1 And this is the law of the meal-offering: the sons of Aaron shall offer it before the Lord in front of the altar . . . And that which is left thereof shall Aaron and his sons eat; it shall be eaten as unleavened bread! — He [R. Perida] said to him, As to the proper performance of the precept I have no doubt at all, I ask only whether it is indispensable. But, said the other, even with regard to the question of indispensability there is written, It shall not be baked leavened, but only unleavened. R. Hisda demurred, perhaps it means, ‘It shall not be baked leavened’, but only si'ur! — What si'ur is meant? If as defined by R. Meir, it is absolutely unleavened according to R. Judah. If as defined by R. Judah, it is absolutely leavened according to R. Meir. If as defined by R. Meir and following R. Meir's ruling. It is absolutely leavened, since one incurs stripes for [eating] it [on the Passover]! — What is meant is that [si'ur] as defined by R. Judah and following R. Judah's ruling. R. Nahman b. Isaac demurred, Perhaps it means, ‘It shall not be baked leavened’, but only halut! -What does halut mean? Soaked [in hot water]. But surely if [the meal-offering] must be offered soaked, it is expressly stated so, and this is not prescribed to be soaked! — Perhaps the meaning is: whatsoever is prescribed to be soaked must be offered soaked, but whatsoever is not prescribed to be soaked may be offered either soaked or unleavened! Rabina demurred, Perhaps the verse, ‘It shall not be baked leavened’, merely imposes a prohibition upon the person, but [the meal-offering] does not become invalid thereby? Whence then is it derived? — From the following teaching: One might think that ‘unleavened’ was only a recommendation, Holy Writ therefore stated, It shall be; the verse thus laid it down as an obligation. R. Perida enquired of R. Ammi, Whence is it derived that all meal-offerings, seeing that they were kneaded in lukewarm water, must be specially watched lest they become leavened? Shall we infer it from the Passover concerning which it Is written, And ye shall watch the unleavened bread! — He replied. In that very passage It is written, it shall be unleavened, that is, keep it so. But have you not utilized this verse to indicate indispensability? — If for that alone Scripture would have used the expression ‘It is to be unleavened’; why ‘It shall be’? You may thus infer two things. The Rabbis said to R. Perida, ‘R. Ezra, the grandson of R. Abtolos, who is the tenth generation from R. Eleazar b. ‘Azariah, who is the tenth generation from Ezra, is standing at the door’ — Said he to them, ‘Why all this [pedigree]? If he is a learned man, it is well; if he is a learned man and also a scion of noble ancestors, it is all the better; but if he is a scion of noble ancestors and not a learned man may fire consume him’. They told him that he was a learned man, whereupon he said, ‘Let him come in’. He at once saw that his [R. Ezra's] mind was troubled, so he began his discourse and said, I said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord; my gratefulness is not with thee. The congregation of Israel said to the Holy One, blessed be He, ‘Lord of the universe, Show Thy gratefulness unto me for making Thee known in the world’. He replied. ‘My gratefulness is not with thee, but with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who first made Me known in the world, as it is said, With the holy that are in the earth; they are the mighty ones in whom is all my delight.’ As soon as he [R. Ezra] heard the expression mighty’, he began his discourse, saying, Let the Mighty One come and take vengeance for the sake of the mighty from the mighty by means of the mighty. ‘Let the Mighty One come’ — that is, the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written, The Lord on high is mighty. ‘And take vengeance for the sake of the mighty’ — that is, Israel, as it is written, They are the mighty ones in whom is all my delight. ‘From the mighty’ — that is, the Egyptians, as it is written, The mighty sank like lead in the waters. ‘By means of the mighty’ — that is, the water, as it is written, Above the voices of many waters, mighty waters, breakers of the sea. Let the beloved the son of the beloved come and build the beloved for the Beloved in the portion of the beloved that the beloved may receive atonement therein. ‘Let the beloved come’ — that is King Solomon, as it is written, And He sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet, and he called his name Jedidiah [beloved of the Lord], for the Lord's sake.23ᵃᵇᶜᵈᵉᶠᵍʰⁱʲᵏˡᵐⁿᵒᵖᵠʳˢᵗᵘᵛʷ
2 ‘The son of the beloved’ — that is, the son of Abraham, as it is written, What hath My beloved to do in My house? ‘And build the beloved’ — that is, the Temple, as it is written, How lovely are Thy tabernacles! ‘For the Beloved’ — that is, the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written, Let me sing of my Beloved. ‘In the portion of the beloved’ — that is, Benjamin, as it is said, Of Benjamin he said, The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him. ‘That the beloved may receive atonement therein’ — that is, Israel, as it is written, I have given the dearly beloved of My soul into the hand of her enemies. Let the good come and receive the good from the Good for the good. ‘Let the good come’ — that is, Moses, as it is written, And she saw that he was good. ‘And receive the good’ — that is, the Torah, as it is written, For I give you good doctrine. ‘From the Good’ — that is, the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written, The Lord is good to all. ‘For the good’ — that is, Israel, as it is written, Do good, O Lord, unto the good. Let this come and receive this from This for this people. ‘Let this come’ — that is, Moses, as it is written, For as for this Moses, the man. ‘And receive this’ — that is, the Torah, as it is written, And this is the Torah which Moses set. ‘From This’ — that is, the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written, This is my God and I will glorify Him. ‘For this people’ — that is, Israel, as it is written, This people that Thou hast gotten. R. Isaac said, At the time of the destruction of the Temple the Holy One, blessed be He, found Abraham standing in the Temple. Said He, ‘What hath My beloved to do in My house?’ Abraham replied, ‘I have come concerning the fate of my children’ . . . Said He, ‘Thy children sinned and have gone into exile’. ‘Perhaps’, said Abraham, ‘they only sinned in error?’ And He answered, ‘She hath wrought lewdness’. ‘Perhaps only a few sinned?’ ‘With many’, came the reply. ‘Still’, he pleaded, ‘Thou shouldst have remembered unto them the covenant of circumcision’. And He replied, ‘The hallowed flesh is passed from thee.’ ‘Perhaps hadst Thou waited for them they would have repented’, he pleaded. And He replied, ‘When thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest!’ Thereupon he put his hands on his head and wept bitterly, and cried, ‘Perhaps, Heaven forfend, there is no hope for them’. Then came forth a Heavenly Voice and said, The Lord called thy name a leafy olive-tree, fair with goodly fruit: as the olive-tree produces its best only at the very end, so Israel will flourish at the end of time. Because of the noise of the great tumult He hath kindled fire upon it, and its branches are broken. Said R. Hinena b. Papa, Because of the noise of the words of the spies the branches of Israel were broken; for R. Hinena b. Papa said, A grievous statement did the spies make at that moment when they said, For they ore stronger than we. Read not ‘than we’, but ‘than He’; as it were, even the Master of the House cannot remove His furniture from there. R. Hiyya b. Hinena demurred, Then why does the verse read ‘Because of the noise of the great tumult’? It should read, ‘Because of the noise of the great word’. Rather [it must be interpreted thus]: The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Abraham, ‘I heard thy voice and will have compassion upon them. I had said that they shall be subjected to four successive Empires, each to endure the length of time that the four Empires together [actually lasted], but now each shall endure only the time alotted to it’. Another version: ‘I had said [that they shall be subjected to the four Empires] in succession, but now [they shall be subjected to the four] concurrently’. R. Joshua b. Levi said, Why is Israel likened to an olive-tree? To tell you that as the olive-tree loses not its leaves either in summer or in winter, so Israel shall never be lost either in this world or in the world to come. R. Johanan said, Why is Israel likened to an olive-tree? To tell you that just as the olive produces its oil only after pounding, so Israel returns to the right way only after suffering. R. MEIR SAYS, THE LEAVEN MUST BE TAKEN FROM [THE MEAL-OFFERINGS] THEMSELVES AND WITH THIS THEY ARE LEAVENED etc. What is meant by SOMETIMES TOO LITTLE AND SOMETIMES TOO MUCH? — R. Hisda explained, If the yeast [used] was of a thick consistency, then there would be too much [flour in the meal-offering], and if it was thin, there would be too little. But in any event only a tenth is measured! — Rabbah and R. Joseph both said that we must measure it according to its former state. But one can surely take a little of the flour and have it leavened outside, and then it can be brought back and kneaded with the rest [of the flour]! — It is to be feared that one might bring leaven from elsewhere. Our Rabbis taught: One may not leaven [the meal-offering]32ˣʸᶻᵃᵃᵃᵇᵃᶜᵃᵈᵃᵉᵃᶠᵃᵍᵃʰᵃⁱᵃʲᵃᵏᵃˡᵃᵐᵃⁿᵃᵒᵃᵖᵃᵠᵃʳᵃˢᵃᵗᵃᵘᵃᵛᵃʷᵃˣᵃʸᵃᶻᵇᵃᵇᵇᵇᶜ