Menachot 86 – Which Oil?

Oil had to be of superior quality. The city of Tekoa provided the “alpha” quality of oil, second to it was Regev from Trans-Jordan, and oil from other places was also valid. They  avoided olives from fertilized or watered fields, or from fields where seeds were also grown. Oil from olives soaked in water, picked, or boiled was invalid. People of Tekoa were considered wise because they consumed oil regularly, and oil also led to great riches, as in the story about a rich farmer.

Three times a year the olives are harvested, and in each harvest three grades of oil are extracted. For the first harvest one picks the crop from the top of the olive tree. He then pounds the olives in a mortar and puts them inside the basket. He then presses the olives with the beams to extract more oil. Finally, he grinds the olives with millstones and again presses them with a beam to extract yet more oil. The first oil is valid for the Menorah, and the other oils are valid for flour offerings. For the second crop he collects the olives from the rooftops of the nearby houses, and for the third one he collects the remaining olives in a vat.

Art: Claude Oscar Monet - Olive Trees in Bordighera