Menachos 88
Summary
- The Gemara states that there were seven liquid measures in the Beis HaMikdash and presents the views of רבי יהודה, רבי מאיר, and רבי שמעון about their order and use. It explains that the dispute between רבי יהודה and רבי מאיר turns on whether *בירוצי מדות* are sanctified, and it also discusses whether the word *מלאים* means exact fullness or allows for a little extra. The text then explains the use of the measures for the מצורע, נזיר, סוטה, מנחות, קרבנות, and the Menorah, and it develops the laws of the Menorah’s lamps, their construction, and the gold required for them.
- The ברייתא says that seven measuring vessels for liquids were in the בית המקדש: רביעית לוג, חצי לוג, לוג, רביעית ההין, שלישית ההין, חצי ההין, and הין, according to רבי יהודה. רבי מאיר lists the same measures from largest to smallest. רבי שמעון says there was no הין at all, and במקום זה there was an extra vessel measuring a לוג ומחצה for the חביתין של כהן גדול, because the הין had no ongoing use after the שמן המשחה was made.
- When the חכמים ask why a special כלי was needed for לוג ומחצה if a half-log already existed, רבי שמעון answers that by the same logic one could avoid even רביעית and לוג, since all larger measures can be built from smaller ones. The rule in the בית המקדש is that a כלי used for one measure is not used for another measure. רבי יוחנן explains that the difference between רבי יהודה and רבי מאיר is *בירוצי מדות*: רבי יהודה holds that the overflow is sanctified, so the measures are arranged from smaller to larger, while רבי מאיר holds it is not sanctified, so the measures are arranged from larger to smaller. אביי says the dispute is not about *בירוצי מדות* but about *מלאים*: רבי מאיר understands that they must be exact with nothing added, while רבי יהודה understands that they must not be lacking, but a little extra still counts as *מלאים*.
- The חכמים answer רבי שמעון by saying that the הין existed because משה made it for the שמן המשחה, as the פסוק says, “ושמן זית הין.” רבי שמעון holds that since it was needed only once, it was made for that occasion and then hidden away, while the חכמים hold that once it was made it remained a valid measure. When רבי שמעון asks what should replace the הין, the גמרא answers that there is a מסורת from סיני that seven liquid measures were in the מקדש. רבי אלעזר בר צדוק says there were not seven separate vessels, but *שנתות* on the הין, and the alternative explanation is that there were seven measurements, not necessarily seven vessels.
- The רביעית לוג is used for the water of the מצורע, and according to רבי שמעון for the oil of the נזיר. The חצי לוג is used for the water of the סוטה and for the oil of the תודה. The לוג is used for all מנחות, although רבי אלעזר בן יעקב says that even a מנחה of sixty עשרון has only one לוג, as the פסוק says, “למנחה ולוג שמן.” The six לוגים for a פר, four for an איל, three for a כבש, and three and a half for the Menorah are also stated, with half a לוג for each lamp, for a total of three and a half.
- רבי asks why the רביעית לוג was sanctified, since it is not needed for the מצורע, whose rite is done outside, and not for the נזיר, whose bread is sanctified by the slaughtering of the איל. רבי חייא answers that it was used to measure the חביתין of the כהן גדול, a רביעית of oil for each חלה. רבי then praises רבי חייא with the פסוק “מארץ מרחק איש עצתי.”
- רבי next asks why the חצי לוג was sanctified, since the water of the סוטה is already קדושים and the bread of the תודה is sanctified only by the slaughtering of the קרבן. רבי שמעון בר רבי answers that it was used to measure a half-log of oil for each lamp in the Menorah, and רבי responds, “נר ישראל.” The גמרא then says that if a lamp went out, the oil and wick are considered unusable, so the lamp is cleaned out, refilled with the original measure, and relit. רבי זירא asks whether the new oil should be measured by the original amount or only by what was missing, and רבי ירמיה says it must be the original amount, because otherwise there would need to be many more measuring vessels than seven. רבי זירא praises רבי ירמיה with the פסוק “והדרך צלח רכב.”
- רב הונא בריה דרב יהודה אמר רב ששת says that the lamps of the Menorah were *של פרקים*, meaning flexible and movable, so they could be cleaned properly. The Menorah and its lamps are derived from the ככר זהב and from the wording “המנורה ונרותיה,” because the lamps also had to be included in the same gold. A ברייתא states that the Menorah and its lamps came from the ככר, but the tongs and scoops did not. רבי נחמיה derives this from the verse “כיכר זהב טהור יעשה אותה,” which includes the Menorah and its lamps but excludes the tongs and scoops. Another ברייתא בשם רבי יהושע בן קרחה says that only the Menorah itself came from the ככר, while the lamps, tongs, and scoops were not.
- The text explains that “את כל הכלים האלה” teaches that the associated כלי זהב were made of gold, but not that they all came from the same ככר. It is then clarified that this teaching is needed for the mouth of the lamp, because one might have thought that since the top of the lamp becomes blackened from the wick, *התורה חסה על ממונם של ישראל* and a lesser-quality material would suffice. The conclusion is that even the mouth of the lamps had to be made from *זהב טהור*.
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