מנחות 94:2 — Soncino English Talmud

R. Hanina said, Like a broken box. R. Johanan said, Like a ship's keel. According to him who says ‘like a broken box’, we clearly understand where the dishes [of frankincense] were placed, but according to him who says ‘like a ship's keel’, where were the dishes placed? — A special place was made for them. Again according to him who says ‘like a broken box’, we clearly understand how the rods lay [on the sides of the cakes], but according to him who says ‘like a ship's keel’, how could the rods lie [on the side of the cakes]? — Projections were attached to them [on top]. Again according to him who says ‘like a broken box’, we clearly understand how the props supported the cakes, but according to him who says ‘like a ship's keel’, how could the props support the cakes? — They were made obliquely. Now according to him who says ‘like a ship's keel’, we clearly understand the need for props, but according to him who says ‘like a broken box’, what need was there for props? — [For otherwise] they might break by reason of the pressure of the [upper] cakes. Again according to him who says ‘like a ship's keel’, it is clear that the props rested on the table, but according to him who says ‘like a broken box’, where were the props placed? Were they perhaps placed on the ground? — Yes. for R. Abba b. Memel said, According to him who says ‘like a ship's keel’, the props stood on the table, and according to him who says ‘like a broken box’, they stood on the ground. With which view agrees the statement of R. Judah that the cakes held up the props and the props held up the cakes? With the view [that the cakes were] like a ship's keel. 17^ᵃ^ᵇ^ᶜ^ᵈ^ᵉ^ᶠ^ᵍ^ʰ^ⁱ^ʲ^ᵏ^ˡ^ᵐ^ⁿ^ᵒ^ᵖ^ᵠ

^ᵃnote:I.e., in the shape of an open box with two of its sides, the front and the back, removed; in other words, each cake consisted of a base and two sides which rose perpendicularly, thus (Fig. 1).
^ᵇnote:Lit., ‘a rocking ship’; i.e., like the sides of a ship which narrow downwards until the keel is reached. In like manner the side of each cake narrowed downwards until there was but a fingerbreadth between Fig. 1 them at the bottom; v-shaped. It also appears (v. Rashi) that each side of the cake tapered upwards almost to a point, thus (Fig. 2). The sides (s) rose upwards at an angle from the dotted lines.
^ᶜnote:Viz., on the base of the topmost cake. Cf. infra 96a.
^ᵈnote:As the two sides came almost to a point there was no base upon which the dishes of frankin- Fig. 2 cense might be placed.
^ᵉnote:In the topmost cake there was made a projection or ledge of dough upon which the dishes were placed.
^ᶠnote:V: infra 96a. There were twenty-eight rods each shaped like the half of a hollow reed, fourteen being used for one row of the Shewbread and fourteen for the other. And the cakes were arranged as follows: the nethermost cake stood on the table; three rods were placed above it, their ends resting on the perpendicular or rising sides of the cake and also in the grooves of the two upright props (v. infra p. 579, n. 1), and the second cake was placed on the rods. Three rods were similarly placed above the second, third and fourth cakes, but only two above the fifth, since it only had to bear the pressure of one single cake.
^ᵍnote:For since the sides of each cake tapered upwards almost to a point (v. supra n. 3) there was certainly no place on the top for three rods; there might at most have been sufficient space for one rod, but no more.
^ʰnote:At the top of each side of the cakes projections, made of dough, were attached horizontally like arms, and upon these projections the rods lay.
^ⁱnote:V. infra 96a. For each row of the Shewbread there were two props which stood upright on opposite sides of the table. Now if it is assumed that the sides of each cake rose up perpendicularly at the edge of the table, then the props which stood close to the table gave abundant support to the sides of the cakes so that they could bear the pressure of the upper cakes.
^ʲnote:For the props came into contact only with the top point of each side of the cakes, since only the top reached the edge of the table, and that contact obviously afforded very little support.
^ᵏnote:From the props there jutted forth curved brackets to fit in the outer curve of the sides of the cakes. The sides of the cakes thus rested on these brackets.
^ˡnote:And brackets, since the cakes had no base.
^ᵐnote:The props thus strengthened the sides of each cake to withstand the pressure of the cakes above it.
^ⁿnote:Since the cakes were v-shaped there were obviously spaces underneath the sides of each cake; accordingly the bracket under the lowest cake rested on the Fig. 1 table, v. Fig. 1.
^ᵒnote:As the sides of the cakes a=props: b=cakes: c=rods. were flush with the edge of the table there was no room on the table for the props.
^ᵖnote:Fig. 2 illustrates the arrangement of a row of the Shewbread according to the view that the cakes were fashioned in the shape of a box broken at two sides; Fig. 1 illustrates the arrangement according to the view that they were in the shape of a ship's keel, v-shaped.
^ᵠnote:For the curved sides of the cakes lay on the brackets and held them firm, whilst the brackets and props supported the cakes.