Menachot 87

We recently learned where a person can acquire the best quality oil. The ninth chapter of Tractate Menachot ends with a beraita that identifies the locations where the best animals can be found:

The choicest rams are those from Moab; the choicest lambs are those from Hebron; the choicest calves are those from Sharon; and the choicest fledglings (i.e., doves) and pigeons are those from the King’s Mountain.

Rabbi Yehuda adds that one should select lambs that are as wide as they are tall. While the USDA has its own set of standards, Rabbi Yehuda derives his from an interpretive reading of Isaiah 30:23: “And God will give the rain for your seed, with which you sow the ground, and bread of the produce of the ground, and it shall be fat and bountiful; your cattle shall graze in wide pastures on that day.” The Hebrew word kar, translated straightforwardly here to mean pastures, can also mean lamb. If we substitute this meaning, the verse can be read as saying that the cattle will graze alongside wide lambs. It is their girth, presumably, that makes them worthy of being sacrificed to God.
 
The Talmud could have ended the discussion here. We know where to find the choicest animals and how to recognize them. But having mentioned Isaiah, the Gemara considers another verse from the prophet, 62:6: “I have set watchmen upon your walls, Jerusalem; they shall never be silent day nor night; those who remind the Lord, take no rest.” The Bible often refers to Jerusalem as the city in which God’s presence resides. To provide protection, God deploys angels to stand guard on its walls. And their job, apparently, involved perpetual oration.

So what were the angelic watchmen saying all night long?

Rava bar Rav Sheila said: They recite the verse: “You will arise and have compassion upon Zion; for it is time to be gracious to her, for the appointed time has come.” (Psalms 102:14)
Rav Nahman bar Yitzhak says: They recite the verse: “The Lord builds up Jerusalem, He gathers together the dispersed of Israel.” (Psalms 147:2)

These verses fit the context of Isaiah 62, set after the destruction of the Temple. These angels watch over a bereft city, envisioning the future redemption of Jerusalem restored to glory. On the other hand, the Gemara also wonders what the angels said when the Temple stood.

And initially, before the destruction and exile, what did the watchmen say?
 
Rava bar Rav Sheila says: They would say: “For the Lord has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His habitation. This is My resting place forever; here will I dwell for I have desired it.” (Psalms 132:13–14)

We are in a section of the Talmud intensely focused on the rituals that took place in the Temple — how exactly they were to be performed, and what to do if something, no matter how improbable, were to go wrong. This chapter is no exception. In the absence of an actual Temple, all of this can feel terribly abstract.

If you find yourself getting lost in the weeds of Seder Kodashim, this collection of tractates on Temple rituals, perhaps pause for a moment — as our sages here have done — and listen for the voices of the watchmen on the walls. Their words remind us of the purpose of the sacrificial system: to bring us closer to God.

Read all of Menachot 87 on Sefaria.

This piece originally appeared in a My Jewish Learning Daf Yomi email newsletter sent on April 8, 2026. If you are interested in receiving the newsletter, sign up here.