Keritot 5:6-7

📖 Mishna

Mishna 5:6

משנה ה:ו

Hebrew:

חֲתִיכָה שֶׁל חֵלֶב וַחֲתִיכָה שֶׁל קֹדֶשׁ, אָכַל אֶת אַחַת מֵהֶן וְאֵין יָדוּעַ אֵיזוֹ מֵהֶן אָכַל, מֵבִיא אָשָׁם תָּלוּי. אָכַל אֶת הַשְּׁנִיָּה, מֵבִיא חַטָּאת וְאָשָׁם וַדָּאי. אָכַל אֶחָד אֶת הָרִאשׁוֹנָה וּבָא אַחֵר וְאָכַל אֶת הַשְּׁנִיָּה, זֶה מֵבִיא אָשָׁם תָּלוּי, וְזֶה מֵבִיא אָשָׁם תָּלוּי. רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן אוֹמֵר, שְׁנֵיהֶם מְבִיאִים חַטָּאת וְאָשָׁם. רַבִּי יוֹסֵי אוֹמֵר, אֵין שְׁנַיִם מְבִיאִים חַטָּאת וְאָשָׁם:

English:

If one had a piece of forbidden fat and a piece of sacrificial permitted fat and he ate one of them and does not know which of them he ate, he brings a provisional guilt offering, as perhaps he ate the forbidden fat. If he then ate the second piece, he brings a sin offering, as he certainly ate the fat, and a definite guilt offering for misuse of consecrated property. If one person ate the first piece and another person came and ate the second piece, this person brings a provisional guilt offering and that person brings a provisional guilt offering. Rabbi Shimon says: Both of them bring a sin offering and a guilt offering as partners, and they stipulate that each offering should be credited to the one who is liable to bring it. Rabbi Yosei says: Two people do not bring one sin offering and one guilt offering.

Claude on the Mishna:

This mishna presents a more complex scenario: one piece of CHELEV (forbidden fat) and one piece of KODESH (permitted sacrificial fat). Each piece creates a different type of liability!

The double liability:

• Chelev → Chatat (eating forbidden fat)
• Kodesh → Asham for me’ilah (misusing consecrated property)

Scenario 1: One person eats one piece

He brings asham talui. Why?

• Maybe chelev → uncertain chatat
• Maybe kodesh → uncertain me’ilah (Rabbi Akiva’s view applies)
• Either way = asham talui

Scenario 2: Same person eats BOTH pieces

He brings:

1. Chatat - Certainly ate the chelev
2. Definite asham - Certainly committed me’ilah

Both sins are now certain.

Scenario 3: Two people each eat one piece

Rabbi Shimon’s innovation here: He has them bring TWO joint offerings:

1. One joint chatat - for whoever ate the chelev
2. One joint asham - for whoever committed me’ilah

Each offering has a condition about which person it atones for.

Key Terms:

• חֵלֶב (chelev) = Forbidden fat (requires chatat)
• קֹדֶשׁ (kodesh) = Sacrificial fat (me’ilah requires asham)
• חַטָּאת וְאָשָׁם (chatat v’asham) = Sin offering and guilt offering

Mishna 5:7

משנה ה:ז

Hebrew:

חֲתִיכָה שֶׁל חֵלֶב וַחֲתִיכָה שֶׁל חֵלֶב קֹדֶשׁ, אָכַל אֶת אַחַת מֵהֶן וְאֵין יָדוּעַ אֵיזוֹ מֵהֶן אָכַל, מֵבִיא חַטָּאת. רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא אוֹמֵר, מֵבִיא אָשָׁם תָּלוּי. אָכַל אֶת הַשְּׁנִיָּה, מֵבִיא שְׁתֵּי חַטָּאוֹת וְאָשָׁם וַדָּאי. אָכַל אֶחָד אֶת הָרִאשׁוֹנָה וּבָא אַחֵר וְאָכַל אֶת הַשְּׁנִיָּה, זֶה מֵבִיא חַטָּאת וְזֶה מֵבִיא חַטָּאת. רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא אוֹמֵר, זֶה מֵבִיא אָשָׁם תָּלוּי וְזֶה מֵבִיא אָשָׁם תָּלוּי. רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן אוֹמֵר, זֶה חַטָּאת וְזֶה חַטָּאת, וּשְׁנֵיהֶם מְבִיאִים אָשָׁם אֶחָד. רַבִּי יוֹסֵי אוֹמֵר, אֵין שְׁנַיִם מְבִיאִין אָשָׁם אֶחָד:

English:

If one had a piece of forbidden fat and a piece of sacrificial forbidden fat and he ate one of them and does not know which of them he ate, he brings a sin offering as he certainly ate forbidden fat. Rabbi Akiva says: He also brings a provisional guilt offering, as perhaps he ate the sacrificial fat, in accordance with his opinion that one brings a provisional guilt offering even in the case of uncertainty with regard to misuse of consecrated property. If he then ate the second piece, he brings two sin offerings, as he ate two pieces of forbidden fat, and a definite guilt offering for misuse of consecrated property. If one person ate the first piece and another person came and ate the second piece, this person brings a sin offering and that person brings a sin offering. Rabbi Akiva says: This person and that person each bring a provisional guilt offering as well, due to the uncertainty as to which of them ate the sacrificial fat. Rabbi Shimon says: This person brings a sin offering and that person brings a sin offering and both of them bring one guilt offering as partners, and they stipulate that the offering should be credited to the one who ate the sacrificial fat. Rabbi Yosei says: The two of them do not bring one guilt offering.

Claude on the Mishna:

This final scenario in the series presents the most complex case: BOTH pieces are chelev, but ONE is also kodesh!

The pieces:

1. Plain chelev (forbidden fat)
2. Chelev that is ALSO kodesh (sacrificial forbidden fat)

Eating either piece = chatat for chelev Eating piece #2 = ALSO me’ilah

Scenario 1: One person eats one piece

Scenario 2: Same person eats BOTH pieces

He brings:

1. TWO chatat - One for each piece of chelev
2. Definite asham - Certainly committed me’ilah

Why two chatat? Each piece of chelev is a separate violation. The chelev on the first piece and the chelev on the second piece create two distinct sins (assuming knowledge in between).

Scenario 3: Two people each eat one piece

Key insight: Each person DEFINITELY brings a chatat (both pieces were chelev). The only question is about the me’ilah aspect - who ate the KODESH chelev?

Rabbi Shimon’s position: Since both DEFINITELY ate chelev, each brings his own chatat (no question there). But since only ONE committed me’ilah, they share one asham with a condition.

Key Terms:

• חֵלֶב קֹדֶשׁ (chelev kodesh) = Sacrificial forbidden fat - doubly problematic
• שְׁתֵּי חַטָּאוֹת (shtei chata’ot) = Two sin offerings

⚖️ Halacha

Practical Law from this Mishna

These mishnayot present increasingly complex scenarios combining chelev and me’ilah liabilities.

Chelev vs. Kodesh Scenario

Source in Mishna: 5:6

Rambam — Hilkhot Shegagot 8:7

One piece of chelev + one piece of kodesh (permitted fat):

The distinct liabilities:

• Chelev → requires chatat
• Kodesh (me’ilah) → requires asham

When both are eaten, both offerings are required.

Double Chelev Scenario

Source in Mishna: 5:7

Rambam — Hilkhot Shegagot 8:8

One piece of plain chelev + one piece of chelev that is kodesh:

Why only chatat when eating one piece (Sages)? The person DEFINITELY ate chelev (both pieces are chelev). The uncertainty is only about me’ilah (kodesh). Since the Sages reject asham talui for uncertain me’ilah, no provisional offering is added.

The Joint Offering Debate

Source in Mishna: 5:6-7

Rambam — Hilkhot Shegagot 8:5

The halacha follows Rabbi Yosei consistently:

Two people cannot bring:

• One joint chatat with conditions
• One joint asham with conditions
• Any conditional atonement offering

Each person’s uncertainty must be addressed individually.

Summary of Complex Scenarios

Source in Mishna: 5:4-7

Practical Principles

From these mishnayot we learn:

1. Certainty within uncertainty - When one element is certain (like chelev in 5:7), that offering is brought even if other elements are uncertain

2. Distinct liabilities require distinct offerings - Chelev and me’ilah are separate sins requiring separate offerings

3. No conditional atonement - Following Rabbi Yosei, offerings cannot be brought conditionally between multiple people

4. Asham talui scope - Applies to uncertain chatat-level sins; dispute whether it applies to uncertain me’ilah

Note: These complex scenarios were studied to understand the complete system of offerings for various combinations of sins and uncertainties.

🖼️ Visuals

Infographics for this mishna coming soon.