Bechoros, Chapter 5, Mishnah 1. We now move on to the topic of the sanctity and restrictions that apply to a firstborn animal, even when it has a blemish.
As we have already learned, a firstborn animal that is born unblemished is given to a kohen, and the kohen must bring it as a sacrifice. If it develops a permanent blemish - it is automatically disqualified from being offered and may be eaten by the kohen. Nevertheless, a remnant of sanctity remains in it, a residual sanctity, and because of this, restrictions apply to it:
It is forbidden to work with it and use it as a work animal.
It is forbidden to shear its wool.
It is forbidden to drink its milk.
However, it is permitted to slaughter it and eat it.
A Similar Law for Other Consecrated Animals:
This is very similar to other types of sacrifices - an olah, shelamim, or chatas. A person consecrates an animal by declaring, "This is an olah," brings it to the Temple, and offers it. If it develops a permanent blemish, from the same list of blemishes taught in Bechoros, it must be reduced to non-sacred status (chullin) through redemption: it is sold or exchanged for money, and a similar sacrifice is bought with the money. Even in an animal that has become chullin, remnants of sanctity remain - it may not be worked, it may not be sheared, and its milk may not be drunk, but it is permitted to eat it, exactly like a firstborn animal.
The animal tithe (maaser) has the same law, except that it is closer to a firstborn in many respects, and is sometimes even slightly stricter.
The Difference Between the Firstborn and Tithe and Other Consecrated Animals:
Our Mishnah focuses on the differences between a firstborn and tithe, and other sacrifices that have developed a blemish. A firstborn, as well as the tithe, become sanctified with their respective holiness even when they have a blemish: an animal that is born with three legs - is a firstborn, and must be given to the kohen, except that due to its blemish it is not offered on the altar and may be eaten immediately. Its sanctity comes from the very fact that it is a firstborn.
The same applies to the tithe: if ten animals enter a pen, and the tenth one to come out has three legs - it is the tithe, except that it is not offered due to its blemish, and its owner slaughters it and eats it. In contrast, a person cannot consecrate a three-legged cow and apply the sanctity of a shelamim or olah to it. Only if it was consecrated unblemished and subsequently lost its leg, does it become blemished, and it must be redeemed and eaten.
The Main Distinction in the Mishnah:
Selling an animal in a butcher shop, in the meat market, is not a respectful manner, and therefore it is forbidden for a firstborn and a tithe. They are not sold in a butcher shop, they are not slaughtered there, and they are not even weighed in the usual way - where the meat is placed on one pan of the scales and a metal or stone weight on the other. All of these involve a degradation to a consecrated animal that retains remnants of sanctity, even though it is permitted to eat it.
In contrast, for a sacrifice that was consecrated and redeemed - an olah, shelamim, or chatas - this is permitted. Not because there is no degradation involved, but because in the butcher shop, the place where people come to buy meat, the demand is high and the price is higher. And who benefits from the higher price? In the case of disqualified consecrated animals, the money received from the redemption is used to buy a new sacrifice, and the more money received, the larger and better the shelamim that will be brought. It turns out that the beneficiary is the Temple treasury, as it were.
However, a kohen who has a blemished bechor - if he sells it, the kohen is the one who becomes enriched. And with maaser - the owner is the one who becomes enriched. Therefore, the Mishnah says: We do not allow a person to take his bechor or his maaser to the butcher shop, to sell it, slaughter it, and weigh it there in the usual manner, because this constitutes a degradation to the animal and provides no benefit other than his personal enrichment. But with other disqualified consecrated animals, we allow it, because the matter is done for the sake of Heaven, to bring a larger and better offering to the Beis HaMikdash. This is the main point of the Mishnah.
The language of the Mishnah:
"Kol pesulei hamukdashin" - Any animal that was consecrated for an offering of the general type, and not a bechor or maaser, and it developed a permanent blemish. It is no longer fit for sacrifice, and therefore it is redeemed.
"Nimkarin ba'itliz" - It is permitted to sell it in the meat market.
"Vanishchatin ba'itliz" - And even to slaughter it there.
"Vanishkalin balitra" - And even to weigh it on a scale against a litra, an object of weighing and measuring like a standard weight.
It is worth noting that a 'litra' is a specific weight, roughly equivalent to a pound. The Latin word 'libra' is very similar to it, and in fact, it is the same word referring to the same thing. This, for example, is the origin of the abbreviation lb or lbs to denote a pound - from the word 'libra', and the 'litra' in our Mishnah is a version of it.
There are exceptions to this rule: One may not weigh, sell, or slaughter a bechor or maaser in the butcher shop, because any additional price achieved in the meat market goes solely to the benefit of the owner, and we do not want this at the expense of the honor of Hashem's offering. Therefore, one who wishes to sell a bechor must sell it privately in his home and without publicity, and then it is permitted.
And regarding maaser, as long as it is alive, we do not sell it at all. Once it develops a blemish and is slaughtered, it is permitted to sell its meat according to Torah law, but the Sages forbade this. However, the Gemara says, there are cases where they permitted it: Maaser belonging to orphans - we allow them to sell the meat for their benefit, so that they do not incur a loss, because the Sages did not enact decrees upon orphans. But even this is on the condition that it is done privately within their home.
The Mishnah is written out of order, and therefore we prefaced it with the general explanation. Now the things stated above are clarified in retrospect, that a regular offering that becomes disqualified - it is permitted to sell it and slaughter it in the butcher shop, and the reason is that the additional profit ultimately goes to the benefit of the Beis HaMikdash and to bring a larger and better offering, and not to a person's private pocket.
Weighing the meat of the bechor:
In conclusion, the Mishnah adds, as a new paragraph, a law regarding a bechor: One who comes to sell it and needs to weigh it - he is not allowed to place the litra, the fixed weight stone, on one side of the scale and the meat on the other side. But he is allowed to say: Here we have a piece of non-sacred meat that was weighed previously and its weight is known to be five pounds. We will place the non-sacred meat on one side of the scale and the meat of the bechor on the other side, and weigh piece against piece, to calculate how much five pounds is for the buyer who wishes to buy five pounds of the bechor meat. Such weighing is permitted.
The Mishnah does not mention maaser, because maaser is more stringent, as stated above, but with a bechor, the matter is permitted. And the idea is that when the weighing is done in an unconventional manner, it does not constitute a degradation and does not turn the animal into mere merchandise. There is a necessity to weigh, since the buyer needs to know what he is getting, and therefore this is the way to do it: In an unconventional manner, it is permitted to weigh during the sale of a bechor.