Zevachim, chapter 14, Mishnah 3. This Mishnah is composed of four independent parts, and we will deal with them one by one. The first part expands upon the words of the previous Mishnah: We learned there that one who brings a sacrifice lacking time, meaning it was brought too early, on a bamah outside the Temple - certainly there is no liability for kares, for even if it were brought in the proper place, it would not have been accepted. However, Rabbi Yishmael holds that since the sacrifice would be valid if they had waited for a later time, he has an exposition that this is a general negative commandment. Now the Mishnah comes to define what it means to be lacking time, a sacrifice brought prematurely, too early.
Lacking time - in itself and in its owners:
The Mishnah states: "Mechusar zman, bein begufo bein bibe'alav" - Lacking time, whether in itself or in its owners. There are two ways in which the time can be premature: either the sacrifice itself is early, meaning the animal is not of the required age, or the owners - the people bringing the sacrifice - bring it before their time has arrived. Lacking time in itself means that the animal is still within its first seven days, as an animal of eight days old is required. And what is lacking time in its owners? These are sacrifices that may only be brought at a later date, and the person brings them early, before his time.
Four lacking time in their owners:
The Mishnah lists four: "Hazav, vehazavah, vehayoledes, vehametzora" - The zav, and the zavah, and the woman after childbirth, and the metzora.
Hazav - A man who experienced three emissions of zivah. Once they have stopped, he counts seven days, and on the eighth day he brings sacrifices as part of his purification process: a pair of birds, an olah and a chatas. Bringing them before the eighth day, before seven clean days, is lacking time.
Hazavah - A woman who bled for three days not during her regular menstrual cycle, thereby becoming a major zavah. She too counts seven clean days, and on the eighth day she becomes pure and brings two birds, a chatas and an olah. If she brought them on the seventh day - it is too early.
Hayoledes - If she gave birth to a male, on the forty-first day, after forty full days, she brings her sacrifices and completes her purification; if she gave birth to a female, she waits eighty days and brings them on the eighty-first day. Her sacrifices are an olah and a chatas: the olah, if she can afford it, is a sheep, and if she cannot afford it - a bird; and the chatas is a bird. If she brought one of them prematurely, before the forty-first day or before the eighty-first day - it is lacking time.
Hametzora - When he is healed, his purification process includes a seven-day waiting period, and on the eighth day he completes his purification. He brings three types of sacrifices: an asham, which is a sheep, as well as a chatas and an olah - if he can afford it, they too are animals, sheep; and if he cannot afford it, his chatas and olah are birds. If he brought one of his sacrifices on the seventh day, before the eighth day - it is lacking time.
"Shehikrivu chatasam va'ashamam bachutz - peturim" - Who sacrificed their chatas and their asham outside, they are exempt:
These four, if they brought their chatas or their asham before the proper time outside, outside the boundary, meaning outside the Courtyard - they are exempt. All four have a chatas; only the metzora has an asham, and he is included with them. And since the sacrifice is premature, and even if it were brought on the altar itself they would remove it from there, therefore one who does so outside the altar is exempt, and there is no liability for kares here.
"Oloseihen veshalmeihen bachutz - chayavin" - Their olah offerings and their shelamim outside, they are liable:
All four of them are obligated to bring an olah, but none of them brings a shelamim. Therefore, the Gemara says that the nazir must be added here: A standard nezirus is thirty days, and it can be extended according to his will, and within its time he does not complete his process and does not bring a shelamim; and once he completes it, on whatever day that may be, he brings a shelamim. If one of these five - the zav, the zavah, the woman after childbirth, the metzora, and the nazir - brought his olah outside, or a shelamim in the case of the nazir, before its time, he is liable. The reason: Even though they were brought too early, a person can volunteer an olah and a shelamim, and therefore if they were brought on the altar they would remain upon it after the fact. Because of this, by doing them outside intentionally - he is liable for kares, and unintentionally - he is liable for a chatas. This concludes the first part of the Mishnah.
The second part: Things designated for eating and not for burning:
The liability for kares and a chatas is stated regarding one who performs outside the Temple one of the two services we listed - the slaughtering or the offering up - and we also derived the sprinkling of the blood. But other services, other blood actions, as well as things that strictly speaking are not burned on the altar but rather designated for eating - one who does them outside the Temple violates a prohibition, but is not liable for kares. This part of the Mishnah lists eight types of things that are designated for eating and not for burning and combusting on the altar, and therefore one who burns them on an altar outside the boundary - it is prohibited, but he is not liable for kares.
"Mibesar chatas" - the meat of the chatas (sin offering) is eaten by the kohanim and is Kodshei Kodashim (most holy). One who burns it outside its designated place as an offering to God is doing something forbidden, but is not liable to a sin offering or kares, since even in the Beis HaMikdash he could not have properly done so: the meat is not meant for burning on the altar, but for eating. The same rule applies to the remaining seven items.
"Mibesar asham" - the meat of the asham (guilt offering).
"Mibesar kodshei kodashim" - the rest of the Kodshei Kodashim offerings. One might ask what remains in this category: if one burns the olah (burnt offering), he is liable, as it is not meant to be eaten; and the meat of the chatas and asham have already been listed. The answer is communal shelamim (peace offerings) - the Atzeres lambs brought on Shavuos, which are communal offerings that are Kodshei Kodashim and their meat is eaten by the kohanim. One who burns them outside the Beis HaMikdash is not liable for their meat.
"Mibesar kodashim kalim" - shelamim, todah (thanksgiving offering), bechor (firstborn), maaser (tithe) and pesach (Passover offering). One who burns their meat outside the boundary is exempt, as it is not meant to be burned but to be eaten.
"Mosar haOmer" - the Omer offering is brought on the second day of Pesach from the new barley crop; only one kometz (handful) goes up on the altar, and the rest of the Omer minchah is eaten by the kohanim. One who burns it in the place where it should be eaten, outside the boundary - is exempt.
"Shtei halechem" - the two loaves of chametz bread made of wheat, which accompany the Atzeres lambs. Since they are chametz, they do not go up on the altar; rather, they are waved together with the two lambs, and after the lambs are offered, the bread is eaten. One who burns them outside their boundary - is exempt.
"Lechem hapanim" - the twelve loaves placed in the Beis HaMikdash itself, on the table in the Kodesh. They are designated to be eaten by the kohanim every Shabbos, and the incoming and outgoing kohanim serving that week divide them and eat them. Before the eating, they burn the two spoonfuls of frankincense, which permit the bread to be eaten. The bread is only eaten and never burned, and therefore one who burns it outside its boundary as an offering is exempt from kares.
"Shiray minchah" - the rule for most minchah offerings: only one kometz is burned, and the rest is eaten by the kohanim. Therefore, one who burns the remainder, which is supposed to be eaten, outside the boundary - is exempt, since even in their proper place it would not be permitted to burn them properly.
The third section: Services that are not the completion of the service:
The foundation of this section is: any service that is not the completion, the final stage in the process of that service in the Beis HaMikdash, is forbidden to be done outside the Beis HaMikdash; rather, it must be done properly. If it was done not according to protocol, it is invalid. Nevertheless, one who performs it outside the boundary is not liable to kares and a sin offering, since it is not the completion and it is not a final stage. This definition of the final stage, the completion, is based on the exegesis of the word "avodasam" (their service) - a complete service.
The five types of minchah:
The first three details listed by the Mishnah are stages in the preparation of a minchah, and to understand them we will briefly introduce: there are five types - like five recipes - in preparing a minchah, and we are dealing with voluntary minchah offerings:
Minchas soles - flour and oil mixed together, and it is not baked.
Minchas maafeh sanur - challos - flour, oil, and water are mixed and baked in an oven, making thick loaves. Like a Sephardic matzah: it is not thick like chametz, but it is not flat.
Minchas maafeh sanur - rekikin - baked in an oven, and they are thin wafers, like an Ashkenazi matzah, except that the oil is smeared on them from above and not mixed inside.
Minchas marcheshes - fried in a deep vessel, deep-fried.
Minchas machavas - made in a shallow pan, and this too is made into thin loaves.
In the latter four types, in which loaves are baked, it is impossible to take a kometz from the loaf itself; therefore, they crumble it into small pieces, put them in vessels, and take a full kometz from the crumbs. This crumbling is called pesisah.
The non-final services listed by the Mishnah:
"Haposes" - crumbling the loaves for the purpose of taking the kometz.
"Habolel" - mixing, blending the flour with the olive oil. There is a dispute among the Tannaim whether this is done before baking or after it, but in any case it is done in all minchah offerings except for the rekikin, upon which the oil is smeared from above in the shape of the Greek letter "chi".
"Hayotzek" - pouring, spilling the oil: they leave over a little oil, and after finishing the preparation of the minchah they pour it from above. All these processes precede the taking of the kometz and the placement on the altar, and are not final processes; one who does them outside the altar - it is not valid, but he is not liable to kares.
"Hamoleach" - salting. Everything that goes up on the altar requires salting first, everything is included in this; if he salted outside the boundary - it is forbidden, but there is no liability for kares.
"Hameinif" - waving, in the manner of shaking a lulav. A number of offerings require waving: in all shelamim, and even in an individual's shelamim, the breast, the thigh, and the fat are waved together prior to the offering of the blood; the asham of a metzora is waved; the Omer offering is waved prior to the burning of its kometz; and the Atzeres lambs on Shavuos - the two lambs with the two loaves of bread are all waved together. If he performed the waving action in an incorrect place, outside the boundary - it is forbidden, but there is no liability for kares.
"Hamagish" - bringing near, from the language of bringing close: prior to taking the kometz and bringing it up on the fire, they take the minchah in a service vessel, in a sanctified vessel, and touch it to the southwestern corner of the altar. If he did the bringing near outside, outside the boundary - there is a prohibition here, but he is not liable to kares, as it is not the final stage in the process of the minchah.
"Hamesader as hashulchan" - there are two approaches to understanding this: either he actually took the table itself, which belongs inside the Kodesh, out of the Beis HaMikdash and began arranging the breads on it outside - a puzzling thing to do; or some learned that he arranged it on another, unofficial table, outside the Beis HaMikdash. Either way: there is a prohibition here, but no liability for kares, as it is not a final stage.
"Vehametiv as haneiros" - the arranging, the preparation of the menorah for kindling: putting in the oil and preparing the wicks. And here too, the exact same principle applies.
"Vehakometz" - taking a full kometz from the fine flour in the minchas soles. This is not the final stage, since the burning has not yet been done; burning outside carries liability for kares, but taking the kometz does not.
And if you ask: but taking the kometz is parallel to shechitah (slaughtering), and for shechitah there is liability for kares?
Indeed, the shechitah of the sacrifice is parallel to taking the kometz of the minchah. However, the fundamental principle is that anything that is not the final stage in the process does not have liability for kares, and shechitah was mentioned explicitly in the verse. Therefore, shechitah is considered a separate verse, whereas taking the kometz is excluded from this rule, and one who takes the kometz is not liable to kares.
"Umekabel damim bachutz" - receiving the blood from the offering is not the final stage, as throwing the blood is the completion. Therefore, one who does it outside the boundary is not liable to kares. And for all these things - "Patur" (he is exempt).
Part Four: Being a Non-Kohen, Tumah, Lacking Priestly Vestments, and Washing Hands and Feet:
The actions we have listed, which are the non-final stages of the Temple service, are not only forbidden to be performed outside the Temple, but they also have an additional protocol governing how they must be done. If one does not follow this protocol, the sacrifice or the service is invalid. Nevertheless, even though the verse says "he shall be put to death" regarding these matters, there is a dispute as to whether this means death at the hands of the earthly court or death at the hands of Heaven. Most Rishonim explain that it indeed means death at the hands of Heaven, which is a premature death. The key point here is that this penalty of death applies only to a final stage of the sacrificial service, not to a preliminary stage - and everything we have listed so far is preliminary.
"Ein chayav alav lo mishum zarut" - One is not liable for it on account of being a non-kohen. "Zarut" is the status of someone who is not a kohen. If a non-kohen performs one of these services - salting, waving, arranging the table, pouring, mixing, or breaking into pieces - he invalidates the sacrifice or the service, but he does not incur the death penalty, a premature death.
"Velo mishum tumah" - And not on account of tumah. A kohen is not permitted to perform the service while he is in a state of tumah, and if he did serve in a state of tumah it is forbidden, and the Torah says "he shall be put to death." However, this is only at the final stage; for a preliminary service, such as arranging the table, taking the handful, and the like, it is forbidden and if he did so he has invalidated it, but nevertheless there is no death penalty here, there is no "he shall be put to death."
"Velo mishum mechusar begadim" - And not on account of lacking vestments. Part of the protocol is that the performing kohen must wear exactly the four vestments prescribed for him in the Torah: no more and no less, with no interpositions, among other rules. If he is missing one of them, or if he wore an improper vestment - his service is invalid, but he does not incur the death penalty unless it is a final service.
"Velo mishum rechitzat yadayim veraglayim" - And not on account of washing hands and feet. The final detail in the protocol is that the performing kohen must wash his hands and his feet prior to his service. If he did not wash and performed one of these services - the sacrificial process is invalidated, but he does not incur death at the hands of Heaven, because this is not the final stage in the process.
There are only four things where, if one did not follow the proper protocol - by being a non-kohen, or in a state of tumah, or not wearing the correct vestments, or not having washed his hands and feet - he incurs the penalty of "he shall be put to death," meaning death at the hands of Heaven or at the hands of the earthly court, depending on the interpretations:
Sprinkling the blood, placing the blood.
Haktarah - burning something designated to be burned on the Altar.
Pouring the wine libation, the wine libations.
Pouring the water libation on Sukkot.
If a kohen performed one of these actions, or if a non-kohen performed them, and they did not follow the proper protocol described in the Mishnah - they incur the death penalty of "he shall be put to death."
In summary: We have learned four parts in this Mishnah. First, the definition of lacking time in its body and in its owners, and the four cases of lacking time in its owners - the zav, the zavah, the woman after childbirth, and the metzora - whose chatat and asham offered outside are exempt, but for their olah and shelamim (including those of the nazir) they are liable. Next, the eight items designated for eating and not for burning, where one who burns them outside is exempt. Third, the services that are not a completed service, derived from the exegesis of "a complete service," where one who performs them outside violates a prohibition but is exempt from karet. And finally, the rule that there is no death penalty on account of being a non-kohen, tumah, lacking vestments, or washing hands and feet except during a final service - sprinkling the blood, burning on the Altar, the wine libation, and the water libation.
In the next lesson we will continue and see how these rules are expressed in the following Mishnah.