Menachos, Chapter 8, Mishnah 5. In the previous Mishnah we learned about the three stages of the olive harvest, and that each stage produces three grades of olive oil - nine grades in all. But a question arises: which is preferable, the third grade of the first stage or the first grade of the third stage? Our Mishnah comes to arrange all the grades opposite one another and to establish the quality levels of oil for a menachah.
As has been explained, the Menorah requires pure olive oil, and therefore only grade one is fit for it - whether from the first stage, the second, or the third. Obviously grade one of the first stage is preferable to grade one of the second stage, and that is preferable to grade one of the third stage. But all of this applies to the Menorah; for the menachah, however, the Mishnah establishes five levels of quality.
The principle of the ranking is simple, and a simple chart illustrates it at a glance: the first stage produces oil of quality levels one, two and three; the second stage produces levels two, three and four; and the third stage produces levels three, four and five. It emerges from this that grade two of the first stage is preferable to grade one of the third stage.
The five quality levels in the Mishnah:
"Harishon shebarishon" - grade one of the first stage, about which it says "ein lema'lah mimenu" - there is none above it. This is the finest of the oils, and it is the ideal oil for a menachah.
"Hasheni shebarishon veharishon shebasheni" - grade two of the first stage and grade one of the second stage. They are equal and equally good, and this is the second quality level.
"Hashelishi shebarishon, vehasheni shebasheni, veharishon shebashelishi" - all three are equal, and this is the third quality level. In detail:
The third of the first: olives that came from the top of the tree, except that they had to be ground and placed under the press.
The second of the second: olives that came from the middle of the tree, which were not only crushed but also pressed in the press (and according to Rabbeinu Tam, under stones) in order to extract additional oil.
The first of the third: olives that came from the bottom of the tree, which were placed in the vat, allowed to ferment and dry on the roof, and afterward crushed, with the oil dripping out of them on its own.
"Hashelishi shebasheni vehasheni shebashelishi" - grade three of the second stage, meaning olives from the middle of the tree that were ground, and grade two of the third stage, meaning olives from the bottom of the tree that were pressed but not ground. They are equal, and this is the fourth quality level.
"Hashelishi shebashelishi" - olives that came from the bottom of the tree, which had to be ground and pressed, about which it says "ein lematah mimenu" - there is none below it. This is the lowest level of them all, and nevertheless it is fit after the fact.
Why do the menachos not require pure olive oil?
The Mishnah raises a logical argument: "Af hamenachos hayu badin sheyit'anu shemen zayis zach" - logic would seem to require that the menachos too should need pure, virgin olive oil that was neither ground nor crushed. And this is the kal vachomer: "Mah im hamenorah she'einah la'achilah te'unah shemen zayis zach, hamenachos shehen la'achilah - eino din sheyit'anu shemen zayis zach?" - if the Menorah, from which nothing is eaten at all and which serves only for light, requires pure olive oil, then all the more so the menachos, which are eaten by the kohanim, should require pure oil.
But the conclusion is the opposite: "Talmud lomar: 'zach kasis lama'or'" - the verse teaches that specifically for the light is pure, crushed olive oil required, and not pure crushed oil for the menachos. For the menachos there is no requirement that the oil be finely crushed and completely clear, and this is not part of the basic law.
In practice, all of these grades of oil are fit for menachos. Nevertheless, ideally, whoever can afford it should make an effort to use the first quality level, which is the finest, and after it the second, the third and the fourth, while the fifth is the lowest of them all. And within each of the five quality levels, all the grades included in it are equal to one another.
In summary: in this Mishnah we learned how the nine grades of oil produced by the three stages are ranked into five quality levels, from "harishon shebarishon," than which there is none higher, to "hashelishi shebashelishi," than which there is none lower. We also examined the kal vachomer that sought to require pure olive oil for the menachos as well, and the teaching of the verse "zach kasis lama'or" - for the light and not for the menachos, and therefore all the oils are fit for a menachah, although ideally one should choose the finest quality.