Menachos Chapter 6, Mishnah 1. We continue with the procedures for offering the menachos (meal offerings). It is interesting to note that this sixth chapter appears in the Gemara as the seventh chapter, but in any case we are here in chapter six, and our Mishnah deals with the laws governing kemitzah - taking a fistful (the full three fingers) from the minchah and offering it on the mizbeach.
The Basic Rule - Kemitzah and Leftovers:
The governing principle in this Mishnah is that kemitzah is performed specifically when there will be leftovers afterward that are eaten by the kohanim. If there are no leftovers designated for a kohen to eat, meaning that the kohen eats nothing at all from this offering, there is no need to take a fistful. The two are bound up with one another: no leftovers to eat - no fistful to take, and the entire offering goes up on the mizbeach. This is the view of the Tanna Kamma, and below we will see that Rabbi Shimon disagrees in one particular case based on a derivation from a verse, although the halachah does not follow him.
The Menachos That Are Subject to Kemitzah:
The language of the Mishnah: "Eilu menachos nikmatzos" - the following is the list of menachos from which a fistful is taken, "u'shyareihen la'kohanim" - what remains of them is called the leftovers and is eaten by the kohanim. These are two sides of the same coin: had a kohen brought a minchah, no fistful would be taken from it, since nothing of it is eaten and it all goes up in the fire.
The minchas ha'soles - the plain voluntary meal offering.
The minchas machavas and the minchas marcheshes - the two that are prepared as a sort of frying on a pan.
Chalos - the minchas ma'afeh tanur, which is baked in an oven. These too are voluntary menachos: a fistful is taken from them, and the rest is eaten by the kohanim.
The minchah of a non-Jew - a non-Jew who brought a minchah, assuming it is accepted; the halachah will state that we do not accept menachos from non-Jews, only burnt offerings.
The minchah of a woman - a woman who brought a minchah, and there is no difference in this regard.
The minchas ha'omer - brought on the second day of Pesach from the new barley crop; from it too a fistful is placed on the mizbeach and the rest is eaten by the kohanim.
The minchas chotei - the meal offering of a sinner, as will be explained below.
The minchas kena'os - the meal offering brought as part of the procedure of the sotah, the woman suspected of adultery, and paid for by the husband. It too is made of barley, and it contains neither oil nor frankincense but is plain; the fistful is taken and goes up on the mizbeach, and the rest is eaten by the kohanim.
The Minchas Chotei - An Adjustable Offering:
The subject of the minchas chotei is needed in order to understand the continuation of the Mishnah. As stated in Vayikra 5, there are three categories of transgressions whose penalty is a sin offering, except that this is an adjustable sin offering, which varies according to the means of the one bringing it:
One who can afford it - brings a regular sin offering.
One who cannot afford it - brings two birds.
One who is so poor that even two birds are beyond his means - brings wheat flour alone, with no oil mixed into it, and this is what is called the minchas chotei.
Ordinarily, as the Mishnah states here, one fistful is taken from the minchas chotei for the mizbeach, and the rest of the minchah - the dry flour - goes to the kohanim, and they prepare it and eat it in the manner of the other menachos.
A Dispute Regarding the Minchas Chotei of a Kohen:
A male kohen who committed one of those transgressions that carry the obligation of an adjustable sin offering, and cannot afford even birds, brings the minchah - and all of it is burned on the mizbeach, since the rule is that all menachos of kohanim are burned and nothing of them is eaten. The question is whether a fistful is taken from it or not.
According to the Tanna Kamma, since no one eats the remainder, there is no kometz here that requires kemitzah; rather, the entire minchah is placed on the fire. But Rabbi Shimon, based on a derivation from the verse stated regarding the minchah of a sinner, says: "Minchas chotei shel kohanim nikmetzes, vehakometz karev le'atzmo vehashirayim kereivim le'atzman" - a kometz is taken from it, and the kometz is offered in one place on the altar and the remainder in another place; two separate portions, and the kohen receives nothing.
The Tanna Kamma, however, says: if the kohen is not going to eat anything, there is no reason to take a kometz, and the halachah follows the Tanna Kamma.
In summary: In this Mishnah we learned the principle linking kemitzah to the remainder - every minchah that has a remainder eaten by the kohanim requires kemitzah, and every minchah from which there is no eating at all goes up entirely on the altar without kemitzah. We listed the menachos that require kemitzah: the minchah of fine flour, the machavas and the marcheshes, the oven-baked minchah, the minchah of gentiles, the minchah of women, the minchah of the Omer, the minchah of a sinner and the minchah of jealousy. We also examined the dispute between the Tanna Kamma and Rabbi Shimon regarding the minchah of a sinner brought by a kohen, which is burned in its entirety, and the halachah that was ruled in accordance with the Tanna Kamma.