Temurah 6:5-7:1
משנה תמורה ו:ה - ז:א
Seder: Kodashim | Tractate: Temurah | Chapters: 6-7
📖 Mishna
Mishna 6:5
משנה ו:ה
Hebrew:
כָּל הָאֲסוּרִים עַל גַּבֵּי הַמִּזְבֵּחַ, וַלְדוֹתֵיהֶן מֻתָּרִים. וְלַד טְרֵפָה, רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אוֹמֵר, לֹא יִקְרַב עַל גַּבֵּי הַמִּזְבֵּחַ. וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים, יִקְרָב. רַבִּי חֲנִינָא בֶן אַנְטִיגְנוֹס אוֹמֵר, כְּשֵׁרָה שֶׁיָּנְקָה מִן הַטְּרֵפָה, פְּסוּלָה מֵעַל גַּבֵּי הַמִּזְבֵּחַ. כָּל הַקֳּדָשִׁים שֶׁנַּעֲשׂוּ טְרֵפָה, אֵין פּוֹדִים אוֹתָם, שֶׁאֵין פּוֹדִים אֶת הַקֳּדָשִׁים לְהַאֲכִילָן לִכְלָבִים:
English:
The mishna adds a principle: With regard to all animals whose sacrifice on the altar is prohibited, sacrifice of their offspring is permitted. Rabbi Eliezer says: The offspring of an animal with a wound that will cause it to perish within twelve months (tereifa) shall not be sacrificed on the altar. But the Rabbis say: It shall be sacrificed. Rabbi Chanina ben Antigonus says: A kosher animal that suckled from a tereifa is disqualified from sacrifice on the altar. With regard to all sacrificial animals that became tereifot, one may not redeem them and render them non-sacred, as their consumption is forbidden and one does not redeem sacrificial animals to feed them to dogs, as this is considered a degradation of sacrificial animals.
Claude on the Mishna:
This mishna establishes a general rule and then explores its limits through a tannaitic debate about tereifa animals.
General Rule: The offspring of all altar-prohibited animals (listed in 6:1) are permitted for sacrifice. The prohibition doesn’t pass to the next generation.
The Tereifa Debate: Rabbi Eliezer disagrees regarding offspring of a tereifa. He holds that the fatal defect somehow affects the offspring - perhaps the fetus was damaged by the same injury, or there’s a genetic/constitutional defect. The Sages permit the offspring, maintaining the general principle that prohibitions don’t transfer to offspring.
Rabbi Chanina ben Antigonus introduces a different concern: not genetic, but nutritional. An otherwise healthy animal that NURSED from a tereifa becomes disqualified. The tereifa’s milk enters and becomes part of the nursing animal, creating a physical connection to the prohibited source.
Consecrated animals that become tereifa pose a unique problem. Normally, blemished hekdesh can be redeemed - sold, with the sanctity transferring to the money. But a tereifa cannot be eaten by humans; it would be fed to dogs. The mishna rules this is too degrading for something that was sanctified - we don’t redeem holy animals just to have them become dog food. Instead, they must be left to die naturally, a form of respecting their former sacred status.
Key Terms:
- וַלְדוֹתֵיהֶן (valdoteihen) = Their offspring - permitted despite parents’ prohibition
- טְרֵפָה (tereifa) = Animal with fatal wound/defect (will die within 12 months)
- יָנְקָה (yankah) = Suckled/nursed - physical absorption of milk
- פּוֹדִים (podim) = Redeem - transferring sanctity to money
- לְהַאֲכִילָן לִכְלָבִים (leha’achilan lichlavim) = “To feed to dogs” - degrading treatment of hekdesh
Mishna 7:1
משנה ז:א
Hebrew:
יֵשׁ בְּקָדְשֵׁי מִזְבֵּחַ מַה שֶׁאֵין בְּקָדְשֵׁי בֶדֶק הַבַּיִת. וְיֵשׁ בְּקָדְשֵׁי בֶדֶק הַבַּיִת מַה שֶּׁאֵין בְּקָדְשֵׁי מִזְבֵּחַ. שֶׁקָּדְשֵׁי מִזְבֵּחַ עוֹשִׂים תְּמוּרָה, וְחַיָּבִין עֲלֵיהֶם מִשּׁוּם פִּגּוּל, נוֹתָר, וְטָמֵא, וְלָדָן וַחֲלָבָן אָסוּר לְאַחַר פִּדְיוֹנָם, וְהַשׁוֹחֲטָם בַּחוּץ חַיָּב, וְאֵין נוֹתְנִין מֵהֶם לָאֻמָּנִין בִּשְׂכָרָן, מַה שֶּׁאֵין כֵּן בְּקָדְשֵׁי בֶדֶק הַבָּיִת:
English:
There are elements that apply to animals consecrated for the altar that do not apply to items consecrated for Temple maintenance, and there are elements that apply to items consecrated for Temple maintenance that do not apply to animals consecrated for the altar. One element exclusive to animals consecrated for the altar is that animals consecrated for the altar render an animal exchanged for them a substitute, and items consecrated for Temple maintenance do not render an animal exchanged for them a substitute. In addition, if one slaughters an animal consecrated for the altar with the intention to eat it beyond its designated time, or if he ate the offering after its designated time, or if he ate the offering while ritually impure, he is liable to receive karet for eating it due to violation of the prohibitions of piggul, notar, and eating while ritually impure, respectively. If animals consecrated for the altar became pregnant and then became blemished and gave birth after redemption, their offspring and their milk are forbidden after their redemption. And one who slaughters them outside the Temple courtyard is liable to receive karet. And the Temple treasurer does not give compensation to craftsmen from money designated for purchasing animals consecrated for the altar. And in all these instances, that is not so with regard to money consecrated for Temple maintenance.
Claude on the Mishna:
Chapter 7 opens by distinguishing two types of Temple sanctity: kodshei mizbe’ach (items for the altar) and kodshei bedek habayit (items for Temple maintenance/upkeep).
The mishna lists six stringencies unique to altar-consecrated items:
-
Temurah applies - Only altar animals create substitutes; you can’t make temurah on a cow donated for building materials
-
Piggul, notar, tamei - The serious prohibitions about timing and purity apply only to offerings, not to maintenance items
-
Offspring and milk forbidden after redemption - Even after a blemished altar-animal is redeemed, its offspring and milk retain a vestige of sanctity. This is remarkable - the animal itself becomes chullin, but what comes FROM it remains prohibited
-
Slaughtering outside is punishable by karet - Shechutei chutz (slaughter outside the Temple) only applies to altar-animals
-
Cannot pay craftsmen - Money designated for altar-offerings cannot be diverted to pay workers. Maintenance funds can be used more flexibly
These distinctions reflect the different nature of the two sanctities. Altar-animals have inherent bodily kedushah (קדושת הגוף) - their very being is sacred. Maintenance items have monetary kedushah (קדושת דמים) - only their value is sacred.
Key Terms:
- קָדְשֵׁי מִזְבֵּחַ (kodshei mizbe’ach) = Items consecrated for the altar - sacrificial animals
- קָדְשֵׁי בֶדֶק הַבַּיִת (kodshei bedek habayit) = Items for Temple maintenance/upkeep
- פִּגּוּל (piggul) = Offering invalidated by improper intent regarding timing
- נוֹתָר (notar) = Leftover - offering eaten after permitted time
- טָמֵא (tamei) = Ritually impure - eating holy food while impure
- שׁוֹחֲטָם בַּחוּץ (shochatam bachutz) = Slaughtering outside - punishable by karet
- אֻמָּנִין (umanin) = Craftsmen/artisans - workers on Temple building