QUESTION: In the Mishnah, the Tana Kama and Rebbi Shimon disagree about the law in the case of a Minchah that is not offered in a Kli Shares. The Tana Kama says it is invalid, and Rebbi Shimon says that it is valid.

In the Gemara, Rav Yehudah brei d'Rebbi Chiya explains that Rebbi Shimon derives from a verse that one may offer a Minchah with his right hand, just as one may perform the sprinkling of the blood of a Chatas with his right hand.

The Gemara question this from a Beraisa. The Beraisa states that a Kometz (among many other things) is valid whether it is offered by hand or in a vessel, with one's right hand or with one's left hand. The Gemara answers that Rav Yehudah understands that the Beraisa means that whether the Kometz is offered with one's right hand, and whether it is offered in a vessel with either hand, it is valid.

The Gemara's discussion focuses on the reasoning of Rebbi Shimon. This implies that the reasoning of the Tana Kama is obvious, and thus the Halachah should follow the view of the Tana Kama, and not the view of Beraisa which is consistent with the opinion of Rebbi Shimon. However, the RAMBAM (Hilchos Pesulei ha'Mukdashin 2:24) records this Beraisa as the Halachah. Does the Rambam rule like Rebbi Shimon? If he does, why does he side with Rebbi Shimon against the Tana Kama?

(a) The LECHEM MISHNEH (Hilchos Pesulei ha'Mukdashin 2:24) explains that the Rambam understands that the Tana Kama agrees that offering a Minchah in this manner is valid b'Di'eved. Accordingly, the Rambam rules like the Tana Kama. (Although the Lechem Mishneh questions this approach, he concludes with a defense of this understanding of the Rambam.)

The YAD BINYAMIN notes that many Acharonim challenge the answer of the Lechem Mishneh. They ask that the Rambam himself seems to contradict it. The Rambam explicitly writes (in Hilchos Pesulei ha'Mukdashin 11:6) that if a person offers a Minchah without a Kli Shares, it is invalid. How, then, can the Lechem Mishneh suggest that the Rambam maintains that it is valid b'Di'eved?

(b) The Yad Binyamin quotes the MIRKEVES HA'MISHNEH, KEREN ORAH, and others who differentiate between bringing the Minchah to the Mizbe'ach and actually placing it on the fire of the Mizbe'ach. They say that the service that must be done in a Kli Shares, according to the Tana Kama, is the bringing of the Minchah to the Mizbe'ach. The Tana Kama agrees that once the Minchah is on the Mizbe'ach, one may place it on the fire with one's hands, if he so chooses.

Accordingly, when the Rambam writes that a Minchah offered without a Kli Shares is invalid, he refers to the act of bringing it to the Mizbe'ach. When the Rambam writes that it is valid, he refers to placing it on the fire once it is already on top of the Mizbe'ach. (See the Yad Binyamin here at length, who discusses various reasons for differentiating between bringing the Minchah to the Mizbe'ach and placing it on the fire.)

(c) The HAR HA'MORIYAH on the Rambam (Hilchos Pesulei ha'Mukdashin 2:24) explains that the Rambam rules like the Rabanan, who require that the Kometz be offered both on the Mizbe'ach and on the fire with a vessel. Accordingly, the word "veha'Kematzim" in the list of things that may be offered with one's hands is an error in the text, and it should be replaced with "veha'Etzim," "and the wood." (Y. MONTROSE)

QUESTION: The Mishnah teaches that if a Kohen offers the Kometz twice, which means that he offers it in halves, it is valid. In the Gemara, Rebbi Yehoshua ben Levi explains that the Mishnah means that it is valid only when he offers it in no more than two parts (he first offers half, and later he offers the second half). If he offers it in more parts, it is invalid. Rebbi Yochanan disagrees and says that the Kometz is valid even when it is offered in three or four parts.

The Gemara inquires about the reasoning behind their dispute. Rebbi Zeira says that their dispute depends on whether a Kometz may be less than the size of two k'Zeisim, and whether offering a Minchah of less than a k'Zayis is considered an offering. Rebbi Yehoshua ben Levi maintains that a Kometz cannot be less than two k'Zeisim, and that a Minchah of less than a k'Zayis cannot be offered. Rebbi Yochanan maintains that a Kometz can be less than two k'Zeisim, and that a Minchah of less than a k'Zayis can be offered.

What is the basis for this argument? Why does Rebbi Yehoshua ben Levi maintain that a Kometz cannot be less than two k'Zeisim? What is the source for this requirement?

(a) The SEFAS EMES suggests the possibility that this is a Halachah l'Moshe mi'Sinai. However, he says that it is difficult to say that two Amora'im disagree about whether a certain Halachah l'Moshe mi'Sinai exists.

(b) The KEREN ORAH explains that Rebbi Yehoshua ben Levi maintains that the Kometz (handful) of the average person can hold at least two k'Zeisim. Accordingly, when the Mishnah mentions a Kohen who offers the Kometz twice, it means that each offering will be at least a k'Zayis. Rebbi Yochanan says that it is possible that a small Kohen will not be able to separate a Kometz of two k'Zeisim, and therefore the Kometz that he separates may be comprised of multiple parts less than a k'Zayis.

The YAD BINYAMIN has difficulty with this explanation. According to the Keren Orah, the dispute involves the factual reality: Is there a Kohen whose hands are so small that he cannot separate a Kometz of two k'Zeisim?

(c) The Yad Binyamin therefore suggests another answer, similar to that of the Keren Orah. Everyone agrees that there is such a person whose hands do not allow him to separate two k'Zeisim. The dispute is whether such a person is so small that he is considered disqualified from performing the Avodah (since he may have the status of a dwarf, which is a blemish which disqualifies a Kohen from performing the Avodah). Rebbi Yehoshua ben Levi says that such a small person is disqualified from performing the Avodah, and therefore he maintains that a Kometz is not less than two k'Zeisim. Rebbi Yochanan says that such a person is not disqualified, and therefore he accepts two halves of a Kometz when they are each less than a k'Zayis. (Y. MONTROSE)