Menachos Daf 11 מנחוס דַף 11

Abaye asked Rava how kemitzah is performed, and he replied: כדקמצי אינשי – the way people take a fistful. Abaye proves from a Baraisa which calls the fourth finger the "קמיצה" that the little finger is not used in kemitzah, and the Gemara clarifies that Rava meant להשוות – the little finger is used to even out the flour grasped with his three middle fingers. Rav described kemitzah: חופה שלש אצבעותיו עד שמגיע על פס ידו וקומץ – he closes his three middle fingers until he reaches the palm of his hand, and grasps what is inside them. A Baraisa darshens to do as Rav described, and not מבורץ – overflowing or בראשי אצבעותיו – with just his fingertips. For a מחבת and מרחשת, which were fried and then broken into pieces before kemitzah, so edges would likely protrude from his hand, מוחק בגודלו מלמעלה ובאצבעו קטנה מלמטה – he smooths out [the kometz] with his thumb from above and his little finger from below. וזו היא עבודה קשה שבמקדש – And this was a difficult avodah performed in the Mikdash, in addition to מליקה and the חפינה of Yom Kippur.

Rav Pappa said that "מלא קומצו" – his full kometz clearly implies כדקמצי אינשי – how people take a fistful. He asked about several unusual forms of kemitzah, including: בראשי אצבעותיו – with his fingertips (inserting them into the flour and closing them up to his palm), מן הצדדין – from the sides (pushing the back of his hand into the flour until it poured into his palm from the sides), and ממטה למעלה – from the bottom up (inserting his fingers into the flour, with the back of his hand facing the flour, until he lifted flour into his hand). Regarding חפינה – cupping hands for taking קטורת on Yom Kippur, Rav Pappa said that "מלא חפניו" – his cupped-handful clearly implies כדחפני אינשי – how people normally fill their hands. He asked about several unusual forms of חפינה, including בראשי אצבעותיו, מן הצדדין (as above), and חפן בזו ובזו וקרבן זו אצל זו – if he cupped קטורת in each [hand] separately and then brought [his hands] together. Rav Pappa asked: דבקיה לקומץ בדפניה דמנא – if one attached the kometz of a minchah to the wall of the כלי, is it a valid sanctification, since it is inside the כלי, or is הנחה בתוכו – placing down inside the כלי floor required? Mar bar Rav Ashi asked about one who turned over a כלי and attached the kometz to the underside. All these questions are left unresolved.

The next Mishnah states that ריבה שמנה – if he increased its oil beyond its required amount, חסר שמנה – diminished its oil, חיסר לבונתה – or diminished its levonah, the minchah is פסול. Rebbe Yochanan says there are three opinions about how much לבונה must remain until the kometz is burned. Rebbe Meir holds: קומץ בתחילה וקומץ בסוף – there must be a kometz of לבונה in the beginning during the kemitzah, and a full kometz at the end, at the הקטרה. Rebbe Yehudah holds there must be a kometz in the beginning, and שני קרטין – merely two particles at the end. Rebbe Shimon requires a kometz at the beginning, and only קורט אחד – one particle at the end. Rebbe Yochanan explains each Tanna’s source. Rebbe Yochanan says this machlokes only applies to לבונה brought along with a מנחה, but regarding לבונה הבאה בפני עצמה – levonah coming by itself as an independent offering, all agree to require a full kometz at the end (another Amora quoted below disagrees). Also, all would agree regarding the two בזיכין – spoons of לבונה brought with the לחם הפנים that the full two קמצין must be also present at the end.