Menachot 51 – The Pancakes of Nobody

If the High Priest dies, his daily pancake offering must be brought nevertheless. Under normal circumstances, he pays for them and brings them. Who pays for them now? Rabbi Shimon says: “They are brought from the public funds.” Rabbi Yehudah says, “The funds come from his heirs, and in that case the offering was brought whole, not in two halves.”

What is the reason of Rabbi Yehudah? The Torah said, “The next high priest from his (Aaron's) sons will bring it (the offering),” and Rabbi Yehudah takes the words “from his sons” to also mean our case, where the funds come from his sons. Furthermore, the word “it” means that in this case the offering is brought whole.

And what is the logic of Rabbi Shimon? The verse states, “eternal law,” literally, the “world law.” Since any commandment is by its nature eternal, then we have an additional meaning that the offering comes “from the world,” that is, from the congregation.

Art: Adriaen Brouwer - The Pancake Baker