Meilah 2:1-2
משנה מעילה ב:א-ב
Seder: Kodashim | Tractate: Meilah | Chapter: 2
📖 Mishna
Mishna 2:1
משנה ב:א
Hebrew:
חַטַּאת הָעוֹף, מוֹעֲלִין בָּהּ מִשֶּׁהֻקְדְּשָׁה. נִמְלְקָה, הֻכְשְׁרָה לְהִפָּסֵל בִּטְבוּל יוֹם וּבִמְחֻסַּר כִּפּוּרִים וּבְלִינָה. הֻזָּה דָמָהּ, חַיָּבִין עָלֶיהָ מִשּׁוּם פִּגּוּל, נוֹתָר וְטָמֵא, וְאֵין בָּהּ מְעִילָה:
English:
One who derives benefit from a bird sin offering is liable for misuse of consecrated property from the moment that it was consecrated. Once the nape of its neck was pinched, it was rendered susceptible to disqualification for sacrifice through contact with one who was ritually impure who immersed in a ritual bath that day and is waiting for nightfall for the purification process to be completed, and through contact with one who has not yet brought an atonement offering to complete his purification process, e.g., a zav and a leper, who are not yet permitted to partake of sacrificial meat; and through it being left overnight, i.e., if its blood was not sprinkled before sunset. Once its blood was sprinkled, one is liable to receive karet for eating it due to violation of the prohibition of piggul, and the prohibition of notar, and the prohibition of partaking of sacrificial meat while ritually impure. But there is no liability for misuse of consecrated property, because after the blood is sprinkled it is permitted for priests to partake of its meat and it is no longer consecrated exclusively to God.
קלאוד על המשנה:
The mishna opens Chapter 2 by applying the framework established in Chapter 1 to bird sin offerings (chattat ha’of). It traces the offering through three stages of increasing sanctity: initial consecration, melikah (nape-pinching), and blood sprinkling. At each stage, the mishna identifies which prohibitions apply and how the item’s status changes.
The key principle here is that melikah for bird offerings functions like shechitah (slaughter) for animal offerings — it is the act that renders the bird susceptible to disqualification by a tevul yom (one who immersed but awaits nightfall), a mechusar kippurim (one who still needs an atonement offering), or linah (being left overnight). Before melikah, only me’ilah applies; after melikah, additional disqualification categories come into play.
The critical turning point is the sprinkling of the blood (hazayat ha’dam). Once the blood is sprinkled, the offering enters the realm of piggul, notar, and tumah — but me’ilah no longer applies. This is because the blood sprinkling permits the meat to be eaten by the priests. Since the flesh now has a permitted recipient (the kohanim), it is no longer exclusively God’s property, and therefore the prohibition of me’ilah — which applies only to items fully consecrated to God — falls away.
Key Terms:
- חַטַּאת הָעוֹף (Chattat Ha’of) = Bird sin offering, brought by those who cannot afford an animal sin offering
- מְלִיקָה (Melikah) = Pinching the nape of a bird’s neck with the kohen’s fingernail, the method of slaughtering bird offerings
- טְבוּל יוֹם (Tevul Yom) = One who has immersed in a mikveh but must wait until nightfall for purification to be complete
- מְחֻסַּר כִּפּוּרִים (Mechusar Kippurim) = One whose purification process requires bringing an atonement offering (e.g., a zav or metzora)
- הֻזָּה דָמָהּ (Huzah Damah) = The sprinkling of the bird’s blood on the altar
Mishna 2:2
משנה ב:ב
Hebrew:
עוֹלַת הָעוֹף, מוֹעֲלִין בָּהּ מִשֶּׁהֻקְדְּשָׁה. נִמְלְקָה, הֻכְשְׁרָה לְהִפָּסֵל בִּטְבוּל יוֹם וּבִמְחֻסַּר כִּפּוּרִים וּבְלִינָה. מִצָּה דָמָהּ, חַיָּבִין עָלֶיהָ מִשּׁוּם פִּגּוּל, נוֹתָר וְטָמֵא. וּמוֹעֲלִין בָּהּ עַד שֶׁתֵּצֵא לְבֵית הַדָּשֶׁן:
English:
One is liable for misusing a bird burnt offering from the moment that it was consecrated. When the nape of its neck was pinched, it was rendered susceptible to disqualification for sacrifice through contact with one who immersed in a ritual bath that day, and through contact with one who has not yet brought an atonement offering, and through its blood being left overnight. Once its blood was squeezed out, one is liable to receive karet for eating it, due to violation of the prohibition of piggul, and the prohibition of notar, and the prohibition of partaking of sacrificial meat while ritually impure. And as it may not be eaten, one is liable for its misuse until it leaves to the place of the ashes, where it is burned.
קלאוד על המשנה:
The mishna now turns to the bird burnt offering (olat ha’of), which provides an instructive contrast to the bird sin offering of the previous mishna. The structure is identical — three stages of consecration, melikah, and blood application — but the conclusion differs in one crucial respect: me’ilah continues to apply even after the blood is squeezed out.
The reason is straightforward. Unlike the chattat ha’of, whose meat is eaten by the priests after blood sprinkling, the olat ha’of is entirely consumed on the altar. No portion is ever permitted to human consumption. Since no person ever gains a right to eat the meat, the offering remains exclusively God’s property throughout its existence, and me’ilah therefore continues to apply.
The mishna specifies that me’ilah persists “until it leaves to the place of the ashes” (beit ha’deshen), meaning the ash heap outside Jerusalem where consumed remains are deposited. Only at that point, when the offering has been fully burned and its remains discarded, does me’ilah cease. This establishes a general principle that recurs throughout the chapter: for offerings with no edible portion permitted to humans, me’ilah extends until the physical substance is entirely consumed or disposed of.
Key Terms:
- עוֹלַת הָעוֹף (Olat Ha’of) = Bird burnt offering, entirely consumed on the altar with no portion eaten by priests
- מִצָּה דָמָהּ (Mitzah Damah) = Squeezing out the blood of the bird onto the altar wall, distinct from sprinkling (hazayah)
- בֵּית הַדָּשֶׁן (Beit Ha’deshen) = The place of the ashes, outside Jerusalem, where consumed sacrificial remains are deposited
- לִינָה (Linah) = Disqualification through being left overnight without the blood being applied to the altar