Hey there, and welcome back to Take One, the podcast that brings you just one

joyful page of Talmud each day. And on today's page,

Medachot 60, we learn something new.

Behold, there are four categories of meal offerings.

Those that require bringing near,

a right that requires the priest,

to carry the offering in their hands and bring it near the southwest corner of the altar,

but do not require waving.

Those that require both bringing near and waving, those that require

waving but not bringing near, and those that require neither waving nor bringing near.

Now look, we will spend quite some time in the coming days talking about these terms

haggasha and snufa, the rising up, the bringing near, the waving in the air, exploring exactly why they were mandated.

But before we go any further, I kind of want to pause on this image of the priests not only

bringing the offering, but rather having to sort of raise their hands in the air, wave the offering about,

and show it for all to see, not just in a perfunctory way, but in a truly joyous way.

And, friends, joy is something that we could all kind of use these days,

especially as the war in Iran rages on, as people in Israel are still spending days and days and days in bomb shelters.

And as the present seems, let's be honest here, sometimes a little scary.

So before we continue with the many, many offerings, no pun intended, of tractate menachot,

today I'd like to re-air an oldie but goody.

It's a segment we recorded some years back about Shabbat celebration at Jazz Fest in New Orleans.

It's a really perfect embodiment of the idea explored in today's page that offerings should not, that offerings should not just be delivered perfunctorily, matter-of-factly, transactionally, but rather with lots of gusto, arms up in the air, and joy in the heart. Here is Shabbat in Jazz Fest. Have a listen.

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