🐑 Mishnah Zevachim 9

הַמִּזְבֵּחַ מְקַדֵּשׁ אֶת הָרָאוּי לוֹ. רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אוֹמֵר, כָּל הָרָאוּי לָאִשִּׁים, אִם עָלָה לֹא יֵרֵד, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ויקרא ו), הִוא הָעֹלָה עַל מוֹקְדָה עַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ. מָה עוֹלָה שֶׁהִיא רְאוּיָה לָאִשִּׁים, אִם עָלְתָה לֹא תֵרֵד, אַף כָּל דָּבָר שֶׁהוּא רָאוּי לָאִשִּׁים, אִם עָלָה לֹא יֵרֵד. רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל אוֹמֵר, כָּל הָרָאוּי לַמִּזְבֵּחַ, אִם עָלָה לֹא יֵרֵד, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר, הִוא הָעֹלָה עַל מוֹקְדָה עַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ. מַה עוֹלָה שֶׁהִיא רְאוּיָה לַמִּזְבֵּחַ אִם עָלְתָה לֹא תֵרֵד, אַף כָּל דָּבָר שֶׁהוּא רָאוּי לַמִּזְבֵּחַ אִם עָלָה לֹא יֵרֵד. אֵין בֵּין דִּבְרֵי רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל לְדִבְרֵי רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אֶלָּא הַדָּם וְהַנְּסָכִים, שֶׁרַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל אוֹמֵר לֹא יֵרְדוּ, וְרַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אוֹמֵר יֵרֵדוּ. רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן אוֹמֵר, הַזֶּבַח כָּשֵׁר וְהַנְּסָכִים פְּסוּלִים, הַנְּסָכִים כְּשֵׁרִין וְהַזֶּבַח פָּסוּל, אֲפִלּוּ זֶה וָזֶה פְּסוּלִין, הַזֶּבַח לֹא יֵרֵד, וְהַנְּסָכִים יֵרֵדוּ:

Certain unfit items, once they have been placed on the altar, are nevertheless sacrificed. The mishna teaches: The altar sanctifies only items that are suited to it. The tanna’im disagree as to the definition of suited for the altar. Rabbi Yehoshua says: Any item that is suited to be consumed by the fire on the altar, e.g., burnt offerings and the sacrificial portions of other offerings, which are burned on the altar, if it ascended upon the altar, even if it is disqualified from being sacrificed ab initio, it shall not descend. Since it was sanctified by its ascent upon the altar, it is sacrificed upon it, as it is stated: “It is the burnt offering on the pyre upon the altar” (Leviticus 6:2), from which it is derived: Just as with regard to a burnt offering, which is suited to be consumed by the fire on the altar, if it ascended it shall not descend, so too, with regard to any item that is suited to be consumed by the fire on the altar, if it ascended it shall not descend. Rabban Gamliel says: With regard to any item that is suited to ascend upon the altar, even if it is not typically consumed, if it ascended, it shall not descend, even if it is disqualified from being sacrificed ab initio, as it is stated: “It is the burnt offering on the pyre upon the altar,” from which it is derived: Just as with regard to a burnt offering, which is fit for the altar, if it ascended it shall not descend, so too, any item that is fit for the altar, if it ascended it shall not descend. The mishna comments: The difference between the statement of Rabban Gamliel and the statement of Rabbi Yehoshua is only with regard to disqualified blood and disqualified libations, which are not consumed by the fire but do ascend upon the altar, as Rabban Gamliel says: They shall not descend, as they are fit to ascend upon the altar, and Rabbi Yehoshua says: They shall descend, as they are not burned on the altar. Rabbi Shimon says: Whether the offering was fit and the accompanying libations were unfit, e.g., if they became ritually impure or they were brought outside their designated area, or whether the libations were fit and the offering was unfit, rendering the accompanying libations unfit as well, and even if both this and that were unfit, the offering shall not descend, as it was sanctified by the altar, but the libations shall descend.

וְאֵלּוּ אִם עָלוּ, לֹא יֵרְדוּ. הַלָּן, וְהַטָּמֵא, וְהַיּוֹצֵא, וְהַנִּשְׁחָט חוּץ לִזְמַנּוֹ, וְחוּץ לִמְקוֹמוֹ, וְשֶׁקִּבְּלוּ פְסוּלִים, וְזָרְקוּ אֶת דָּמוֹ. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, שֶׁנִּשְׁחֲטָה בַלַּיְלָה, וְשֶׁנִּשְׁפַּךְ דָּמָהּ, וְשֶׁיָּצָא דָמָהּ חוּץ לַקְּלָעִים, אִם עָלְתָה, תֵּרֵד. רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן אוֹמֵר, לֹא תֵרֵד, שֶׁהָיָה רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן אוֹמֵר, כֹּל שֶׁפְּסוּלוֹ בַקֹּדֶשׁ, הַקֹּדֶשׁ מְקַבְּלוֹ. לֹא הָיָה פְסוּלוֹ בַקֹּדֶשׁ, אֵין הַקֹּדֶשׁ מְקַבְּלוֹ:

These are the items that even if they were disqualified, if they ascended the altar they shall not descend: Blood, sacrificial portions, or limbs of a burnt offering, any of which were left overnight off the altar, or that emerge from the Temple courtyard, or that become ritually impure, or that came from an animal that was slaughtered with the intent to sacrifice it beyond its designated time or outside its designated area, or an offering that people unfit to perform the Temple service collected and then sprinkled its blood. Rabbi Yehuda says: In the case of a sacrificial animal that was slaughtered at night, or one whose blood was spilled on the floor of the Temple without its being collected in a vessel, or one whose blood emerged outside the curtains, i.e., outside the Temple courtyard: Even if it ascended upon the altar it shall descend. Rabbi Shimon says: In all these cases, if it ascended it shall not descend, because its disqualification occurred in sanctity. As Rabbi Shimon says: With regard to any unfit offering whose disqualification occurred in sanctity, i.e., in the course of the Temple service, the sacred area renders the offering acceptable, and if it ascended onto the altar it shall not descend. But with regard to any offering whose disqualification did not occur in sanctity but rather was unfit initially, the sacred area does not render the offering acceptable.

אֵלּוּ לֹא הָיָה פְסוּלָן בַּקֹּדֶשׁ, הָרוֹבֵעַ, וְהַנִּרְבָּע, וְהַמֻּקְצֶה, וְהַנֶּעֱבָד, וְהָאֶתְנָן, וְהַמְּחִיר, וְהַכִּלְאַיִם, וְהַטְּרֵפָה, וְהַיּוֹצֵא דֹפֶן, וּבַעֲלֵי מוּמִין. רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא מַכְשִׁיר בְּבַעֲלֵי מוּמִין. רַבִּי חֲנִינָא סְגַן הַכֹּהֲנִים אוֹמֵר, דּוֹחֶה הָיָה אַבָּא אֶת בַּעֲלֵי מוּמִין מֵעַל גַּבֵּי הַמִּזְבֵּחַ:

And these are the offerings whose disqualification did not occur in sanctity: An animal that copulated with a person, and an animal that was the object of bestiality, and an animal that was set aside for idol worship, and an animal that was worshipped as a deity, and an animal that was given as payment to a prostitute or as the price of a dog, and an animal born of a mixture of diverse kinds, and an animal with a wound that will cause it to die within twelve months [tereifa], and an animal born by caesarean section, and blemished animals. Rabbi Akiva deems blemished animals fit in the sense that if they ascended they shall not descend. Rabbi Ḥanina, the deputy High Priest, says: My father would reject blemished animals from upon the altar.

כְּשֵׁם שֶׁאִם עָלוּ לֹא יֵרְדוּ, כָּךְ אִם יָרְדוּ לֹא יַעֲלוּ. וְכֻלָּן שֶׁעָלוּ חַיִּים לְרֹאשׁ הַמִּזְבֵּחַ, יֵרֵדוּ. עוֹלָה שֶׁעָלְתָה חַיָּה לְרֹאשׁ הַמִּזְבֵּחַ, תֵּרֵד. שְׁחָטָהּ בְּרֹאשׁ הַמִּזְבֵּחַ, יַפְשִׁיט וִינַתַּח בִּמְקוֹמָהּ:

Concerning those animals that, if they ascended, do not descend, just as if they ascended the altar they shall not descend, so too, if they descended they shall not then ascend. And all of them that if they ascend they do not descend, if they ascended to the top of the altar alive they descend, as an animal is fit for the altar only after it is slaughtered. A burnt offering that ascended to the top of the altar alive shall descend, as one does not slaughter an animal atop the altar ab initio. But if one slaughtered the animal at the top of the altar, he should flay it and cut it into pieces in its place, and it is not removed from the altar.

וְאֵלּוּ אִם עָלוּ יֵרְדוּ, בְּשַׂר קָדְשֵׁי קָדָשִׁים, וּבְשַׂר קָדָשִׁים קַלִּים, וּמוֹתַר הָעֹמֶר, וּשְׁתֵּי הַלֶּחֶם, וְלֶחֶם הַפָּנִים, וּשְׁיָרֵי מְנָחוֹת, וְהַקְּטֹרֶת. הַצֶּמֶר שֶׁבְּרָאשֵׁי כְבָשִׂים, וְהַשֵּׂעָר שֶׁבִּזְקַן תְּיָשִׁים, וְהָעֲצָמוֹת, וְהַגִּידִים, וְהַקַּרְנַיִם, וְהַטְּלָפַיִם, בִּזְמַן שֶׁהֵן מְחֻבָּרִין, יַעֲלוּ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ויקרא א), וְהִקְטִיר הַכֹּהֵן אֶת הַכֹּל הַמִּזְבֵּחָה. פָּרְשׁוּ, לֹא יַעֲלוּ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (דברים יב), וְעָשִׂיתָ עֹלֹתֶיךָ הַבָּשָׂר וְהַדָּם:

And these are the items that if they ascended upon the altar they descend, because they are completely unfit for the altar: The meat of offerings of the most sacred order, i.e., a guilt offering and a sin offering, the meat of which is eaten by priests; and the meat of offerings of lesser sanctity, which is eaten by the owners; and the surplus of the omer meal offering brought on the second day of Passover after the handful was removed and burned on the altar; and the two loaves meal offering brought on the festival of Shavuot; and the shewbread; and the remainder of the meal offerings after the handful was removed, which are all eaten by the priests; and the incense that ascended upon the external altar and not the golden altar where it should be burned. With regard to the wool that is on the heads of the sheep brought as burnt offerings, and the hair that is in the beard of goats that were sacrificed, and the bones, and the tendons, and the horns, and the hooves: When they are attached to the flesh of the offering they shall ascend upon the altar and be sacrificed with the offering, as it is stated: “And the priest shall make the whole smoke on the altar” (Leviticus 1:9). If they separated from the flesh of the offering they shall not ascend, as it is stated: “And you shall offer your burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood” (Deuteronomy 12:27), and nothing else.

וְכֻלָּם שֶׁפָּקְעוּ מֵעַל גַּבֵּי הַמִּזְבֵּחַ, לֹא יַחֲזִיר. וְכֵן גַּחֶלֶת שֶׁפָּקְעָה מֵעַל גַּבֵּי הַמִּזְבֵּחַ. אֵבָרִים שֶׁפָּקְעוּ מֵעַל גַּבֵּי הַמִּזְבֵּחַ, קֹדֶם לַחֲצוֹת, יַחֲזִיר, וּמוֹעֲלִין בָּהֶן. לְאַחַר חֲצוֹת, לֹא יַחֲזִיר, וְאֵין מוֹעֲלִין בָּהֶן:

And all of those disqualified offerings with regard to which it was taught (84a) that if they ascended they do not descend, in a case where they were dislodged from upon the altar, the priest does not restore them to the altar. And likewise, with regard to an ember that was dislodged from upon the altar, the priest does not restore it to the altar. As for limbs of a fit burnt offering that were dislodged from upon the altar, if they were dislodged before midnight, the priest should restore them to the altar and one is liable for misusing them. But if they were dislodged after midnight, the priest does not restore them and one is not liable for misusing them, as one is not liable for misuse of consecrated property after it has fulfilled the purpose for which it was designated.

כְּשֵׁם שֶׁהַמִּזְבֵּחַ מְקַדֵּשׁ אֶת הָרָאוּי לוֹ כָּךְ הַכֶּבֶשׁ מְקַדֵּשׁ. כְּשֵׁם שֶׁהַמִּזְבֵּחַ וְהַכֶּבֶשׁ מְקַדְּשִׁין אֶת הָרָאוּי לָהֶן, כָּךְ הַכֵּלִים מְקַדְּשִׁים. כְּלֵי הַלַּח מְקַדְּשִׁין אֶת הַלַּח, וּמִדּוֹת הַיָּבֵשׁ מְקַדְּשׁוֹת אֶת הַיָּבֵשׁ. אֵין כְּלֵי הַלַּח מְקַדְּשִׁים אֶת הַיָּבֵשׁ, וְלֹא מִדּוֹת הַיָּבֵשׁ מְקַדְּשׁוֹת אֶת הַלָּח. כְּלֵי הַקֹּדֶשׁ שֶׁנִּקְּבוּ, אִם עוֹשִׂים הֵם מֵעֵין מְלַאכְתָּן שֶׁהָיוּ עוֹשִׂין וְהֵם שְׁלֵמִים, מְקַדְּשִׁין. וְאִם לָאו, אֵין מְקַדְּשִׁים. וְכֻלָּן אֵין מְקַדְּשִׁים אֶלָּא בַקֹּדֶשׁ:

With regard to unfit items that if they ascended do not descend, just as the altar sanctifies items that are suited to it, so too, the ramp sanctifies items that are suited to it. Just as the altar and the ramp sanctify items that are suited to them, so too, the service vessels sanctify items that are placed in them. The mishna elaborates on the halakha taught in the previous mishna (86a) that service vessels sanctify items placed in them. The service vessels used for liquids sanctify only liquids used in the service, and the service vessels that serve as dry measures sanctify only dry items used in the service. The service vessels used for liquids do not sanctify dry items, and the service vessels used for dry items do not sanctify liquids. With regard to sacred vessels that were perforated, if one continues to utilize them for a use similar to the use for which they would utilize them previously when they were whole, they continue to sanctify their contents. And if not, they do not sanctify their contents. And all of these vessels sanctify items only when they are in the sacred area, i.e., the Temple courtyard.