Meilah 2:5-6
משנה מעילה ב:ה-ו
Seder: Kodashim | Tractate: Meilah | Chapter: 2
📖 Mishna
Mishna 2:5
משנה ב:ה
Hebrew:
חַטָּאת וְאָשָׁם וְזִבְחֵי שַׁלְמֵי צִבּוּר, מוֹעֲלִין בָּהֶן מִשֶּׁהֻקְדְּש��וּ. נִשְׁחֲטוּ, הֻכְשְׁרוּ לְהִפָּסֵל בִּטְבוּל יוֹם וּבִמְחֻסַּר כִּפּוּרִים וּבְלִינָה. נִזְרַק דָּמָן, חַיָּבִין עֲלֵיהֶם מִשּׁוּם פִּגּוּל, נוֹתָר וְטָמֵא. אֵין מוֹעֲלִין בַּבָּשָׂר, אֲבָל מוֹעֲלִין בָּאֵמוּרִים עַד שֶׁיֵּצְאוּ לְבֵית הַדָּשֶׁן:
English:
One is liable for misuse of a sin offering, and a guilt offering, and communal peace offerings 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 their blood was sprinkled, one is liable to receive karet for eating them, due to violation of the prohibition of piggul, and the prohibition of notar, and the prohibition of partaking of sacrificial meat while ritually impure. One is not liable for misuse of the flesh, but one is liable for misuse of their sacrificial portions, i.e., the portions that are to be consumed on the altar, until they leave to the place of the ashes.
קלאוד על המשנה:
This mishna groups together three types of offerings whose meat is eaten by the priests (or, in the case of peace offerings, shared between priests and owners): the sin offering, the guilt offering, and communal peace offerings. These are all kodshei kodashim (most sacred offerings) whose flesh becomes permitted to the kohanim once the blood is sprinkled.
The key innovation here is the split status after blood sprinkling. Unlike the olah where the flesh remains subject to me’ilah (because it is entirely burned), here the flesh exits me’ilah because the priests are now permitted to eat it. However, the eimurim — the fats and organs designated for burning on the altar — remain subject to me’ilah, since those portions are never permitted for human consumption. This creates a dual-track system within a single offering after zerikat ha’dam.
This mishna marks a conceptual midpoint in Chapter 2’s progression. The earlier mishnayot dealt with offerings entirely consumed on the altar (where me’ilah persists for the whole offering). Now we encounter offerings with both an edible portion and an altar portion. The mishna demonstrates that the principle of me’ilah is not all-or-nothing for a given offering — rather, each component of the offering is assessed independently based on whether it has a permitted human recipient.
Key Terms:
- חַטָּאת (Chattat) = Sin offering, brought for inadvertent transgressions; its meat is eaten by the kohanim
- אָשָׁם (Asham) = Guilt offering, brought for specific sins such as misuse of consecrated property; its meat is eaten by the kohanim
- זִבְחֵי שַׁלְמֵי צִבּוּר (Zivchei Shalmei Tzibbur) = Communal peace offerings, specifically the two lambs brought on Shavuot
- אֵמוּרִים (Eimurim) = The sacrificial fats and organs (chelev, kidneys, tail-fat, liver lobe) burned on the altar
- נִזְרַק דָּמָן (Nizrak Damam) = The sprinkling of their blood, the act that permits the meat for priestly consumption
Mishna 2:6
משנה ב:ו
Hebrew:
שְׁתֵּי הַלֶּחֶם, מוֹעֲלִין בָּהֶן מִשֶּׁהֻקְדְּשׁוּ. קָרְמוּ בַתַּנּוּר, הֻכְשְׁרוּ לְהִפָּסֵל בִּטְבוּל יוֹם וּבִמְחֻסַּר כִּפּוּרִים וְלִשְׁחֹט עֲלֵיהֶם אֶת הַזָּבַח. נִזְרַק דָּמָן שֶׁל כְּבָשִׂים, חַיָּבִין עֲלֵיהֶן מִשּׁוּם פִּגּוּל, נוֹתָר וְטָמֵא, וְאֵין בָּהֶן מְעִילָה:
English:
One is liable for misuse of the two loaves brought on the festival of Shavuot from the moment that they were consecrated. Once they formed a crust, 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, and they are rendered eligible to slaughter with them the accompanying offering of the two lambs. Once the blood of the lambs is sprinkled, one is liable to receive karet for eating the loaves, due to violation of the prohibition of piggul, and the prohibition of notar, and the prohibition of partaking of consecrated food while ritually impure. And they are not subject to the halakhot of misuse, as at that point their consumption is permitted.
קלאוד על המשנה:
The mishna now turns to the Two Loaves (shtei ha’lechem) brought on the festival of Shavuot, which are unique among the offerings discussed in this chapter because they are not animal sacrifices at all, but rather bread offerings. They represent a fascinating case study for the laws of me’ilah because their “permitting act” is not their own blood sprinkling (they have no blood), but the blood sprinkling of the accompanying lambs.
The mishna identifies crust formation in the oven (karmu ba’tanur) as the critical threshold — analogous to shechitah for animals or melikah for birds — that renders the loaves susceptible to disqualification by a tevul yom and mechusar kippurim. Only at this point are they considered sufficiently “formed” to be treated as a real offering. The crust formation also renders them eligible for the slaughter of the accompanying lambs, linking their status to the animal sacrifice.
After the blood of the lambs is sprinkled, the loaves become subject to piggul, notar, and tumah — but me’ilah ceases. This is because the Two Loaves are eaten by the priests. Once the blood of the lambs effects the “matir” (permitting act), the loaves pass from exclusive divine ownership to the priestly domain. This pattern is consistent with the chapter’s central principle: blood sprinkling (or its equivalent) terminates me’ilah only when it permits human consumption.
Key Terms:
- שְׁתֵּי הַלֶּחֶם (Shtei Ha’lechem) = The Two Loaves, leavened wheat bread brought as a communal offering on Shavuot
- קָרְמוּ בַתַּנּוּר (Karmu Ba’tanur) = Forming a crust in the oven, the point at which the loaves are halakhically considered bread
- כְּבָשִׂים (Kevasim) = The two lambs sacrificed alongside the Two Loaves on Shavuot
- מַתִּיר (Matir) = The permitting factor — the sacrificial act that renders the item permitted for consumption