Meilah 2:3-4
משנה מעילה ב:ג-ד
Seder: Kodashim | Tractate: Meilah | Chapter: 2
📖 Mishna
Mishna 2:3
משנה ב:ג
Hebrew:
פָּרִים הַנִּשְׂרָפִין וּשְׂעִירִים הַנִּשְׂרָפִין, מוֹעֲלִין בָּהֶן מִשֶּׁהֻקְדְּשׁוּ. נִשְׁחֲטוּ, הֻכְשְׁרוּ לְהִפָּסֵל בִּטְבוּל יוֹם וּבִמְחֻסַּר כִּפּוּרִים וּבְלִינָה. הֻזָּה דָמָן, חַיָּבִין עֲלֵיהֶן מִשּׁוּם פִּגּוּל, נוֹתָר וְטָמֵא. וּמוֹעֲלִין בָּהֶן בְּבֵית הַדֶּשֶׁן עַד שֶׁיֻּתַּךְ הַבָּשָׂר:
English:
One is liable for misuse of bulls that are burned and goats that are burned from the moment that they were consecrated. Once they were slaughtered, they were rendered susceptible to disqualification for sacrifice through contact with one who immersed 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 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. And one is liable for its misuse even when it is in the place of the ashes, until the flesh has been completely scorched.
קלאוד על המשנה:
This mishna addresses bulls and goats that are burned outside the Temple — specifically the bull and goat of Yom Kippur, and the bulls brought for communal or High Priest sins. These offerings are unique because their meat is not eaten by anyone: it is burned entirely outside the Temple precinct in the beit ha’deshen (ash place).
Since no part of these offerings is ever permitted for human consumption, me’ilah continues to apply even after blood sprinkling, just as with the bird burnt offering (2:2). However, blood sprinkling does introduce the prohibitions of piggul, notar, and tumah. The mishna thus places these offerings in the same category as the olah: the blood service triggers the standard sacrificial prohibitions, but it does not terminate me’ilah because there is no transfer of eating rights to any person.
The mishna adds a notable detail: me’ilah applies “in the place of the ashes until the flesh has been completely scorched” (ad she’yutak ha’basar). This means that even as these offerings are being burned outside Jerusalem, they retain their consecrated status and are subject to me’ilah. Only when the flesh is fully consumed by fire — when no usable substance remains — does me’ilah finally cease.
Key Terms:
- פָּרִים הַנִּשְׂרָפִין (Parim Ha’nisrafin) = Bulls that are burned outside the Temple, such as the Yom Kippur bull and the bull for a communal error
- שְׂעִירִים הַנִּשְׂרָפִין (Se’irim Ha’nisrafin) = Goats that are burned outside, such as the Yom Kippur goat
- יֻּתַּךְ הַבָּשָׂר (Yutak Ha’basar) = The flesh being completely scorched/consumed by fire, the point at which me’ilah ceases
- הֻזָּה דָמָן (Huzah Damam) = The sprinkling of their blood, performed in the inner sanctum on Yom Kippur
Mishna 2:4
משנה ב:ד
Hebrew:
הָעוֹלָה, מוֹעֲלִין בָּהּ מִשֶּׁהֻקְדְּשָׁה. נִשְׁחֲטָה, הֻכְשְׁרָה לְהִפָּסֵל בִּטְבוּל יוֹם וּבִמְחֻסַּר כִּפּוּרִים וּבְלִינָה. נִזְרַק דָּמָהּ, חַיָּבִין עָלֶיהָ מִשּׁוּם פִּגּוּל, נוֹתָר וְטָמֵא. וְאֵין מוֹעֲלִין בְּעוֹרָהּ, אֲבָל מוֹעֲלִין בַּבָּשָׂר עַד שֶׁיֵּצֵא לְבֵית הַדָּשֶׁן:
English:
One is liable for misuse of the burnt offering from the moment that it was consecrated. Once it was slaughtered it was rendered susceptible to disqualification for sacrifice through contact with one who immersed 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 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. And one is not liable for misuse of the hides, but one is liable for misuse of the flesh until it leaves to the place of the ashes.
קלאוד על המשנה:
The mishna now addresses the standard animal burnt offering (olah), the most common sacrifice entirely consumed on the altar. The structure follows the same three-stage pattern, but the mishna introduces an important distinction about the hides.
After blood sprinkling, me’ilah no longer applies to the hides of the olah, because the hides are given to the priests as their compensation. Since the hide has a permitted human recipient, it exits the domain of me’ilah at the moment of blood sprinkling — the same act that generally transfers rights. However, the flesh of the olah, which is entirely burned on the altar and never eaten by anyone, remains subject to me’ilah until it reaches the beit ha’deshen.
This mishna beautifully illustrates how a single offering can have components with different me’ilah statuses. The hide and the flesh start in the same state of full consecration, but at blood sprinkling their paths diverge: the hide enters the human domain (kohanim), while the flesh remains in the divine domain (altar). The principle is consistent — me’ilah tracks ownership. Whatever becomes permitted to humans ceases to be subject to me’ilah; whatever remains exclusively for God continues to carry the prohibition.
Key Terms:
- עוֹלָה (Olah) = The burnt offering, entirely consumed on the altar except for the hide
- עוֹרָהּ (Orah) = Its hide, which is given to the officiating priest after blood sprinkling
- נִזְרַק דָּמָהּ (Nizrak Damah) = The sprinkling/dashing of its blood on the altar, the act that effects the transfer of rights
- בֵּית הַדָּשֶׁן (Beit Ha’deshen) = The ash deposit, where consumed remains are taken outside Jerusalem