Mishnah 17 · Menachos 5:6 · From the Omer to Shavuos

A Zeman Nakat Project

From the Omer to Shavuos · Mishnah 17 of 43 · Interactive Edition

Movement II·C · The Omer's Attributes and Sacrificial Profile

17 · מְנָחוֹת ה:ו · Menachos 5:6

      אֵלּוּ טְעוּנִין תְּנוּפָה וְאֵין טְעוּנִין הַגָּשָׁה:
        לֹג שֶׁמֶן שֶׁל מְצֹרָע וַאֲשָׁמוֹ,
        וְהַבִּכּוּרִים כְּדִבְרֵי רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר בֶּן יַעֲקֹב,
        וְאֵמוּרֵי שַׁלְמֵי יָחִיד וְחָזֶה וָשׁוֹק שֶׁלָּהֶן,
        וּשְׁתֵּי הַלֶּחֶם, וּשְׁנֵי כִבְשֵׂי עֲצָרֶת.
      כֵּיצַד הוּא עוֹשֶׂה? נוֹתֵן שְׁתֵּי הַלֶּחֶם עַל גַּבֵּי שְׁנֵי כְבָשִׂים,
        מַנִּיחַ שְׁתֵּי יָדָיו מִלְּמַטָּן, מוֹלִיךְ וּמֵבִיא, מַעֲלֶה וּמוֹרִיד.
      תְּנוּפָה הָיְתָה בַמִּזְרָח, וְהַגָּשָׁה בַּמַּעֲרָב. וּתְנוּפוֹת קוֹדְמוֹת לְהַגָּשׁוֹת.
      מִנְחַת הָעֹמֶר וּמִנְחַת קְנָאוֹת — טְעוּנוֹת תְּנוּפָה וְהַגָּשָׁה.
      לֶחֶם הַפָּנִים וּמִנְחַת נְסָכִים — לֹא תְנוּפָה וְלֹא הַגָּשָׁה.
    

These require waving but not bringing near: the leper's log of oil and his guilt offering; Bikkurim [R' Eliezer ben Yaakov]; the sacrificial portions of individual peace offerings with their breast and thigh; the two loaves and the two Shavuot lambs. How is the waving done? The two loaves are placed on top of the two lambs; he places his two hands beneath, extends and draws back, raises and lowers. Waving was in the east; bringing near was in the west; wavings precede bringings-near. The Omer meal offering and the jealousy minhah require both waving and bringing near. Lechem HaPanim and libation minhaos require neither.

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Four-quadrant illustration of the tenufah/hagasha taxonomy: Bikkurim (tenufah only), Shtei HaLechem on the lambs (tenufah), Minchas HaOmer (tenufah and hagashah), Lechem HaPanim (neither)

The four-quadrant taxonomy — tenufah and hagazshah

Waving only — no bringing near

לֹג שֶׁמֶן דְּמְצֹרָע
אֲשַׁם מְצֹרָע
בִּכּוּרִים (R' Eliezer b. Yaakov)
אֵמוּרֵי שַׁלְמֵי יָחִיד
שְׁתֵּי הַלֶּחֶם + כִּבְשֵׂי עֲצָרֶת

Both waving and bringing near

מִנְחַת הָעֹמֶר
מִנְחַת קְנָאוֹת

Bringing near only — no waving

מְנָחוֹת רְגִילוֹת
(other standard minhaos)

Neither waving nor bringing near

לֶחֶם הַפָּנִים
מִנְחַת נְסָכִים

How the Shtei HaLechem waving is performed — Vayikra 23:20

נוֹתֵן שְׁתֵּי הַלֶּחֶם עַל גַּבֵּי שְׁנֵי כְבָשִׂים — מוֹלִיךְ וּמֵבִיא, מַעֲלֶה וּמוֹרִיד

The two loaves are placed on top of the two live lambs. The Kohein places his hands beneath both the lambs and the loaves, and waves: extends and draws back (four directions), then raises and lowers. The bread and the animals are waved together as a single unit. This combination — bread on top of living animals, waved as one — is unique in all of minhah law. Waving was performed in the eastern section of the Azarah; bringing-near was performed in the west. Waving always precedes bringing-near when both are required.

The Omer vs. the Shtei HaLechem — again at opposite ends

The Omer — both waving AND bringing near

מִנְחַת הָעֹמֶר — תְּנוּפָה וְהַגָּשָׁה

The Omer requires both actions: waving (Vayikra 23:11 — "he shall wave the Omer") and bringing near to the altar's corner. Both requirements give the Omer maximum sacrificial engagement with the Azarah's procedures.

The Shtei HaLechem — waving only, no bringing near

שְׁתֵּי הַלֶּחֶם — תְּנוּפָה בִּלְבַד

The Shtei HaLechem requires waving — dramatically, stacked on the live lambs — but not bringing near to the altar's corner. Its exclusion from the Mizbeach (chametz cannot go on the altar) means bringing-near, which moves the offering toward the altar, is also excluded.

Position in the Omer to Shavuos arc — 43 mishnayos

Preceding · Mishnah 16

Menachos 5:3

Oil and frankincense — the Omer has both, the Shtei HaLechem neither

Current · Mishnah 17

Menachos 5:6 — Waving and Bringing Near

Movement II·C

The contrast continues: the Omer has both waving and bringing-near; the Shtei HaLechem has waving only. Each taxonomy mishnah shows the same pattern — the Omer is standard and full-featured; the Shtei HaLechem is exceptional and restricted. The waving of the Shtei HaLechem stacked on the live lambs is one of the most visually striking ritual acts in the entire Temple service.

Following · Mishnah 18

Menachos 5:7

Three offerings, three mitzvos — R' Shimon's classification