Meilah 2:7-8
משנה מעילה ב:ז-ח
Seder: Kodashim | Tractate: Meilah | Chapter: 2
📖 Mishna
Mishna 2:7
משנה ב:ז
Hebrew:
לֶחֶם הַפָּנִים, מוֹעֲלִין בּוֹ מִשֶּׁהֻקְדַּשׁ. קָרַם בַּתַּנּוּר, הֻכְשַׁר לְהִפָּסֵל בִּטְבוּל יוֹם וּבִמְחֻסַּר כִּפּוּרִים, וּלְהִסָּדֵר עַל גַּבֵּי הַשֻּׁלְחָן. קָרְבוּ הַבְּזִיכִין, חַיָּבִין עָלָיו מִשּׁוּם פִּגּוּל, נוֹתָר וְטָמֵא, וְאֵין בָּהֶן מְעִילָה:
English:
One is liable for misuse of the shewbread, which is arranged on the Golden Table in the Sanctuary each Shabbat, from the moment that it was consecrated. Once it formed a crust in the oven it assumes the status of bread and its halakhic status is like that of offerings of the most sacred order after the animal was slaughtered, in that it was rendered susceptible to disqualification through contact with one who immersed that day, and through contact with one who has not yet brought an atonement offering, and it is rendered eligible for arrangement upon the Table in the Sanctuary. Once the bowls of frankincense brought with the shewbread of the previous week were sacrificed, one is liable to receive karet for eating the loaves due to violation of the prohibition of piggul, and the prohibition of notar, and the prohibition of partaking of consecrated food while ritually impure. But it is not subject to the halakhot of misuse, as at that point its consumption is permitted.
קלאוד על המשנה:
The shewbread (lechem ha’panim) presents yet another variation on the me’ilah framework. Twelve loaves are arranged on the Golden Table in the Sanctuary each Shabbat, where they remain for the entire week. The “permitting act” that allows the priests to eat the old bread is not blood sprinkling at all, but rather the burning of the two bowls of frankincense (bazichin) that accompany the bread on the Table.
The mishna identifies crust formation in the oven as the threshold for susceptibility to disqualification, parallel to the Two Loaves in mishna 2:6. But it adds a unique intermediate step: once crusted, the bread is also eligible to be arranged on the Table. This placement on the Table is a significant ritual step specific to the shewbread that has no parallel in other offerings.
Once the bazichin (frankincense bowls) are offered on the altar the following Shabbat, the old bread becomes permitted to the priests. At that point, piggul, notar, and tumah apply, but me’ilah ceases — because the bread now has a human recipient. The shewbread thus demonstrates that the “matir” concept extends beyond blood sprinkling: any sacrificial act that serves to permit consumption qualifies as the transition point for me’ilah.
Key Terms:
- לֶחֶם הַפָּנִים (Lechem Ha’panim) = The shewbread, twelve loaves arranged on the Golden Table in the Sanctuary each Shabbat
- בְּזִיכִין (Bazichin) = The two bowls of frankincense placed alongside the shewbread on the Table
- הַשֻּׁלְחָן (Ha’shulchan) = The Golden Table in the Sanctuary upon which the shewbread is arranged
- קָרַם בַּתַּנּוּר (Karam Ba’tanur) = Forming a crust in the oven, the halakhic threshold for bread-status
Mishna 2:8
משנה ב:ח
Hebrew:
הַמְּנָחוֹת, מוֹעֲלִין בָּהֶן מִשֶּׁהֻקְדְּשׁוּ. קָדְשׁוּ בַכְּלִי, הֻכְשְׁרוּ לִפָּסֵל בִּטְבוּל יוֹם וּבִמְחֻסַּר כִּפּוּרִים וּבְלִינָה. קָרַב הַקֹּמֶץ, חַיָּבִין עָלָיו מִשּׁוּם פִּגּוּל, נוֹתָר וְטָמֵא. וְאֵין מוֹעֲלִין בַּשְּׁיָרִים, אֲבָל מוֹעֲלִים בַּקֹּמֶץ עַד שֶׁיֵּצֵא לְבֵית הַדָּשֶׁן:
English:
One is liable for misuse of the meal offerings from the moment that they were consecrated. Once they were consecrated through placement of the flour in a service vessel, they were rendered susceptible to disqualification for sacrifice through contact with one who immersed that day, and through contact with one who has not yet brought an atonement offering, and through its blood being left overnight. Once the handful taken from the meal offering was sacrificed, one is liable to receive karet for eating the meal offering due to violation of the prohibition of piggul, and the prohibition of notar, and the prohibition of partaking of consecrated food while ritually impure. And one is not liable for misuse of the remainder of the meal offering, which is eaten by the priests, but one is liable for misuse of the handful that is sacrificed, until it leaves to the place of the ashes.
קלאוד על המשנה:
The mishna now addresses meal offerings (menachot), which follow a pattern similar to the shewbread but with their own distinctive features. The three stages are: initial consecration, sanctification in a service vessel (kidush b’kli), and the offering of the handful (kometz).
For meal offerings, the threshold that renders them susceptible to disqualification is not slaughter or melikah, but rather placement in a sacred vessel. This is because meal offerings have no blood and no slaughter — the “activation” of the offering’s full sanctity occurs when the flour is placed in the kli sharet (service vessel). This is functionally equivalent to shechitah for animals.
The kometz (handful) functions as the matir — the permitting factor. Once the handful is burned on the altar, the remainder of the meal offering (shirayim) becomes permitted to the priests. Consequently, me’ilah ceases for the shirayim at that point. However, the kometz itself, which is entirely consumed on the altar and never eaten by any person, continues to be subject to me’ilah until it reaches the beit ha’deshen. This creates the same dual-track pattern we saw with the chattat/asham in mishna 2:5: the edible portion loses me’ilah, while the altar portion retains it.
Key Terms:
- מְנָחוֹת (Menachot) = Meal offerings, made from fine flour, oil, and frankincense
- קָדְשׁוּ בַכְּלִי (Kadshu Ba’kli) = Sanctified in a service vessel, the act that fully activates the offering’s sacred status
- קֹּמֶץ (Kometz) = The handful scooped from the meal offering by the kohen, burned on the altar as the matir
- שְׁיָרִים (Shirayim) = The remainder of the meal offering after the handful is removed, eaten by the priests
- כְּלִי שָׁרֵת (Kli Sharet) = A consecrated service vessel used in Temple worship