OFFERINGS There now follows a second cycle of study, with the same structure as the first, with passages from (1) the Torah, (2) the Mishna, and (3) the Gemara. The passages from the Torah relate to the daily, weekly and monthly sacrifices because, in the absence of the Temple, the sages held that study of the laws about sacrifice was a substitute for sacrifice itself (Ta’anit 27b). The passage from the Mishna (Zevaḥim 5) is also about sacrifices, and was chosen because it does not contain any disagreement between the sages, and thus accords with the rule that one should pray “after a decided halakha,” that is, an item of Jewish law about which there is no debate.