Study Yoma folio 47B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
ובמחבת ובמרחשת, מוחק בגודלו מלמעלה, ובאצבעו קטנה מלמטה. וזו היא עבודה קשה שבמקדש. זו היא ותו לא? והא איכא מליקה, והא איכא חפינה! אלא: זו היא מעבודות קשות שבמקדש.
And in a case of a meal-offering prepared in a pan and with regard to a meal-offering prepared in a deep container, when the flour was fried before being scooped and was therefore hard, the priest smooths with his thumb any flour that was overflowing above his handful, and with his little finger he smooths the flour that was pushing out below. And this precise taking of a handful of a meal-offering is the most difficult sacrificial rite in the Temple. The Talmud asks: This one is the hardest rite, and no other? But there is pinching, which is also considered extremely difficult, and there is taking the handful of incense, another complex rite. Rather, this taking of a handful of a meal-offering is one of the most difficult rites in the Temple.
אמר רבי יוחנן, בעי רבי יהושע בן עוזאה: בין הבינים של מלא קומצו, מהו? אמר רב פפא: דגואי לא תיבעי לך — דודאי קומץ הוא. דבראי לא תיבעי לך — דודאי שירים הוא.
§ R' Yoḥanan said that R' Yehoshua ben Uza’a raised a dilemma: What is the halakha with regard to the flour that remains between the fingers of his handfuls? Is this flour considered to be part of his handful, or is it considered part of the remainder of the meal-offering? The Talmud elaborates: Rav Pappa said that with regard to the flour that is on the inside, toward the hand, do not raise the dilemma, as it is certainly part of the handful. Likewise, with regard to the flour that is on the outside, do not raise the dilemma, as it is certainly part of the remainder of the flour, like the rest of the meal-offering.
כי תיבעי לך דביני ביני מאי. אמר רבי יוחנן: הדר פשטה יהושע [בן] עוזאה: בין הבינים ספק נינהו.
Rather, let the dilemma be raised with regard to the flour between the inside and the outside. What is the status of this flour? Rav Yoḥanan said: Yehoshua ben Uza’a then resolved his own dilemma: The flour that is between is doubtful, and should be treated as questionable in status.