Menachot 20

Sugya Map

• Issue: The source and indispensability (ma'akev) of salting all sacrificial offerings (מליחת קרבנות).
• Nafka Mina(s): Whether an offering lacking salt is valid; the precise scope of offerings requiring salt.
• Primary Sources: Bamidbar 18:19 ("ברית מלח עולם"), Bamidbar 25:13 ("ברית כהנת עולם"), Vayikra 2:13 ("וכל קרבן מנחתך במלח תמלח... ועל כל קרבנך תקריב מלח"), Menachot 20a.

Text Snapshot

The Gemara opens with a baraita:

"ברית אמורה במלח, דברי ר' יהודה. ר' שמעון אומר: נאמר כאן: 'ברית מלח עולם הוא' ונאמר להלן: 'ברית כהנת עולם', כשם שאי אפשר לקרבנות בלא כהונה, כך אי אפשר לקרבנות בלא מלח." (Menachot 20a) R. Shimon employs a gezeirah shavah between "ברית מלח" and "ברית כהונה" to establish salt as indispensable. The Gemara later explores the scope of this obligation: "הא למדת: כלל ופרט וכלל, אי אתה דן אלא כעין הפרט. מה הפרט מפורש: שבאו אחרים משום דידיה, אף כל שבאו אחרים משום דידיה." (Menachot 20a) This klal u'prat u'klal (generalization, detail, generalization) hermeneutic, derived from Vayikra 2:13, defines which offerings require salt.

Readings

Rashi's Chiddush on Indispensability

Rashi explains R. Yehuda's "ברית אמורה במלח" means it's an interpretive significance (משמעות דורשין) that salt is always present, not necessarily a repeated verse to imply ma'akev status. R. Shimon's gezeirah shavah is the chiddush that renders it indispensable, equating its necessity to that of the priesthood itself.¹

Steinsaltz on Scope Derivation

Steinsaltz clarifies the baraita's intricate klal u'prat u'klal derivation from Vayikra 2:13. The initial "וכל קרבן מנחתך" (generalization) followed by "מנחתך" (detail) and then "על כל קרבנך" (generalization) limits the scope to items "similar to the detail," i.e., those for which other items (like wood) are required. This method excludes blood but includes most other offerings.²

Friction

The Gemara queries the baraita: why is the phrase "וכל קרבן מנחתך במלח תמלח" needed at all if "ועל כל קרבנך תקריב מלח" already seems to generalize? The kushya lies in the apparent redundancy. The terutz is that without the "detail" of "מנחתך" sandwiched between "כלל" and "כלל", the second "כלל" would be an unbounded inclusion (ריבוי אחר ריבוי), encompassing even wood and blood. The klal u'prat u'klal structure specifically limits the ribui to items similar to the prat (meal offering), thus requiring the precise wording.³

Intertext

The phrase "ברית מלח" appears elsewhere in Tanakh, notably regarding the everlasting covenant with David (Divrei HaYamim II 13:5) and the loyalty of Persian officials (Ezra 4:14). These instances underscore the enduring, unbreakable nature of a "covenant of salt," echoing its symbolic role in the sacrificial system.

Psak/Practice

The Halacha follows the baraita's derivations, requiring salt for all offerings burned on the altar, including animal limbs, frankincense, and even those without a kometz. This is a mitzvat asseh (positive commandment), and its omission, per R. Shimon's gezeirah shavah, renders the offering פסול (invalid) l'chatchila (initially) and b'dieved (post-facto).⁴

Takeaway

The meticulous drashot demonstrate the Torah's precision in establishing fundamental halachic requirements, often through complex hermeneutical principles like klal u'prat u'klal.

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¹ Rashi, Menachot 20a s.v. ברית אמורה במלח. ² Steinsaltz, Menachot 20a s.v. הא למדת כלל ופרט וכלל. ³ Rashi, Menachot 20a s.v. כלל ופרט וכלל. ⁴ Rambam, Hilchot Ma'aseh HaKorbanot 6:1.