Menachot 26

Sugya Map

• Issue: Determining the minimal remaining parts of an animal offering (beyond edible meat or primary fat) sufficient to permit the sprinkling of its blood for kapparah. Specifically, the source for including yoteret (liver lobe) and shtei klayot (two kidneys).
• Nafka Mina: The very validity of the korban for atonement, hinging on precise definitions of what constitutes a "sacrificable" remnant.
• Primary Sources: Menachot 26a; Vayikra 17:6 ("והקטיר החלב לריח ניחוח"); Vayikra 6:3 ("אשר תאכל האש את העולה על המזבח").

Text Snapshot

The Gemara asks: "ואשכחן חלב מנלן יותרת ושתי כליות מנלן? דקתני ובמנחה אפילו כולה קיימת לא יזרוק. מנחה הוא דלא יזרוק, הא יותרת ושתי כליות יזרוק."¹ It then presents: "רבי יוחנן גופיה אמר: לריח ניחוח – כל דבר שאתה מעלה לריח ניחוח."² Dikduk/Leshon: The structure "מנחה הוא דלא יזרוק, הא יותרת..." uses ribui u'mi'ut (inclusion and exclusion) to define the scope of acceptable altar components.

Readings

Rashi

Rashi illuminates the Gemara's derivation for yoteret/klayot: the baraita's exclusion of Mincha (not from the animal's body) implies the inclusion of yoteret/klayot (which are from the animal's body).³

Rashba (Attributed)

The Rashba underscores the precise lomdus: yoteret v'shtei klayot are neither "meat" (as they're inedible) nor pure chelev (fat), thus demanding a distinct limmud to affirm their sacrificial status.⁴

Friction

Kushya

Why does the Gemara painstakingly derive the inclusion of yoteret v'shtei klayot from the Mincha baraita, when Rabbi Yochanan already provides a seemingly comprehensive principle: "לריח ניחוח – כל דבר שאתה מעלה לריח ניחוח"²? This general rule should, prima facie, cover all altar-bound animal parts.

Terutz

The Gemara itself anticipates this kushya: The pasuk "חלב" (Vayikra 17:6) includes fat but might exclude yoteret/klayot. "לריח ניחוח" (Vayikra 6:3) broadens it to all altar-consumed items, yet could include minchat nesachim. Thus, both are necessary; the Mincha exclusion defines "לריח ניחוח"'s boundaries, affirming yoteret/klayot while rejecting non-animal accompaniments.⁵

Intertext

The interplay between "חלב" (Vayikra 17:6) and "לריח ניחוח" (Vayikra 6:3), clarified by the Mincha exclusion, is a classic application of ribui u'mi'ut – a fundamental hermeneutic principle in drashat ha'Torah.

Psak/Practice

While the specifics of Korbanot law are not currently practiced, the rigorous halachic methodology of precisely defining categories and boundaries through textual drashot remains a core heuristic in contemporary halachic reasoning. Every word in the pasuk is subject to meticulous scrutiny for its inclusive or exclusive implications.

Takeaway

Lomdus often refines general principles through specific textual exclusions, thereby precisely defining the scope of halachic categories. The meticulous parsing of pesukim reveals a complex yet coherent system for kapparah, where every part of the korban holds specific significance.

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1. Menachot 26a.
2. Menachot 26a.
3. Rashi, Menachot 26a s.v. "יותרת ושתי הכליות מנלן".
4. Rashba (Attributed), Menachot 26a s.v. "יותרת ושני כליות מnלן".
5. Menachot 26a s.v. "ואצטריך למכתב חלב".