Re Menachot 81b - The Mishnah at the top of the page teaches that if one says: "Todah Alai Min HaChulin, veLachmah Min HaMaaser, he should bring both the animal and the bread from Chulin." I understand that the reason he brings the bread from Chulin is because the first phrase Todah Alai Min HaChulin already obligates him to bring the bread from Chulin. My question concerns the next line in the Mishnah that if one says: "Todah Min HaMaaser, veLachmah Min HaChulin, he should bring the animal from Maaser and the bread from Chulin." Why doesn't he bring both the animal and the bread from Maaser? I think the Gemara answers this question, but I do not understand the answer. Just because he added the phrase veLachmah Min HaChulin we interpret it that he means to obligate himself to bring the bread from Chulin, but then why don't we say in the previous case that when he added the phrase veLachmah Min HaMaaser that he means to obligate himself to bring the bread from Maaser? The Gemara mentions that a person can bring bread from Chulin for his friend's Todah offering. Is a person not allowed to bring bread from Maaser for his friend's Todah offering?
Howard Jackson, Jerusalem, Israel
1. Rashi (in the Mishnah, DH Todah) answers your question. The best way of doing the Mitzvah is to bring the Todah from Chulin money. However, since he said "Todah Min ha'Ma'aser" he is not bringing the animal in the best way, so we therefore do not say "Garir Lechem Basar Zevach" -- "the bread follows the sacrifice." Consequently, he brings the bread from Chulin which is the best way of doing the Mitzvah. In contrast, in the previous part of the Mishnah -- where he said "Todah Alai Min ha'Chulin," this is the proper way of doing it. Hence, even though he followed up immediately by saying "v'Lachmah Min ha'Ma'aser" we do not pay attention to this but instead we say that the bread follows the sacrifice since he is bringing the animal in the correct manner.
2. According to the above explanation, a person should not bring bread from Ma'aser for his friend's Todah offering, because the proper way of doing the Mitzvah is to bring bread from Chulin.
Kol Tuv,
Dovid Bloom