To appreciate the Mishnah beginning at the very bottom of TB Beitzah 25b and continues on TB Beitzah 26, let me introduce some laws concerning the bekhor (בְּכוֹר ) a male firstborn of cattle, sheep, or goats. The bekhor is one of the 24 gifts given to the priests, kohanim. The bekhor is sanctified at birth. The owner gives the bekhor to a priest and the priests offers it as a shelamim, peace offering. After he offers those require parts on the altar, the rest belongs to him. If the bekhor has a permanent blemish (מוּם קָבוּעַ), it cannot be offered up on the altar. In this case, the priest lets it graze until it becomes blemished. He may not actively nor passively allow the animal to become blemished as we see the proof text on BT Beitzah 27b. “The Gemara comments: And from where do you say that causing a blemish to an offering is prohibited? As it is taught in a baraita: It is written with regard to offerings: “There must not be any blemish in it” (Leviticus 22:21). I have only an explicit prohibition that it may not have a blemish; from where is it derived that one may not cause a blemish to it by means of something else, e.g., that he does not bring dough or a dried fig and place it on its ear so that a dog will come and take it, thereby biting off part of the animal’s ear and leaving it blemished? Therefore the verse states “any blemish.” It says “blemish” and it says “any blemish”; the word “any” comes to teach that one may not cause a blemish.” (Sefaria.org translation) Once the bekhor has a disqualifying blemish and the priests redeems it, the priest may slaughter it and eat it as non-sacred meat.
Mishnah “If a firstborn animal fell
into a cistern on a Festival, and there is concern that it might die there,
Rabbi Yehuda says: An expert in these matters goes down into the
cistern and examines the animal.
If it has a permanent blemish, owing to
which it may be slaughtered and eaten, he may raise it from the cistern and
slaughter it; but if it does not have a blemish, or if its
blemish is temporary, he may not slaughter it. Rabbi Shimon says:
Even if it has a blemish, it is prohibited to slaughter it, as any
firstborn animal whose blemish is not perceptible while it is still day,
i.e., on the day before the Festival, is not considered to be among
the animals prepared prior to the Festival for use on the Festival.” (Sefaria.org
translation)
A major topic discussed
in massekhet Beitzah is the concept of
muktseh. Muktseh is
essentially a restriction on objects that were not “prepared” before the
Sabbath. The absence of preparedness in this sense means that when Shabbat
began, the vast majority of people would not have expected to use this
particular item or substance on Shabbat. Because all throughout the rest
of the Talmud Rabbi Yehuda has a more limited definition of what qualifies as muktseh and Rabbi Shimon has a more
expansive definition of what qualifies as muktseh,
Rashi has a problem. If the Mishnah is discussing whether the fallen bekhor in the cistern is or isn’t muktseh, we would expect that Rabbi
Yehuda would hold the strict position and forbid this unfortunate animal and
Rabbi Shimon would permit it. Rashi’s problem is the Mishnah presents Rabbi
Yehuda’s position as the lenient one and Rabbi Shimon’s position as the strict
one.
Consequently, Rashi is forced to interpret the Mishnah’s case that goes against a simple reading of the text and has nothing to do with muktseh. Rashi explains that Rabbi Yehuda holds that muktseh is not applicable because the priest always had this animal in mind for some permitted use before the onset of the Festival. The only thing that has changed is the animal fell in a pit. Rashi explains that Rabbi Shimon forbids this animal because the person is either changing the status of the animal for the better (תיקון) which is prohibited on Shabbat or one is forbidden to adjudicate the status of the animal on Shabbat.
This is admittedly a difficult interpretation because the Mishnah.
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