Menachos 85
Summary
- The text opens with sponsorship לעילוי נשמת מרס מרים בת יעקב משה and continues מסכת מנחות דף פ"ה with a new משנה about producing superior flour for מנחות and the rules that exclude inferior sources לכתחילה while validating them בדיעבד. It explains the ideal agricultural preparation, the גזבר’s practical test for over-fine dust, and the פסול of worm infestation, then follows the גמרא’s effort to reconcile the משנה with a ברייתא about repeated plowing and field conditions and to identify the best sun-exposed southern fields for the עומר. It moves to unresolved questions about defining “majority” worminess and whether הקדשה of פסולים triggers מלקות משום בעל מום, extends that ספק to wormy wood, and then transitions to a new משנה about top-quality olive oil sources, exclusions, and פסולים. It concludes with רבי יוחנן’s link between תקוע and wisdom through olive oil and a narrative about the extraordinary oil wealth in אשר’s territory fulfilling וטובל בשמן רגלו.
- The text states that today’s מסכת מנחות דף פ"ה is sponsored לעילוי נשמת מרס מרים בת יעקב משה and expresses that her נשמה should have an עליה. The learning begins near the top with the brand new משנה and continues the topic of flour for מנחות.
- The משנה states אין מביאין לא מבית הזבלים ולא מבית השלחין ולא מבית האילן because grain from fertilized fields, irrigated fields, or tree-filled areas is inferior. The text explains that בית הזבלים needs fertilizer, בית השלחין needs watering beyond rain, and בית האילן contains trees, and the bottom line is inferior grain. The משנה rules that if such flour was brought, אם הביא כשר, it is כשר בדיעבד.
- The text presents the לכתחילה process: ניר שנה ראשונה and then in the second year זורע קודם לפסח שבעים יום, producing סולת מרובה. The text states that proper sifting removes chaff and also removes אבק because flour dust is too fine and not considered good quality. The משנה’s test is that the גזבר מכניס ידו לתוכן, and if עלה בה אבק the flour is פסולה עד שינפנה. The משנה also rules that התליעה makes it פסולה.
- The גמרא asks how to understand ניר שנה ראשונה, whether the second year requires plowing again before planting or whether it is planted without an additional plowing. A ברייתא is brought in which רבי יוסי says that wheat from כרזיים and כפר אחים would be used if they were close to ירושלים, clarifying אלמלי with a יוד meaning “if they were close.” The ברייתא states that the עומר comes only from southern fields that are plowed for this purpose, where the sun shines and sets, and it describes the process as שניה חורש ושונה וזורע קודם לפסח שבעים יום so it should be close to the חמה and yield specific stalk and ear measurements.
- The גמרא challenges the proof because משנתנו does not say שונה while the ברייתא does, implying a discrepancy. The גמרא answers לא קשיא with a distinction between a field that was previously worked and one that was not, assigning the simpler regimen to the worked field and the repeated plowing to unworked ground. The גמרא then brings a further ברייתא of נר חציה וזרע חציה repeated, describing a method of plowing the whole field and planting only half, alternating halves by year to preserve strength and produce the best crop. רבי יוחנן says אין מביאין את העומר אלא מן השדות המדומס שבארץ ישראל where the sun shines and sets, and אבא שאול reports that the עומר came from בקעת בית מקלה, about the size of three סאין, with the same half-and-half cycle.
- The text tells of חלקיה בר טובי who had a corner of land and practiced נר חציה וזרע חציה repeatedly, resulting in a double yield. The text says he sold the wheat for סמידה, the finest flour, and treats this as evidence that this is the best method for top-quality produce.
- A ברייתא states סולת שהסליעה רובה פסולה and חיטין שהסליעו רובן פסולות. רבי אמי asks whether “majority” means ברוב חיטה or ברוב סאה, and the גמרא concludes תיקו. רבא asks whether הקדישן triggers מלקות משום בעל מום, reasoning that it may be פסול like a בעל מום or that בעל מום applies only to a בהמה, and the גמרא again concludes תיקו.
- A משנה elsewhere states that any wood found with a worm is פסול לגבי מזבח. שמואל says this פסול applies only to moist wood, but with dry wood one may scrape it, גוררו וכשר. רבא again asks whether הקדישן brings מלקות משום בעל מום with the same two-sided reasoning, and the גמרא concludes תיקו.
- A new משנה states that תקוע is אלפא לשמן and אבא שאול says the second best is רגב בעבר הירדן, while all lands are כשרות but these are preferred for top quality. The משנה repeats that oil should not be brought from בית הזבלים, בית השלחים, or from what was planted among them, though אם הביא כשר. The משנה rules אין מביאין אנפקטון though אם הביא כשר, and it disqualifies oils made from seeds soaked in water, pickled olives, or cooked olives, ruling ואם הביא פסול.
- The גמרא cites וישלח יואב תקועה ויקח משם אשה חכמה and asks why תקוע, and רבי יוחנן answers that they are accustomed to olive oil and therefore wisdom is found among them. A ברייתא interprets וטובל בשמן רגלו as referring to אשר’s portion where oil flows like a spring. The text recounts a story of אנשי לודקיא needing oil, sending an agent to ירושלים, then to צור, then to גוש חלב, who finds a man working under his olive trees and initially suspects a joke when told to wait.
- The story continues that the man returns home, his maid brings hot water for washing and a golden bowl full of oil into which he dips his hands and feet to fulfill וטובל בשמן רגלו. The man measures out oil worth מאה ריבוא and then offers more on credit, providing an additional שמונה עשר ריבוא and arranging massive transport by hiring every available animal. When the agent’s townspeople come to praise him, he redirects the praise to the man who supplied the oil and is still owed the extra amount, and the narrative frames this as fulfilling יש מתעשר ואין כל and מתרושש והון רב. The text ends by stopping here for the day and saying the learning will continue tomorrow on oil.
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