A few pages ago, we learned that the handful removed from a meal offering must be removed specifically with the right hand, not the left. We even read a discussion of how the fingers are positioned while scooping. So it probably comes as no surprise that the rabbis agree a utensil cannot be used for this task. However, Rav and Shmuel disagree about the derivation that proves this is the case.
Rav cites Leviticus 9:17, which describes Aaron using his hand to take a handful of meal from an offering at the dedication of the Tabernacle: “He then brought forward the grain offering and, taking a handful of it, he turned it into smoke on the altar …” The language here strongly suggests that Aaron used his hand rather than a spoon to scoop the grain. Therefore, Rav concludes, future generations are also commanded to use their hands. But Shmuel responds:
We do not derive the halakhah for all generations from a temporary situation.
Shmuel views this particular minchah offering as singular, not exemplary. After all, the dedication of the Tabernacle was a unique event, and therefore, this offering was not typical. As a result, Shmuel argues, it has no bearing on whether scooping by hand is necessary for future meal offerings.
But the Gemara immediately recalls a time when Shmuel made an argument of just this sort:
And does Shmuel not derive the halakhah for all generations from a temporary situation? But didn’t we learn in a mishnah: Service vessels used for the liquids sanctify only the liquids placed in them, and service vessels for dry substances sanctify only the dry substances that are placed in them. But service vessels used for the liquids do not sanctify the dry substances placed in them, and service vessels used to measure dry substances do not sanctify the liquids placed in them.
This argument is on Zevachim 88a, which discusses the Temple’s service vessels for liquids, like oil or wine, and dry ingredients, like flour. The mishnah on that page tells us that vessels sanctify only the kinds of materials they’re designated for. In a statement quoted both there and here, Shmuel offers the following challenge:
And Shmuel says: They taught that halakhah only with regard to service vessels used to measure liquids. But cups sanctify dry substances, as it is written, “… one silver bowl weighing 130 shekels and one silver basin of 70 shekels by the sanctuary weight, both filled with choice flour with oil mixed in.” (Numbers 7:13)
Shmuel argues that the mishnah is partly correct in that vessels for dry substances can’t sanctify liquids. However, bowls used for liquid can sanctify dry substances. As evidence, he refers to an occasion in the Torah when the twelve tribal chieftains each made an offering at the dedication of the Tabernacle. There, they presented meal offerings in bowls that would typically be used for liquids. Therefore, the Gemara concludes, Shmuel does sometimes derive halakhah from a singular event. In this case, it is even the same event (the dedication of the Tabernacle) that Rav used earlier.
Is Shmuel a hypocrite? Or is there an explanation for this apparent inconsistency?
There it is different, as the verse is repeated 12 times.
According to the Gemara, the dedication of the Tabernacle was a singular event. However, the offerings made by each individual chieftain during that dedication were not, since they were done twelve times (once by each chieftain). And this is how we can understand Shmuel to be consistent.
This feels like a bit of a stretch, but ultimately, the halakhah follows Shmuel’s opinion: The Mishneh Torah states that bowls primarily used for liquids consecrate both liquids and solids. What have we learned? Perhaps the lesson is that we should be wary about drawing general conclusions from extraordinary circumstances. But we should also maintain some flexibility in our definition of what is truly singular.
Read all of Menachot 19 on Sefaria.
This piece originally appeared in a My Jewish Learning Daf Yomi email newsletter sent on January 30, 2026. If you are interested in receiving the newsletter, sign up here.
