Menachos Daf 45 מנחוס דַף 45

The Mishnah on the previous Daf taught that פרים, אילים, and כבשים are not מעכב each other, and the Gemara explains that the פרים and כבשים refer to those brought on Rosh Chodesh and on Shavuos as mentioned in במדבר (i.e., the מוספין). [The Gemara explains the Mishnah’s plural use of “rams,” since only one ram is mentioned in במדבר.] The Torah requires two פרים to be brought on Rosh Chodesh, but a passuk in יחזקאל says that “a bull” is brought. This teaches שאם לא מצא שנים מביא אחד – that if he did not find two bulls, he should still bring one. Similarly, that passuk says to bring six lambs, whereas the Torah required seven, and teaches that if seven could not be found, they should still bring six. The next passuk, "ולכבשים כאשר תשיג ידו" – and for the lambs according to his means, teaches that even if they only have one lamb, it should be offered. Still, the passuk says to bring six, דכמה דאפשר להדורי מהדרינן – that as much as it is possible to seek more lambs, he should seek them. The passuk concludes with "יהיו" – they shall be, to teach that if he has all the requisite korbanos, they are מעכב each other.

The Gemara quotes several pesukim in יחזקאל which appear to contradict the Torah, such as the one quoted above, and explains them. For example, a passuk says that Kohanim cannot eat נבילה or טריפה from a bird or animal. This implies that a Yisroel may eat these foods, which is certainly not true!? Rebbe Yochanan declared: פרשה זו אליהו עתיד לדורשה – Eliyahu will eventually expound this passage, but we cannot understand it ourselves. Ravina answers that the passuk is teaching that even Kohanim cannot eat them: one might have thought הואיל ואשתרי מליקה לגבייהו – since a חטאת העוף, which is killed through melikah (and is thus a נבילה and טריפה), is permitted for them to eat, perhaps they may always eat נבילה and טריפה. Therefore, this passuk teaches otherwise. Rav said: זכור אותו האיש לטוב – remember that man favorably, and חנינא בן חזקיה is his name, שאלמלא הוא נגנז ספר יחזקאל – because without him, sefer Yechezkel would have been hidden away, because it appears to contradict the Torah. He brought up three hundred barrels of oil (for his lamp), and secluded himself in an upper story, until he resolved all the apparent contradictions.

In the next Mishnah, Rebbe Akiva says the שתי הלחם of Shavuos are מעכב the two כבשים brought with it, but the כבשים are not מעכב the לחם. Rebbe Shimon ben Nannas says the reverse, that the כבשים are מעכב the לחם, but the לחם is not מעכב the כבשים, שכן מצינו כשהיו ישראל במדבר מ' שנה – because we find that when Yisroel was in the Wilderness for forty years, קרבו כבשים בלא לחם –the lambs were offered without bread (since the שתי הלחם could only be brought from Eretz Yisroel’s produce). אף כאן יקרבו כבשים בלא לחם – Here, too, the lambs may be offered without bread. Rebbe Shimon says the halachah is like בן ננס, but not for his reason (Rebbe Shimon holds even the שני כבשים were not brought in the מדבר). Rather, the כבשים may be brought alone, מפני שהכבשים מתירין את עצמן – because the lambs permit themselves, but the לחם cannot be brought alone, שאין לו מי יתירנו – because it has nothing to permit it (since no part of the לחם is offered, it is the avodah of the כבשים which permits it).