכה.
- The text brings the משנה in מועד קטן דף ח that forbids eulogizing within thirty days before a festival and presents רב’s reason of an incident involving spending on professional eulogizers at the expense of עליה לרגל, and שמואל’s reason that the dead is not forgotten for thirty days and eulogies cause sadness that may carry into the festival. The ירושלמי distinguishes between a מת ישן and a מת חדש, allowing eulogies for a recent death, and the text notes that some understand the Bavli as disagreeing. The תשובות בית אפרים is cited as using מגילת תענית’s special early-ניסן ban on eulogies as evidence for the ירושלמי’s distinction, because otherwise a new enactment would be redundant under שמואל’s broad thirty-day rule.
- The בייתוסים claim that עצרת is always after שבת, and רבן יוחנן בן זכאי challenges them, with only one elder responding. That elder argues that משה רבינו, as an אוהב ישראל, fixed it after שבת so Israel would enjoy two days of rest because עצרת is only one day. רבן יוחנן בן זכאי counters with a verse about an eleven-day journey from חורב, arguing that if משה were acting purely from such love he would not have delayed Israel forty years, and Rashi characterizes this exchange as responding to nonsense with nonsense rather than engaging in full Torah argument.
- Rבן יוחנן בן זכאי states that a complete Torah answer comes from reconciling “תספרו חמישים יום” with “שבע שבתות תמימות תהיינה.” The reconciliation is that when יום טוב falls on שבת the count yields complete weeks, and when יום טוב falls באמצע שבת the count is fifty days without requiring alignment to full weeks, embedding the variability in the תורה’s own language.
- R' אלעזר derives from “תספור לך” that the counting depends on בית דין, which fits a calendar-based יום טוב but not the fixed weekly שבת. R' יהושע analogizes to ראש חודש as day-counting tied to an arrival that is recognizable, and he argues that if עצרת were always Sunday after שבת it would not be identifiable in a way tied to its fixed calendrical arrival. R' ישמעאל compares the עומר in פסח and שתי הלחם in עצרת as each being offered at “רגל ותחילת רגל,” making the עומר’s timing fit מוצאי יום טוב הראשון rather than a later Sunday. R' יהודה בן בתירה connects the two occurrences of “שבת” in the עומר and שתי הלחם passages to require a similar proximity to the festival’s beginning, treating יום טוב as “שבת” and anchoring the count to the day after יום טוב rather than the weekly שבת.
- The text states that additional proofs continue into tomorrow’s דף, building further the case that *mimacharat haShabbat* means the day after the first day of פסח and not Sunday.
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