Menachot

Menachot (Hebrew: מנחות, "Meal Offerings") is the second tractate of the order Kodashim in the Mishnah and Talmud. It deals primarily with the laws concerning minchah offerings, which are flour or grain offerings brought in the Temple in Jerusalem. Unlike animal sacrifices (korbanot), minchah offerings were non-animal based.

The tractate details the different types of minchah offerings, the ingredients used in their preparation (including fine flour, oil, and frankincense), and the procedures for offering them. It also discusses the minchah offering that accompanies animal sacrifices and the special minchah offerings brought on specific holidays and occasions, such as the omer offering on Passover and the Two Loaves offering on Shavuot.

The tractate Menachot is divided into thirteen chapters. The topics covered include:

• The different types of minchah offerings (e.g., solet, reivech, challot, rekikeem)
• The preparation of the minchah offerings (e.g., kneading, baking, frying)
• The priestly duties involved in offering the minchah
• The use of different utensils for the minchah offerings
• The minchah offering that accompanies animal sacrifices
• The omer offering
• The Two Loaves offering
• The showbread
• Laws pertaining to the incense offering
• Invalid minchah offerings

Menachot is considered a challenging tractate due to its detailed descriptions of Temple rituals and complex halakhic (Jewish legal) issues. It is studied by those seeking a deeper understanding of the Temple service and the laws governing sacrifices in Judaism. Both a Babylonian Talmud and a Jerusalem Talmud exist on Menachot, providing further elaboration and discussion on the Mishnah's rulings.