## Menachot Daf 85a

###### Menachot 85a:1
[Menachot 85a:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Menachot/r/85a:1)

אֶלָּא לְרַבִּי יוֹחָנָן, קַשְׁיָא?

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
Having reconciled all the apparent contradictions between the two *baraitot* according to the opinion of Reish Lakish, the Gemara asks: **But according to Rabbi Yoḥanan,** who holds inferior produce cannot be consecrated as first fruits, the first *baraita* is **difficult,** as it states that inferior produce can be consecrated.


###### Menachot 85a:2
[Menachot 85a:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Menachot/r/85a:2)

תַּנָּאֵי הִיא, דְּתַנְיָא: שֶׁבְּגַג וְשֶׁבְּחוּרְבָּה – מֵבִיא וְקוֹרֵא, שֶׁבְּעָצִיץ וְשֶׁבִּסְפִינָה – אֵינוֹ מֵבִיא כׇּל עִיקָּר.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara answers: The *baraitot* cited above contradict Rabbi Yoḥanan’s opinion. But there **is** a dispute between ***tanna’im*** with regard to this issue, **as it is taught** in a *baraita*: With regard to produce **that** grew **on a roof, or that** grew **in a ruin,** the owner **brings** it **and recites** the accompanying passage. With regard to produce **that** grew **in a flowerpot, or that** grew **on a ship,** the owner **does not bring** it **at all.** Rabbi Yoḥanan holds in accordance with that *baraita*.


###### Menachot 85a:3
[Menachot 85a:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Menachot/r/85a:3)

וְכוּלָּן אֵינָן בָּאוֹת אֶלָּא מִן הַמּוּבְחָר כּוּ׳. אָמְרִי לֵיהּ יוֹחָנָא וּמַמְרֵא לְמֹשֶׁה: תֶּבֶן אַתָּה מַכְנִיס לְעֶפְרַיִים! אֲמַר לְהוּ: אָמְרִי אִינָשֵׁי ״לְמָתָא יַרְקָא – יַרְקָא שְׁקוֹל״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ The mishna states: **And all** meal offerings **come only from the optimal** produce. One of the places the mishna mentions as having good-quality produce is Aforayim. The superior quality of its produce was so well known that Aforayim was used as an example in colloquial aphorisms. In Moses and Aaron’s first meeting with Pharaoh, Aaron cast his staff to the ground, whereupon it turned into a serpent. Pharaoh’s necromancers then duplicated the feat using their incantations, only to then be confounded when Aaron’s staff swallowed up all of theirs (see Exodus 7:10–12). The Gemara relates the conversation that took place: Pharaoh’s two leading necromancers, **Yoḥana and Mamre, said to Moses:** Are **you bringing straw to Afarayim?** Performing necromancy in Egypt, the world leader in sorcery, is like bringing straw to Afarayim, which is rich in the finest grains. Moses **said to them:** It is as **people say: To a city** rich in **herbs, take herbs.** If you want to guarantee that people will appreciate your merchandise, bring it to a place where they are familiar with it.


###### Menachot 85a:4
[Menachot 85a:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Menachot/r/85a:4)

**מַתְנִי׳** אֵין מְבִיאִין לֹא מִבֵּית הַזְּבָלִים, וְלֹא מִבֵּית הַשְּׁלָחִים, וְלֹא מִבֵּית הָאִילָן, וְאִם הֵבִיא – כָּשֵׁר.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**MISHNA:** Even when selecting grain for meal offerings from the locations mentioned in the previous mishna, **one may not bring** as a meal offering grain **from a fertilized field, nor from an irrigated field, nor from a field of trees,** as such fields do not produce grain of optimal quality. **But if** one **did bring** a meal offering of grain from such fields, it is **fit.**


###### Menachot 85a:5
[Menachot 85a:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Menachot/r/85a:5)

כֵּיצַד הוּא עוֹשֶׂה? נָרָהּ שָׁנָה רִאשׁוֹנָה, וּבְשָׁנָה שְׁנִיָּה זוֹרְעָהּ קוֹדֶם לַפֶּסַח שִׁבְעִים יוֹם, וְהִוא עוֹשָׂה סוֹלֶת מְרוּבָּה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**How does one produce** optimal-quality grain? **He plows** the field during the **first year,** but he does not sow it, **and in the second year, he sows it seventy days before Passover, and** in that manner **it produces** grain that will provide **an abundance of fine,** high-quality **flour.**


###### Menachot 85a:6
[Menachot 85a:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Menachot/r/85a:6)

כֵּיצַד בּוֹדֵק הַגִּזְבָּר? מַכְנִיס יָדוֹ לְתוֹכָהּ. עָלָה בָּהּ אָבָק – פְּסוּלָה, עַד שֶׁיְּנַפֶּנָּה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**How does** the Temple treasurer **inspect** the flour to determine whether it is of sufficiently high quality? **The treasurer inserts his hand into** the flour. If, when he removes his hand, flour **powder covers it,** the flour is **unfit, until one sifts it** with a fine sifter, so that no powder will remain.


###### Menachot 85a:7
[Menachot 85a:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Menachot/r/85a:7)

וְאִם הִתְלִיעָה – פְּסוּלָה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**And if** the flour **became wormy,** it is **unfit** for use in a meal offering.


###### Menachot 85a:8
[Menachot 85a:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Menachot/r/85a:8)

**גְּמָ׳** כֵּיצַד עוֹשֶׂה? נָרָהּ שָׁנָה רִאשׁוֹנָה. אִיבַּעְיָא לְהוּ: הֵיכִי קָאָמַר? נָרָהּ שָׁנָה רִאשׁוֹנָה וּשְׁנִיָּה נָרָהּ וְזוֹרְעָהּ, אוֹ דִלְמָא נָרָהּ שָׁנָה רִאשׁוֹנָה וּשְׁנִיָּה זוֹרְעָהּ בְּלֹא נָרָהּ?

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**GEMARA:** The mishna states: **How does one produce** optimal-quality grain? **He plows** the field during the **first year,** and in the second year he sows it. The Gemara clarifies what should be done in the second year: **A dilemma was raised before** the Sages: **What** is the *tanna* **saying?** Is he saying that **he plows** the field during the **first** year, **and** in the **second** year **he plows it and sows it? Or perhaps** he is saying that **he plows** the field during the **first** year, **and** in the **second** year **he sows it without plowing it.**


###### Menachot 85a:9
[Menachot 85a:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Menachot/r/85a:9)

תָּא שְׁמַע, דְּתַנְיָא: אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹסֵי: אַף חִיטֵּי כָּרָזִיִּים וּכְפַר אַחִים, אִלְמָלֵא סְמוּכוֹת לִירוּשָׁלַיִם – הָיוּ מְבִיאִין מֵהֶן, לְפִי שֶׁאֵין מְבִיאִין אֶת הָעוֹמֶר אֶלָּא מִן הַשָּׂדוֹת הַמּוּדְרָמוֹת וְהַמְנוֹנָרוֹת לְכָךְ, שֶׁבָּהֶן חַמָּה זוֹרַחַת, וּמֵהֶן חַמָּה שׁוֹקַעַת.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara suggests: **Come** and **hear** a resolution, **as it is taught** in a *baraita*: **Rabbi Yosei says: Also** concerning **grain** grown in **Kerazayim and Kefar Aḥim, if only** those places **had been close to Jerusalem, they would have brought** barley **from them** for the *omer*. **As** the *halakha* is **that one brings the *omer* only from the southern fields and** those **that were plowed for that** purpose, **as upon such** fields, the **sun rises** and shines, **and from those** fields, the **sun** also **sets.** In other words, those fields are exposed to a lot of sunlight, so they produce a superior-quality crop. Kerazayim and Kefar Aḥim were such fields, but they were too far from Jerusalem for their barley to be used for the *omer* offering.


###### Menachot 85a:10
[Menachot 85a:10](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Menachot/r/85a:10)

כֵּיצַד עוֹשֶׂה? נָרָהּ שָׁנָה רִאשׁוֹנָה, וּשְׁנִיָּה חוֹרֵשׁ וְשׁוֹנֶה, וְזוֹרְעָהּ קוֹדֶם לַפֶּסַח שִׁבְעִים יוֹם, כְּדֵי שֶׁתְּהֵא סְמוּכָה לַחַמָּה, וְעוֹשָׂה קָנֶה זֶרֶת וְשִׁיבּוֹלֶת זִרְתַּיִים.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The *baraita* continues: **How does one produce** optimal-quality grain? **He plows** the field during the **first year, and** in the **second** year, he **plows** it once **and** then **repeats** the plowing a second time, **and he sows it seventy days before Passover.** It is done this way **in order that** the sowing **will be** done **close to** the time when the strength of the **sun** reaches its climax, **and** will thereby **produce** a high-quality crop in which the length of **a stalk** is **a handspan and** the **ear** itself is **two handspans.**


###### Menachot 85a:11
[Menachot 85a:11](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Menachot/r/85a:11)

וְקוֹצֵר וּמְעַמֵּר, וְדָשׁ, וְזוֹרֶה, וּבוֹרֵר, וְטוֹחֵן, וּמְרַקֵּד, וּמֵבִיא אֵצֶל גִּזְבָּר, וְגִזְבָּר מַכְנִיס יָדוֹ לְתוֹכָהּ. אִם עָלְתָה בָּהּ אָבָק – אוֹמֵר לוֹ: ״חֲזוֹר וְנַפֵּה אוֹתָהּ שְׁנִיָּה״. מִשּׁוּם רַבִּי נָתָן אָמְרוּ: גִּזְבָּר סָךְ יָדוֹ שֶׁמֶן, וּמַכְנִיס לְתוֹכָהּ עַד שֶׁמַּעֲלֶה כׇּל אֲבָקָהּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**And** then one **reaps** the grain **and gathers** it together into a pile, **and** then he **threshes** the grain **and winnows** it, **and** then he **sorts** the inedible admixture from the edible grain, **and** then he **grinds** the grain **and sifts** it **and brings** the flour produced **to the** Temple **treasurer. And** the **treasurer inserts his hand into it** in order to check its quality. **If** upon removing his hand **powder covers it,** the treasurer **says to** the owner: **Go back and sift it a second** time. The Sages **say in the name of Rabbi Natan** that **the treasurer** would perform a more thorough examination of the flour’s quality. He **douses his hand** with **oil and** then **inserts it into** the flour **until all of its powder will be brought up.**


###### Menachot 85a:12
[Menachot 85a:12](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Menachot/r/85a:12)

קָתָנֵי מִיהַת חוֹרֵשׁ וְשׁוֹנֶה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara explains that the *baraita* provides a resolution to the dilemma: **In any event, the** *baraita* **teaches** that during the second year, the owner of the field **plows** it once **and** then **repeats** the plowing. It is explicit, then, that during the second year the field should be plowed.


###### Menachot 85a:13
[Menachot 85a:13](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Menachot/r/85a:13)

וּלְטַעְמָיךְ, מַתְנִיתִין לָא קָתָנֵי ״שׁוֹנֶה״,

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara rejects this proof: **But** even **according to your reasoning,** ultimately **the mishna does not teach** that he plows the field and then **repeats** the plowing;