Talking Talmud

A long mishnah that begins on daf 79b: More on mixtures of blood - first, that of an animal with no blemish with that of an animal with a blemish. Which necessitates spilling that mixture down the drain. But the cases here recognize the difference between what is ideal and what needs to be tolerated, or is considered acceptable once it has already been done. Which moves the discussion to the quest...

Even a mixture of liquid may depend on majority, though the appearance of the mixture may make the difference -- for example, if the color of the liquid is lighter than it would have been without being mixed with another liquid. With different treatment of spit as compared to urine. But the substance itself can't be nullified by the same kind of substance. Plus, an impure person's urine th...

A new mishnah! If the blood of an offering were mixed with blood... it is still acceptable as an offering. What if it were mixed with wine? Or if the bloods mingled.... The blood must appear to be blood, at the very least, rather than whatever other liquid it might have mingled with. Plus, the debate over what it means for the blood to be recognizable. And the question of which liquid becomes the...

Two new mishnayot for today's episode (and one for tomorrow's): 1. What happens if the limbs of already slaughtered animals for different offerings are mixed up? With several possible solutions to the mix-up to ensure that nothing is violating the honor and sanctity of the altar. 2. What if the limbs of a valid offering are mixed with the limbs of a blemished offering? And again, with asse...

Money from the sale of shevi'it produce cannot be used to purchase terumah produce, lest the permissible time to eat the produce be too limited. But Rabbi Shimon seems to allow terumah spices even when one might have thought the permitted time period is long over. With several cases of back and forth on his views. Also, when the stringencies of both guilt-offerings and peace-offerings - for ex...

When there's a mix-up of sacrifices and it's not clear who brought which offering, then the question of semihah - the laying on of hands on the animal - comes to the fore. Plus, what if the mix-up is between private ownership vs. public ownership? Or is the mix-up just the blood? And how - again - might it compare to the parah adumah? (Spoiler alert: It doesn't.) Also, all offerings ca...

More on mix-ups of prohibited animals together with permitted animals... with a tour back to Tractate Avodah Zarah, with a ring of idolatry that was intermingled with other non-prohibited rings. And then one is lost in the Mediterranean. How does that affect the decision about majority? And how does it inform the understanding of the animals...? Plus, the division to form majority - with the speci...

The principle that is learned from the details surrounding the dried figs, a specific example: when things are sold by number, they can't be nullified in a majority. With some dispute about when and whether the majority can actually nullify the figs, for example. Also, a mixture of sacrifices, where the process of offering them is different, and therefore there's no way to treat them strin...

More on the mixtures, and the unidentifiable element that was prohibited from benefit. With a strong question as to why the rule of negating the prohibited element in the majority that is not prohibited does not apply. Of course, it's a machloket - and contingent on the nature of the mixture, and whether the items can be counted and are sold individually. Plus, the comparison to a mishnah in O...

Chapter 8! And a new mishnah. On mixtures, when something that is prohibited for benefit is mixed with "regular" items (or, in these cases, animals) of the same kind - such that that which is prohibited for benefit cannot be identified, then the whole lot would need to be put to death. Or, depending on the nature of the prohibition, perhaps all animals put out to pasture until they got a...

A complicated daf.... with a textual comparison of biblical verses, focusing on the words "neveilah" and "treyfah" - both of which are now defined. With many categories and permutations of both, and each, when it comes to different kinds of animals. Plus, a more straightforward passage on the unusual terms of the birds with melikah, when the bird has a blemish, and then in comp...

More on the pinching of the bird - melikah. If done in ways that were considered inappropriate or incongruous (like, at night), then the melikah would be invalid, but without rendering anything impure - not even the clothing of the kohen. Plus, the newly introduced term of a "treyfah," but the definition is yet to come. How does the proper slaughter of a treyfah prevent the impurity that...

A new mishnah: When the bird is killed improperly in the context of sacrifices, it does not necessarily constitute a carcass, in terms of conveying impurity. Specifically, melikah vs. slaughtering. Note the question of maturity - including in terms of appearance - of the birds. The Gemara dives into how the phenomenon of melika makes the difference as far as the carcass of the bird is considered....

Bringing a burnt-offering from a bird can switch to be a sin-offering, if the procedure that is done is the sin-offering practice, instead of the burnt-offering practice. Plus, the queries of the Gemara on this with a contradictory case of two women who bring the burnt- and sin-offerings post childbirth, and what happens in the event of error or confusion.

Chapter 7! Opening, of course, with a new mishnah: Still, with regard to bird offerings, with all the proper details of a sin-offering for the offering to be valid. And then cases that changes an element, such that the sin-offering is incorrectly offered - whether in procedure or intent, the offerings are then invalid -- though not judged for karet. And likewise, the same review for the bird burnt...

When the kohen burns the bird on the altar, in its removed separate body parts, from crop to gizzard. Plus, the examples of when the intent was wrong or the placement was wrong, and so on - and when those errors in protocol invalidated the offering, distinguishing between the sin-offering and the burnt-offering. Also, If the kohen didn't remove the crop, or other parallel removings, then, with...

3 things were done on the altar above the red line - including libations of water and wine, and certain details of the bird olah (burnt-offering), and on the southeast corner. Also, specific directions or coordinates where the different parts of the offering must take place. Plus, a new mishnah! Specifically the details of the bird sin-offering. Including a vivid description of "melikah"...

Two new mishnayot! 1 - What is the proper place of the fistful of grain of the grain-offering? Defining "kimtzah" -- scooping up the meal. That kimtzah was tantamount to the act of slaughtering of an animal sacrifice, in terms of the details surrounding it (of course, it's not animal), like where in the courtyard the procedure could be done. 2 - The bird offering - and other procedur...

Building the Second Temple's altar - at which point, they already knew the outline of the building itself, but they weren't quite sure about the altar. How did the know? One suggestion is that the archangel Michael told them in a vision. Alternatively, the "ashes of Isaac" -- as seen in a vision -- were seen in the same place as the altar, namely, since that was also the location...

When the Tabernacle was in Shilo, the altar seems to have been made of stones, and not the copper that Moshe made. But if that's the case, how was there unceasing use of the same altar from Moshe to Shlomo (Moses to Solomon)? The Gemara, of course, attempts to resolve that contradiction to the satisfaction of both claims (no ceasing of the fire on the altar from Moses to Solomon and the ostens...

Using a textual comparison to connect the outer altar of Moses with that of Ezekiel - or alternatively interpreted to connect the outer altar of Moses with that of the inner altar of Moses. This inference raises the question of how far that kind of interpretation can go - in light of the specific measurements of these altars: is the altar a "vessel," or not? Plus, the question of whether the court...

If the altar is damaged, the offerings that were slaughtered there - where the damaged altar is - are invalid. Of course, the question then arises, what about the order of operations? Did the offering's slaughter take place before or after the damage to the altar? Also, what happens to an animal that has been rendered disqualified? For example, what if the altar were fixed? Would the offering...

Chapter 6! With a new mishnah - Is the status of the altar as if it's fully in the north, or only on the northerly portion of the altar itself? Keep in mind that being slaughtered in the north is essential to the sacrifice - namely, for it to be valid. At least, for the kinds of offerings that must be slaughtered in the north to be valid. One solution to the dispute, of course, is the fact tha...

Starting with the last mishnah (on the bottom of 56:) - the offerings of the first-born, the tithes, Passover sacrifice, and more... in terms of what is eaten by whom. Starting with the first-born and the tithing - where the Gemara finds a source for the details and time frame of these offerings. The sages in these discussions are earlier - Tannaim, not Amoraim - and Rabbi Tarfon himself is a kohe...

The dimensions of the courtyard are key for determining where a person becomes liable for being impure in the courtyard. Plus, the impact on where the slaughtering can be done for kodshei kodshim and kodshei kalim. Also, when the sunset has begun, the blood can no longer before offered on the altar for that same day.