Menachos Chapter 11, Mishnah 2. In order to understand the Mishnah before us, we must first bring to mind the two levels of sanctity that can take effect on items such as a minchah (meal offering):
Kedushas damim (sanctity of value) - the value of the object is what is consecrated, not the object itself. This is an external sanctity.
Kedushas haguf (inherent sanctity) - the object itself is holy in its own right.
The practical difference between the two levels is great: with kedushas damim, where only the value is consecrated, the sanctity can be transferred from one item to another - if it became disqualified, became tamei, or one simply wishes to exchange it. The sanctity can be redeemed onto coins, since we are dealing with value, and from the coins onto a new object, and even by way of exchange and substitution, and the sanctity moves along. But with kedushas haguf, where the object itself is consecrated, there is no longer any possibility of transferring the sanctity elsewhere, and if it became disqualified, there is no remedy other than burning.
Three disqualifications in items that have kedushas haguf:
Items fit to be brought up on the Altar, such as the components of a minchah, are subject from the moment kedushas haguf takes effect on them to three problems and possible disqualifications:
Tumah - once they became tamei, they can no longer be replaced, and therefore they may not be offered and their law is burning.
Yotzei (leaving) - an item that has kedushas haguf and is fit to go up on the Altar, which left the Azarah, is automatically disqualified and never returns to its valid status, and its law is burning.
Linah (remaining overnight) - if it remained beyond its designated time, which for most items is the following morning, it is no longer valid, and its law is burning.
How is the sanctity acquired?
Kedushas damim is acquired through designation by speech: once a person says, "This is the flour for the minchah," sanctity immediately takes effect on the flour. It is done by mouth, and kedushas damim takes effect on it automatically. Kedushas haguf is acquired in several ways, and the simplest and most direct of them is placing the components of the minchah into a kli shareis, a consecrated vessel of the Beis HaMikdash; once they enter it, kedushas haguf takes effect on them automatically.
It is worth recalling the dispute we saw in the ninth chapter, Mishnah 5: regarding the measuring vessels for dry measure, which are used for measuring flour, the Tannaim disagreed. Regarding the vessels for liquid measure, all agree that they have kedushas haguf, and if one placed oil in them, it was sanctified immediately. But regarding the dry measuring vessels, used for flour alone, they disagreed in three approaches as to how this sanctity operates.
This dispute appears again in the Mishnah before us. In the preparation of the lechem hapanim and the shtei halechem there is no liquid mixed in a kli shareis - even though there is water in the dough, it does not enter a kli shareis - and therefore the subject under discussion is the flour placed in the measuring vessel, since one issaron and two esronim are required. If the measuring vessels are consecrated, the flour is immediately sanctified with kedushas haguf and the stringent law applies to it; and if they are not consecrated and are not kelei shareis, placing the flour in them does not confer kedushas haguf, and that will come at a later stage. Our Mishnah contains three opinions, for we will see a third possibility: even if the measuring vessels for the esronim do not have kedushas haguf, the oven in which the bread is baked still sanctifies.
The wording of the Mishnah:
"Echad shtei halechem ve'echad lechem hapanim" - the law is the same for the shtei halechem of Shavuos and for the lechem hapanim of every Shabbos.
"Lishasan va'arichasan ba'chutz" - their preparation may be done outside the precincts of the Beis HaMikdash. Lishah is the kneading of the dough, the mixing of flour and water, and arichah is shaping them into loaves. From the fact that this is done outside we learn that they do not yet possess kedushas haguf (inherent sanctity), for if they did, the problem of yotzei would arise immediately. This opinion therefore follows the approach of Rabbi Akiva in chapter 9, mishnah 5, that the measuring vessels for dry measure do not have the status of kli shareis, and they do not confer kedushas haguf upon the flour, and consequently there is no problem of yotzei here.
"Va'afiyasan bifnim" - the baking must be done within the precincts of the Beis HaMikdash, for the ovens stand there and the baking takes place inside the Azarah, since the ovens do have the status of kli shareis and they confer kedushas haguf upon the loaves.
"V'einan dochos es haShabbos" - the preparation of these loaves does not override Shabbos. If Shavuos falls on Shabbos, the shtei halechem must be baked before Shabbos; and likewise the lechem hapanim, whose placement is always on Shabbos, is baked before Shabbos.
A difficulty with this opinion:
If the ovens are sanctified and confer kedushas haguf, then from the moment the bread is baked the law of linah should apply to it. If so, the baking should have been done specifically on Shabbos, for if it were baked before Shabbos, by Shabbos morning it would already be disqualified through linah. The question here is stronger than the answer. One possibility is to say that this is not so, and that although the ovens create a potential problem of yotzei, they do not create a problem of linah. Why should that be? It is a good question, and we will discuss it further in the ninth mishnah of this chapter.
In practice the Rambam rules in accordance with the conclusion of the Gemara and with this opinion: the measuring vessels are not sanctified, and therefore the kneading and similar activities may be done outside the precincts; but the ovens are sanctified and confer kedushas haguf, and therefore the baking must be done within the area of the Beis HaMikdash, and even so this does not override Shabbos. According to this we will have to resolve the difficulty at a later stage, perhaps when we reach mishnah 10.
Two further opinions regarding the status of the measuring vessels:
Rabbi Yehudah says: "Kol ma'aseha bifnim" - the entire process of preparing the lechem hapanim and the shtei halechem must be done inside, within the Azarah, because in his view the measuring vessels that measure out the isronim of fine flour are sanctified and were anointed with the anointing oil, and they confer kedushas haguf upon the flour automatically. Therefore even the measuring of the flour, and all the more so the kneading and everything thereafter, must be done in the Azarah, for otherwise the problem of yotzei would arise and it would be disqualified.
On the other side, Rabbi Shimon says: "L'olam hevei ragil lomar". This is a strange expression, and its meaning is as follows: Rabbi Shimon holds that there is no sanctity in the vessels, and therefore there is nothing preventing the lechem hapanim and the other bread from being prepared outside the precincts. However, he has no verse upon which to rely, and all he has is a tradition, and therefore he said that a person should accustom himself to say this regularly, in order to keep the tradition alive on his lips.
And what is the tradition? That the bread - the lechem hapanim - "kesheiros ba'Azarah u'kesheiros b'Veis Pagi". The lechem hapanim and likewise the bread may be prepared in the Azarah, and they are equally valid if prepared in Beis Pagi. Beis Pagi was the place where they would produce loaves that were baked outside the Beis HaMikdash but were intended for use in the area of the Beis HaMikdash, such as the loaves that accompany the korban todah. In Rabbi Shimon's view the lechem hapanim may be made even in Beis Pagi, since there is no sanctity either in the measuring vessels or in the ovens, and they confer no sanctity, so the problem of yotzei does not exist at all.
When does kedushas haguf take effect according to Rabbi Shimon?
The halachah, as stated, follows the conclusion of the Gemara: the loaves must be baked on the premises, and this does not override Shabbos, but taking them out of the Azarah after the baking does indeed raise the problem of yotzei. However, according to Rabbi Shimon, who holds that kedushas haguf does not take effect during the preparation of the bread at all, and not even after the baking, when does kedushas haguf take effect upon them? Not through a kli shareis, but rather:
For the lechem hapanim - through the offering of the bazichin (the spoons of frankincense). Once the bazichin have been offered, kedushas haguf takes effect upon the loaves, and they are eaten only by male kohanim in the Azarah, and from then on they may not be taken outside.
For the shtei halechem - through the slaughtering of the kivsei ha'atzeres, the lambs that accompany the shtei halechem. Their slaughter confers kedushas haguf upon the two loaves, and from that moment they may no longer be taken outside the Azarah.
In summary: In this mishnah we learned the distinction between kedushas damim and kedushas haguf, and the three disqualifications that apply to something possessing kedushas haguf - tumah, yotzei and linah. We examined the three opinions regarding the status of the measuring vessels and the ovens: according to the Tanna Kamma the kneading and shaping are done outside and the baking inside, and they do not override Shabbos; according to Rabbi Yehudah the entire process is done inside; and according to Rabbi Shimon they are valid even in Beis Pagi, and kedushas haguf takes effect only through the offering of the bazichin and the slaughtering of the kivsei ha'atzeres. In practice the Rambam ruled in accordance with the conclusion of the Gemara, and we will leave the difficulty concerning linah to be resolved later in the chapter.