This Mishnah discusses the ingredients of the Menachot (offerings). All of the Menachot contain flour, and most of them also contain oil and Levonah (frankincense). However, certain unique Menachot contain neither Levonah nor oil, and this Mishnah will elaborate on their details. The Mishnah says: Some Menachot require both oil and Levonah, frankincense; some require oil but not Levonah; others require Levonah and no oil; and, lastly, some require neither oil nor Levonah.
The following Menachot require both oil and Levonah: a Minchah (offering) made with raw flour. This type of Minchah is not baked or fried. It is a Minchah made from a mixture of flour, oil, and Levonah. A Minchat Machavat, which is a Minchah fried in a griddle, and a Minchat Marcheshet, which is a Minchah fried in a deep pan, are both made into dough and fried before the kemitzah (taking a handful). Later in the perek (chapter), we’ll get into more detail about how they’re made.
Also included are an oven-baked Minchah of loaves and an oven-baked Minchah of wafers. The oven-baked Minchah of wafers here was baked in an oven before the kemitzah. It could have been brought either as loaves, like the Challot we mentioned, made by mixing flour with oil and then baking it, or as Rekikin, wafers, which are flat and baked without oil; oil is then put on top of them after they are baked. So they still fall within the category of having Shemen and Levonah, oil and frankincense.
Minchat Kohanim, the Minchah of a Kohen (priest), is basically any of the above Menachot if a Kohen is the one who donated it. We give it its own category because the difference between when a regular person donates a Minchah and when a Kohen donates one is that, normally, when a regular person donates a Minchah, there is a leftover that the Kohanim eat, while the Kometz (handful) is burned on the Mizbeach (altar). When a Kohen donates it, the entire Minchah is burned on the Mizbeach. That also has Shemen and Levonah.
Minchat Kohen Mashiach, the Minchah of the Kohen Gadol (High Priest), is the daily Minchat Chavitin that the Kohen Gadol brings every single day. Minchat Goyim is the Minchah of a non-Jew. A non-Jew is also allowed to bring a voluntary Minchah, and it is treated the same way as the Minchah of a Jew, with both oil and Levonah. Minchat Nashim, the Minchah offering of a woman, is a voluntary Minchah offering that a woman brings; we treat it just like a men’s Minchah, in the same category. Minchat HaOmer, the Minchah offering brought for the entire Klal Yisrael on the second day of Pesach, also has both Shemen and Levonah.
Now we’ll talk about Menachot that have only oil or only Levonah. Minchat Nesachim, which are the Menachot brought with certain animal korbanot (sacrifices), te'unah shemen ve'einah te'unah levonah. They require oil, but they do not require Levonah.
Lechem HaPanim, ta'un levonah ve'ein ta'un shemen: you have to put Levonah, but you do not have to put oil. The Lechem HaPanim, which were made just with flour and oil, were brought every Shabbat, when the Lechem HaPanim were placed on the Shulchan (table). The Levonah was placed right near it. Two spoonfuls were put there, and on the following Shabbat, the loaves were given out to the Kohanim, and the Levonah was burned on the Mizbeach.
Now we’ll talk about the Menachot that require neither oil nor Levonah. Shtei HaLechem, the two loaves offered on Shavuot. Minchat Chotei, the sinner’s Minchah. If a person committed one of three types of sins, they either swore falsely, lied that they didn’t know testimony that would be needed for a court case and would have helped somebody, or did something problematic with the Beit HaMikdash—either ate from Kodashim (consecrated offerings), entered the Beit HaMikdash, or were in a state of Tumah (ritual impurity)—they have to bring a Minchat Chotei. That’s if a person could not afford a regular type of Korban (sacrifice), an animal Korban; they would bring this type of Minchah instead.
Minchat Kenaot, the Minchat Sotah: after a Sotah—a woman—undergoes a test to see if she is guilty, her husband brings a Minchah made of barley flour. All of these, lo shemen velo levonah, we do not bring with oil or Levonah. The Minchat Chotei and the Minchat Sotah are brought because of aveirah (sin), so it would be inappropriate for them to have oil or Levonah mixed in with them. As for the Shtei HaLechem, we don’t see any mention of Shemen and Levonah in the Torah.