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Week 38 - Thursday - 17 August 2000

BETZAH: CHAPTER 3: MISHNAH 4

If a firstling fell into a pit, R. Yehudah says, An expert goes down and sees - if it has a blemish, he may bring it up and slaughter it, but if not, he may not slaughter. R. Shimon says, If its blemish was not perceived on the previous day, it is not considered prepared.

Kehati

The firstborn permitted animal is holy from birth, and even in our times it is not slaughtered unless it has developed a permanent blemish, which must first be shown to an expert to establish whether the blemish is permanent or only temporary. Our mishnah discusses the case of a firstling that had a blemish before Yom Tov, but was not shown to an expert, and it is not known whether the blemish was permanent or temporary. The animal fell into a pit on Yom Tov, and it is feared that the animal may die in the pit, and it is not permitted to raise it out of the pit on Yom Tov unless it is needed for food. Though the animal suffers, one does not degrade the Yom Tov to alleviate an animal's suffering (Hameiri).

If a firstling - with a blemish, which was not shown to an expert before Yom Tov, fell into a pit - on Yom Tov, and it is feared that it may die there, R. Yehudah says, An expert - in blemishes, goes down and sees - if it has a blemish - if the blemish it had before Yom Tov is a permanent one, in which case one is permitted to slaughter the animal, then, he may bring it up and slaughter it - because the person had in mind before Yom Tov to slaughter the animal, and it is not muktzeh.

But if not - if the expert sees that the blemish that the animal had before Yom Tov was a temporary one, and the fall turned it into a permanent one, he may not slaughter - i.e., one may not raise up the animal from the pit on Yom Tov, and if he did so, he may not slaughter it, for since the blemish that the animal had before Yom Tov was only a temporary one, the animal is muktzeh.

R. Shimon says, If its blemish was not perceived on the previous day - as a permanent blemish it - the animal - is not considered prepared - and one is forbidden to raise it up and slaughter it on Yom Tov. According to some commentators, R. Shimon does not forbid it because of muktzeh, since R. Shimon does not accept the law of muktzeh, but because in his view one does not examine blemishes on Yom Tov, for this resembles the passing of judgement which is forbidden by Rabbinic law. This, then, is what R. Shimon says: If its blemish was not perceived on the previous day, it is not considered prepared - to be permitted to be slaughtered, for an expert cannot grant this permission on Yom Tov, and any permission granted is invalid (Rashi). The halakhah is in accordance with R. Shimon (Rambam, Hil. Yom Tov 2:4).

BETZAH: CHAPTER 3: MISHNAH 5

If an animal died, one may not move it from its place. It once occurred, and they asked R. Tarfon about it and about hallah that became unclean, and he went into the House of Study and asked, and they said to him: One may not move them from their place.

Kehati

If an animal died - on Yom Tov, one may not move it from its place - The Gemara explains that this refers to a sanctified animal, and when such an animal dies one is forbidden to derive any benefit from it, and the carcass must be buried. It may therefore not be moved from its place on Yom Tov. However, if an ordinary (unsanctified) animal died on Yom Tov, and it was dangerously ill before Yom Tov, one is permitted to cut up the carcass on Yom Tov for the dogs, because already before Yom Tov the person anticipated feeding the meat to dogs. If, however, the animal was not dangerously ill the previous day, then even an ordinary animal may not be moved on Yom Tov.

It once occurred, and they asked R. Tarfon about it - about a sanctified animal which had died on Yom Tov, and about hallah that became unclean - which cannot be used by a kohen on Yom Tov, for it may not be eaten, nor may the kohen use it to stoke a fire to cook food or feed it to his dog, for sanctified things which have become tameh may not be destroyed on Yom Tov,

And he went into the House of Study and asked - for a ruling and they - the Sages, said to him: One may not move them from their place - it is forbidden to move the animal or the hallah from its place on Yom Tov, for as they cannot be used for anything, it is forbidden to handle them.

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