A Zeman Nakat Project
From the Omer to Shavuos · Mishnah 41 of 43 · Interactive Edition
Movement IV · The Kisvei Atzeres and Technical Laws
41 · מְעִילָה ב:ו · Me'ilah 2:6 — The Bread
שְׁתֵּי הַלֶּחֶם — מוֹעֲלִין בָּהֶן מִשֶּׁהֻקְדְּשׁוּ.
קָרְמוּ בַתַּנּוּר, הֻכְשְׁרוּ לְהִפָּסֵל בִּטְבוּל יוֹם וּבִמְחֻסַּר כִּפּוּרִים,
וְלִשְׁחֹט עֲלֵיהֶם אֶת הַזָּבַח.
נִזְרַק דָּמָן שֶׁל כְּבָשִׂים, חַיָּבִין עֲלֵיהֶן מִשּׁוּם פִּגּוּל, נוֹתָר וְטָמֵא,
וְאֵין בָּהֶן מְעִילָה.
The two loaves: Me'ilah applies from consecration. Once a crust formed in the oven (karmu): susceptible to disqualification through tevul yom and mechusar kippurim; and [ready] to slaughter the offering on their account. Once the blood of the lambs was sprinkled: liable for pigul, notar, tamei. Me'ilah no longer applies.
Green — Me'ilah applies / ready to slaughter
Fuchsia — Disqualification / liability begins
Listen with Ephraim Diamond · 6:01
0:00 / 6:01
0:00
6:01
Speed
Transcript · click any word to jump
▾
A picture is worth a thousand words
▾
Three-stage kedushah timeline for the Shtei HaLechem
Stage 1
מִשֶּׁהֻקְדְּשׁוּ
Consecration
Consecration
Me'ilah applies to the bread — misusing it triggers karet
Cannot yet slaughter the lambs "on their account"
Stage 2
קָרְמוּ בַתַּנּוּר
Crust forms
Crust forms
Susceptible to disqualification: tevul yom, mechusar kippurim
Now eligible to slaughter the lambs "on their account" (the lambs' bringing is connected to the bread)
Linah does NOT apply at this stage — see below
Stage 3
נִזְרַק דָּמָן
Blood sprinkled
Blood sprinkled
Pigul begins — the lamb's blood-sprinkling is the permitting factor for the bread
Notar — eating after the time window (see M35: 2–3 days)
Tamei — eating while impure
Me'ilah ENDS — the bread is now permitted for Kohanim
Karmu — why "crust formed" is the threshold (not slaughter)
קָרְמוּ בַתַּנּוּר
The bread's critical threshold (Stage 2) is "karmu" — the moment a crust forms in the oven. This is when the bread takes its definitive shape and becomes a discrete object. For the lambs, the equivalent threshold was slaughter. For the bread, there is no slaughter — the bread is a minhah. The functional equivalent is the moment the bread becomes fully "constituted" as a Korban, which is when the crust forms and it is recognizable as the final product. This is also the moment the waving (tenufah) becomes possible — you wave completed loaves, not dough.
The crucial difference: linah at Stage 2
The lambs — linah is a disqualification
לִינָה — פּוֹסֶלֶת בַּכְּבָשִׂים
If the lambs' blood is not sprinkled before nightfall after slaughter, they are disqualified (linah). The overnight exposure at Stage 2 is a real hazard for the lambs — they must be slaughtered and sprinkled same day.
The bread — linah is built into the mitzva
לִינָה — אֵינָהּ פּוֹסֶלֶת בַּלֶּחֶם
The Shtei HaLechem is baked erev Shavuos and brought on Shavuos — the overnight is mandatory, built into the mitzva's design. An act that is part of the mitzva cannot disqualify the mitzva. Therefore linah does not appear in the bread's Stage 2 list, while it does appear in the lambs' Stage 2 list.
Position in the Omer to Shavuos arc — 43 mishnayos
Preceding · Mishnah 40
Me'ilah 2:5
Three-stage kedushah for the lambs — slaughter is Stage 2
Current · Mishnah 41
Me'ilah 2:6 — Kedushah Timeline: Bread
Movement IV
The parallel to M40, now for the bread. The parallel structure highlights the differences: Stage 2 is karmu (not slaughter), linah does not apply (it is built into the mitzva), and Stage 3 is triggered by the lambs' blood (not the bread's own blood). The bread is entirely dependent on the lambs for its permitting factor — exactly what R' Shimon established in M39.
Following · Mishnah 42
Menachos 2:2
Pigul — what happens when one loaf or one lamb is rendered improper