Temurah 2:3-3:1
משנה תמורה ב:ג - ג:א
Seder: Kodashim | Tractate: Temurah | Chapters: 2-3
📖 Mishna
Mishna 2:3
משנה ב:ג
Hebrew:
חֹמֶר בְּקָדָשִׁים מִבִּתְמוּרָה וּבִתְמוּרָה מִבְּקָדָשִׁים. שֶׁהַקֳּדָשִׁים עוֹשִׂים תְּמוּרָה וְאֵין תְּמוּרָה עוֹשָׂה תְמוּרָה. הַצִּבּוּר וְהַשֻּׁתָּפִין מַקְדִּישִׁים, אֲבָל לֹא מְמִירִים. וּמַקְדִּישִׁים אֵבָרִים וְעֻבָּרִים, אֲבָל לֹא מְמִירִים. חֹמֶר בִּתְמוּרָה, שֶׁהַקְּדֻשָּׁה חָלָה עַל בַּעֲלַת מוּם קָבוּעַ, וְאֵינָהּ יוֹצְאָה לְחֻלִּין לְהִגָּזֵז וּלְהֵעָבֵד. רַבִּי יוֹסֵי בַּר רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, עָשָׂה שׁוֹגֵג כְּמֵזִיד בַּתְּמוּרָה, וְלֹא עָשָׂה שׁוֹגֵג כְּמֵזִיד בַּמֻּקְדָּשִׁים. רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר אוֹמֵר, הַכִּלְאַיִם, וְהַטְּרֵפָה, וְיוֹצֵא דֹפֶן, טֻמְטוּם, וְאַנְדְּרוֹגִינוֹס, לֹא קְדֵשִׁים וְלֹא מַקְדִּישִׁים:
English:
There is greater stringency with regard to sacrificial animals than there is with regard to a substitute, and greater stringency with regard to a substitute than there is with regard to sacrificial animals. There is greater stringency with regard to sacrificial animals than there is with regard to a substitute, as sacrificial animals render a non-sacred animal exchanged for them a substitute, but a substitute does not render a non-sacred animal exchanged for it a substitute. Furthermore, the community and the partners consecrate animals as offerings, but they do not substitute non-sacred animals for their offerings. And one consecrates fetuses in utero and one can consecrate an animal’s limbs, but one cannot substitute non-sacred animals for them. There is greater stringency with regard to a substitute than there is with regard to sacrificial animals, as, if one substituted a non-sacred blemished animal for an unblemished sacrificial animal, then the animal with a permanent blemish is imbued with inherent sanctity, which is not the case with regard to consecration. And in addition, those blemished animals consecrated through substitution do not emerge from their consecrated status to assume non-sacred status by means of redemption, in terms of it being permitted to shear its wool and to perform labor with it. Rabbi Yosei, son of Rabbi Yehuda, says that there is an additional stringency that applies to substitution but not to consecration: The Torah rendered the status of one who acts unwittingly like that of one who acts intentionally with regard to substitution, as in both cases the substitute is consecrated. But it did not render the status of one who acts unwittingly like that of one who acts intentionally with regard to consecrated items, since unwitting consecration is ineffective. Rabbi Elazar says: An animal crossbred from diverse kinds, and a tereifa, and an animal born by caesarean section, and a tumtum animal, and a hermaphrodite animal are not sacred through consecration, and if they were sacred beforehand, they do not sanctify non-sacred animals by means of substitution.
קלאוד על המשנה:
This remarkable mishna compares original consecration (הקדש) with substitution (תמורה). Sometimes original is stricter; sometimes substitute is stricter!
Where Original Consecration is Stricter:
| Feature | Original (הקדש) | Substitute (תמורה) |
|---|---|---|
| Creates substitutes | ✓ | ✗ |
| Community can do it | ✓ | ✗ |
| Partners can do it | ✓ | ✗ |
| Works on limbs | ✓ | ✗ |
| Works on fetuses | ✓ | ✗ |
Where Substitution is Stricter:
| Feature | Original (הקדש) | Substitute (תמורה) |
|---|---|---|
| Works on permanently blemished | ✗ | ✓ |
| Can be redeemed for work/shearing | ✓ (if blemished) | ✗ (never) |
The Blemished Animal Paradox:
If you try to consecrate a permanently blemished animal for the altar — it doesn’t work (you can’t offer blemished animals). But if you SUBSTITUTE a blemished animal for a consecrated one — it becomes holy! And it stays holy forever — you can’t redeem it to use for work or shearing.
Rabbi Yosei bar Rabbi Yehuda’s Addition:
Another stringency of substitution: INTENT DOESN’T MATTER.
- Consecration: If done by accident (שוגג), it doesn’t work. You must INTEND to consecrate.
- Substitution: Even if done by accident, it works! “Unwitting like intentional” (שוגג כמזיד).
Rabbi Elazar’s Exclusions:
Some animals can neither be consecrated NOR create substitutes:
- Kilayim (כלאים) — crossbred animals
- Tereifah (טרפה) — fatally wounded animals
- Yotzei Dofen (יוצא דופן) — born by caesarean section
- Tumtum (טומטום) — genitalia obscured
- Androginos (אנדרוגינוס) — hermaphrodite
These are considered too abnormal for the altar service entirely.
Key Terms:
- חומר (Chomer) = Stringency; strictness
- בעלת מום קבוע (Ba’alat Mum Kavua) = With permanent blemish
- שוגג (Shogeg) = Unwitting; accidental
- מזיד (Meizid) = Intentional; deliberate
Mishna 3:1
משנה ג:א
Hebrew:
אֵלּוּ קָדָשִׁים שֶׁוַּלְדוֹתֵיהֶן וּתְמוּרוֹתֵיהֶן כַּיּוֹצֵא בָהֶן. וְלַד שְׁלָמִים, וּתְמוּרָתָן, וּוְלָדָן, וּוְלַד וְלָדָן עַד סוֹף הָעוֹלָם, הֲרֵי אֵלּוּ כִשְׁלָמִים, וּטְעוּנִים סְמִיכָה וּנְסָכִים וּתְנוּפָה וְחָזֶה וָשׁוֹק. רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אוֹמֵר, וְלַד שְׁלָמִים לֹא יִקְרַב שְׁלָמִים. וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים, יִקְרָב. אָמַר רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן, לֹא נֶחְלְקוּ עַל וְלַד וְלַד שְׁלָמִים וְעַל וְלַד וְלַד תְּמוּרָה, שֶׁלֹּא יִקְרַב. וְעַל מַה נֶּחְלְקוּ, עַל הַוָּלָד, שֶׁרַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אוֹמֵר, לֹא יִקְרַב, וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים, יִקְרָב. הֵעִיד רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ וְרַבִּי פַּפְּיַס עַל וְלַד שְׁלָמִים, שֶׁיִּקְרַב שְׁלָמִים. אָמַר רַבִּי פַּפְּיַס, אֲנִי מֵעִיד, שֶׁהָיְתָה לָנוּ פָרָה זִבְחֵי שְׁלָמִים, וַאֲכַלְנוּהָ בְפֶסַח, וְאָכַלְנוּ וְלָדָהּ שְׁלָמִים בֶּחָג:
English:
These are the sacrificial animals for which the halakhic status of their offspring and substitutes is like their own halakhic status: The offspring of peace offerings, and their substitute animals, and even the offspring of their offspring or their substitute animals, and even the offspring of their offspring, until the end of all time. They are all endowed with the sanctity and halakhic status of peace offerings, and therefore they require placing hands on the head of the animal, and libations, and the waving of the breast and the thigh in order to give them to the priest. Rabbi Eliezer says: The offspring of a peace offering is not sacrificed on the altar as a peace offering. And the Rabbis say: It is sacrificed as a peace offering. Rabbi Shimon said: Rabbi Eliezer and the Rabbis do not disagree with regard to the status of the offspring of the offspring of a peace offering or with regard to the status of the offspring of the offspring of the substitute of a peace offering. In those cases, they all agree that the animal is not sacrificed on the altar as a peace offering. With regard to what case do they disagree? They disagree about the case of the offspring of a peace offering itself. Rabbi Eliezer says: It is not sacrificed as a peace offering, whereas the Rabbis say: It is sacrificed. Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Pappeyas testified about the offspring of a peace offering that it is sacrificed as a peace offering. Rabbi Pappeyas said: I testify that we ourselves had a cow that was a peace offering, and we ate it on Passover, and we ate its offspring as a peace offering on a different Festival.
קלאוד על המשנה:
Chapter 3 begins with a special category: offerings whose offspring and substitutes maintain the SAME status as the original. Peace offerings (שלמים) are the prime example.
Peace Offerings — Unique Properties:
Peace offerings differ from sin and burnt offerings in a crucial way: both offspring AND substitutes are offered the same way as the original, with all the same requirements:
- Semichah (סמיכה) — leaning hands on the animal
- Nesachim (נסכים) — accompanying libations
- Tenufah (תנופה) — waving
- Chazeh va’Shok (חזה ושוק) — breast and thigh to the priest
This applies “until the end of the world” (עד סוף העולם) — through all generations of offspring and substitutes!
The Dispute about Offspring:
Rabbi Eliezer: Offspring of a peace offering is NOT offered as a peace offering. (It’s left to graze until blemished, then redeemed.)
Sages: Offspring IS offered as a peace offering.
Rabbi Shimon Clarifies the Dispute:
| Category | Rabbi Eliezer | Sages |
|---|---|---|
| Direct offspring | NOT offered | Offered |
| Offspring of offspring | NOT offered | NOT offered |
| Offspring of substitute’s offspring | NOT offered | NOT offered |
Everyone agrees that second-generation offspring (grandchildren of the original) are NOT offered. The dispute is only about first-generation offspring.
The Testimony:
Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Pappeyas testified that the halacha follows the Sages: offspring of peace offerings ARE offered.
Rabbi Pappeyas’s Personal Story:
“We had a cow that was a peace offering. We ate it on Passover. And we ate its offspring as a peace offering on a different Festival (Sukkot or Shavuot).”
This eyewitness account confirms the practice: offspring of peace offerings were indeed offered as peace offerings in the Temple.
Key Terms:
- שלמים (Shelamim) = Peace offerings; eaten by owners with breast/thigh to priests
- סמיכה (Semichah) = Leaning; pressing hands on animal’s head before slaughter
- תנופה (Tenufah) = Waving; moving offering forward/back, up/down
- חזה ושוק (Chazeh VaShok) = Breast and thigh; priestly portions
- עד סוף העולם (Ad Sof HaOlam) = Until the end of the world; perpetually