Menachot 61

In a mishnah on yesterday’s daf, we learned about two procedures for offerings: bringing near to the altar (hagasha) and waving (tenufah). Some offerings require one or the other, some require both and others require neither. Today, we read a long mishnah about offerings that require waving alone. Among these are:

The first fruits, in accordance with the statement of Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya’akov.

We learn about the ritual of bringing bikkurim, first fruits, in Deuteronomy 26. There, we are told that an Israelite farmer is required to put a portion of the first fruits of their harvest in a basket and take it to the Temple in Jerusalem, where they give it to the priest and recite a passage familiar to us from the Passover Haggadah, beginning with the words, “My father was a fugitive Aramean …” 

Today’s discussion hinges on a different verse found within that passage: “The priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down in front of the altar of the Eternal your God.” (Deuteronomy 26:4) Rabbi Eliezer cites this verse as the source for the requirement to wave the first fruits. But how do we get from this verse describing the handover of the basket to the requirement that the priest should wave it? The Gemara explains: 

What is the reason for the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya’akov? The matter is derived by means of a verbal analogy from “hand,” written with regard to first fruits, and from “hand,” written with regard to a peace offering. It is written here, with regard to first fruits: “And the priest shall take the basket from your hand,” (Deuteronomy 26:4) and it is written there: offering “He who offers his peace offering to God … his hands shall bring it, the fire of God … to raise it as a waving before God.” (Leviticus 7:29–30)

Ah, it’s our old friend gezerah shavah (verbal analogy). The word “hand” is found both in our verse about the first fruits and in a verse from Leviticus describing the peace offering. There, the Torah explicitly instructs the priest to wave the offering, and so Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya’akov extrapolates that in the case of the first fruits, too, the offering is waved. The Gemara notes that Rabbi Yehuda also holds the same view, although he derives it differently:

He (Rabbi Yehuda) explains: When it states earlier: “And the priest shall take the basket from your hand, and place it before the altar of the Lord your God,” (Deuteronomy 26:4) placement alongside the altar is already stated; how do I realize the meaning of: “And you shall place it”? This is a reference to waving. 

So if Rabbi Eliezer isn’t the only one with the opinion that first fruits should be waved, why does he get all the credit in the mishnah?

Rava says: since the Torah opened first with Rabbi Eliezer’s source (Deuteronomy 26:4) and Rabbi Yehuda finds it later (Deuteronomy 26:10).

Rav Nahman bar Yitzhak says: since (Rabbi Eliezer’s) strength in Torah is great. 

Rabbi Eliezer gets the credit for two reasons. Rava says that it’s because the source Rabbi Eliezer uses to support his opinion appears in the Torah before that used by Rabbi Yehuda. Rav Nahman bar Yitzhak offers a broader rationale: Rabbi Eliezer’s scholarship is outstanding. But so is Rabbi Yehuda’s, certainly. Why, then, is Rav Nahman’s reasoning accepted? Because elsewhere in the Talmud, it’s established that Rabbi Eliezer’s opinions are the ones you can count on: 

Rabbi Yohanan said: The people are accustomed to conduct themselves in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya’akov. (Eruvin 62b)

In citing this passage, Rashi notes: “And his intellect is great, for we hold the principle that the teachings of Rabbi Eliezer are clean and precise (kav v’naki).” 

You can’t do better than that.

Read all of Menachot 61 on Sefaria.

This piece originally appeared in a My Jewish Learning Daf Yomi email newsletter sent on March 13, 2026. If you are interested in receiving the newsletter, sign up here.