We are learning Mishnah 2 in Chapter 2 of Tractate Bechoros. This Mishnah and the following one, which actually also appear in the tenth chapter of Tractate Chullin, deal with consecrated animals and their redemption in general, and have no direct connection to Tractate Bechoros other than in passing.
Two Types of Sanctity in Consecration:
Bodily sanctity - The item itself is holy, and is fit for a sacrifice.
Monetary sanctity - Only the monetary value is consecrated.
With cows, goats and sheep, under normal circumstances, one who consecrates them can only consecrate them with bodily sanctity, so that they become a sacrifice with inherent sanctity, and there is no option of monetary sanctity alone.
In contrast, an animal with a permanent blemish - a defect that will not pass, such as a missing limb - is unfit for a sacrifice, and there is even a Torah prohibition against consecrating it. If one did consecrate it, bodily sanctity does not take effect on it, since it is unfit to be a sacrifice, and it only receives monetary sanctity - similar to one who consecrates a book or a pen, where only the value is consecrated. Aside from the actual Torah prohibition, which may carry a penalty of lashes, many potential problems arise from this, since the animal is consecrated and the sanctity must be removed from it.
Our Mishnah deals with an animal that first had a permanent blemish and was subsequently consecrated: what its law is, and what the implications are after it has been transferred to mundane status - whether by selling it or by transferring its monetary sanctity onto money or another object. The following Mishnah, however, will discuss an animal that was properly consecrated and subsequently developed a blemish, and its status before and after its redemption.
The foundation of our Mishnah: an animal that already had a permanent blemish, which prevents it from being brought as a sacrifice, and the consecration took effect on it with monetary sanctity alone - once it is redeemed and the monetary sanctity is removed from it, it reverts to being a completely mundane animal, without any trace of sanctity. And these are the details of the laws that emerge from this.
"Kol hakodashim shekadam mum kavua lehekdeshan... venifdu" - All consecrated animals whose permanent blemish preceded their consecration... and they were redeemed:
Any cow, goat or sheep that had a permanent blemish from the outset, which does not allow it to be brought as a sacrifice, and the consecrator consecrated them - they only receive monetary sanctity, an external sanctity. And once he redeemed this sanctity from them, and the money is now used for another purpose, the animal reverts to being a completely normal mundane animal. From this point on, the Mishnah deals with the law of this animal that has been transferred to mundane status.
"Chayav bebechorah uvematanos" - It is obligated in the firstborn and in the gifts:
Firstborn: If that redeemed animal gives birth to a firstborn male offspring, the law of a firstborn applies to it. This is in contrast to a consecrated animal, where the law of a firstborn does not apply to its offspring, according to the rule that sanctity does not take effect upon sanctity. But since it was redeemed, and it never had bodily sanctity, it is like any normal cow, goat or sheep.
Gifts: This refers to the gifts for the kohen. In total, twenty-four gifts are given to the kohanim, and three of them are given from normal mundane meat, from the meat sold in the butcher shop, and even nowadays this law fundamentally applies: the foreleg (the right front leg), the jaw (the cheeks and the tongue) and the maw (one of the cow's stomachs, the one used for making cheese). These gifts are not given to the kohen from consecrated animals, but this animal, which only had monetary sanctity and was subsequently completely deconsecrated, has the law of completely mundane property, and therefore one who slaughters it for consumption is obligated to give the foreleg, the jaw and the maw from it to the kohen.
"Veyotzin lechullin ligazez ulehe'aved" - And they emerge to mundane status to be sheared and to be worked:
Also regarding the permission to shear the wool and work with the animal, such as a draft animal pulling a plow, they revert to chullin. This is in contrast to consecrated animals, which certainly may not be worked, and even in contrast to an animal that was consecrated with bodily sanctity and redeemed after a blemish occurred to it, as we will see in the next Mishnah: although it is no longer consecrated, a trace of sanctity remains in it, and it may not be used for work nor may its wool be sheared, but it may only be eaten. However, an animal that had only monetary sanctity and was redeemed, it is permitted even to shear it and work with it.
"V'vladan v'chalban mutar l'achar pidyonan" - their offspring and their milk are permitted after their redemption:
The offspring - the calves, kids, and lambs - are permitted for any use, and similarly the milk of the cow, goat, or sheep is permitted for drinking and any other use, from the moment they are redeemed.
What is the status of the animal before redemption?
From here the Mishnah changes the scope of the topic without any prior indication, and we must take note of this. Now the discussion is about an animal that had a permanent blemish from the outset, whose consecration was invalid and forbidden, and which only contracted monetary sanctity - and what its law is while it retains its sanctity, before it has been redeemed.
"Hashocheta bachutz patur" - one who slaughters it outside is exempt: Although this seems illogical, one who slaughters this animal outside the Temple courtyard is exempt. This is because the rule is that one who slaughters consecrated animals fit for a sacrifice outside the Temple courtyard is liable to kareis, but this animal was never fit for a sacrifice, since it was blemished from the outset, and therefore one who slaughters it outside is exempt.
"Ein osin bah temurah" - we do not make a substitute for it: Temurah is a separate Torah prohibition, that it is forbidden to exchange a consecrated animal for another animal, even for a better one. And one who does so, the first animal retains its sanctity, and the new animal becomes consecrated as well, resulting in both being sacrifices. However, all this applies when the animal had bodily sanctity, whereas the animal before us has only monetary sanctity, since at the time of consecration it already had a blemish. Therefore, if he had an animal that was missing a leg, which only receives monetary sanctity, and he declared about another, fine cow that it should take its place, his words are entirely ineffective, and no prohibition or restriction applies to the new cow.
"Meisah lifnei pidyonah, nifdeis" - if it died before its redemption, it may be redeemed: If the animal died before its sanctity was transferred, and only a carcass remained, it is permitted to redeem the carcass and transfer its value to money, and to use the money for other needs, and the carcass itself may be given to dogs or used for any other purpose. This is in contrast to an animal that had bodily sanctity and died prior to its redemption, as we will see in the next Mishnah, where nothing may be done with it except to bury it.
Firstborn and tithe:
To conclude, the Mishnah establishes that these laws apply differently to a firstborn and to a tithe. A firstborn born with a blemish has the status of an animal that had bodily sanctity and was redeemed, according to the law of the next Mishnah. The same applies to the animal tithe: one who brings ten cows, goats, or sheep of that year into the pen and passes them under the rod, and it happens that the tenth one exiting the opening is blemished - its status is like a tithe that was consecrated and developed a blemish and became chullin all at once. Thus, residual restrictions apply even to a firstborn and to a tithe that were blemished from the outset.
In summary: We learned that an animal in which a permanent blemish preceded its consecration only receives monetary sanctity, and once redeemed it reverts to complete chullin status - it is subject to the laws of the firstborn and the priestly gifts, it is permitted to be sheared and worked, and its offspring and milk are permitted. While still in its sanctity: one who slaughters it outside is exempt, we do not make a substitute for it, and if it dies it may be redeemed even as a carcass. A firstborn and a tithe born with blemishes are excluded from this rule, and their status is like an animal that had bodily sanctity.
In the next Mishnah we will see how these laws apply to an animal that was properly consecrated with bodily sanctity and subsequently developed a blemish, and what its status is before its redemption and after it.