Today’s daf explores an interesting question: If an offering brought to the Temple is deficient in some way — missing a small portion, or with a small part otherwise unfit — can the majority of the sacrifice still be offered, and can the priests consume the portion that would normally be allotted to them and their families? A mishnah at the top of today’s daf states that, no, only completely fit offerings are acceptable. After listing various examples, the mishnah concludes:
With regard to the fine flour and the oil, failure to bring either prevents fulfillment of the mitzvah with the other. With regard to the handful and the frankincense, failure to burn either prevents fulfillment of the mitzvah with the other.
It’s the whole thing, or nothing at all. This ruling leads to a discussion sparked by the very next mishnah concerning other items comprised of multiple components that rely on each other to be complete, including this familiar example:
The four species of the lulav.
Leviticus 23:40 states: “On the first day (of the holiday of Sukkot) you shall take the product of hadar trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Eternal your God seven days.” Back in Tractate Sukkot, we explored the details of these four species, including how to hold them together. Today, the Gemara examines the four species through the lens of the mishnah:
And with regard to the four species of the lulav (each prevents fulfillment of the mitzvah with the others), as the verse states: “And you shall take them (ulkakhtem)” (Leviticus 23:40), which alludes to: A complete taking (lekikha tamma), comprising all four species.
Rashi explains: “The four are like one.” In other words, we don’t consider the four species to have their own ritual identities apart from one another. They are all held together, and comprise one entity. Just like a meal offering that’s missing its frankincense isn’t acceptable, a lulav without its etrog can’t be used to fulfill the mitzvah. Of course, since this is the Talmud, there’s an objection:
Rav Hanan bar Rava says: The mishnah taught (that the four species of the lulav are necessary for the fulfillment of the mitzvah) only in a case where one did not have all four species; but if one has all four species, failure to take each of the components does not prevent fulfillment of the mitzvah with the others (and he fulfills the mitzvah by taking each species individually).
We have encountered this kind of counterintuitive argument before
— back on Menachot 18. The Gemara fires back with several objections. Here’s my favorite:
And so too, when the Jewish people fast and pray for acceptance of their repentance, this is not accomplished until they are all bound together in a single bundle, as it is stated: “It is He that builds His upper chambers in the Heaven, and has established His bundle upon the earth.” (Amos 9:6)
The midrash in Leviticus Rabbah (30:12) expands this idea, explaining that there are four different kinds of Jews, each represented by one of the four species:
The etrog: “This is Israel; just as the citron has taste and has fragrance, so Israel has people among them who have Torah and have good deeds.”
The lulav: “This is Israel; just as the date palm has taste but has no fragrance, so Israel has people among them who have Torah but do not have good deeds.”
The myrtle: “This is Israel; just as the myrtle has fragrance but has no taste, so Israel has people among them who have good deeds but do not have Torah.”
The willows: “This is Israel; just as the willow has no taste and has no fragrance, so Israel has people among them who do not have Torah and do not have good deeds.”
The midrash concludes:
What does the Holy One blessed be He do to them? To eradicate them is not possible. Rather, the Holy One blessed be He said: Let them all be bound together in a single bundle and they will atone for one another.
I’m captivated by the repetition of the words “This is Israel.” A true Jewish community is, in common parlance, a “big tent.” The four species aren’t complete with only three. A grain offering isn’t complete without its frankincense. And a Jew isn’t complete without other Jews, even if — maybe especially if — they’re different from one another. Educated, non-educated, pious, not so much: all make up our diverse and complicated community.
Read all of Menachot 27 on Sefaria.
This piece originally appeared in a My Jewish Learning Daf Yomi email newsletter sent on February 7, 2026. If you are interested in receiving the newsletter, sign up here.
