This lesson continues in Zevachim chapter 6, mishnayos 5 and 6, where the mishnah moves on to discuss the olat ha'of - the bird offering that is completely burnt on the altar.
When an olat ha'of is brought:
Nedavah - A person who voluntarily donates a bird offering.
Chovah - An obligatory offering, usually accompanying a chatas, as a pair of birds. This is the case with sliding-scale offerings, when a person cannot afford to bring an animal and brings birds instead: for eating kodashim in a state of tumah, entering the Beis HaMikdash in a state of tumah, withholding testimony (in a situation where one could assist his friend), and a false oath.
Metzora who cannot afford an animal for a chatas - brings a bird instead.
Yoledes who cannot afford an animal for an olah - brings a bird instead.
Zav and zavah - bring a pair of birds as part of the purification process, whether they are rich or poor.
Nazir who became tamei - also brings a bird for an olah as part of his purification process.
"Keitzad hayesah na'aseis? Alah bakavesh ufanah lasovev, ba lo lekeren dromis mizrachis" - How was it done? He went up the ramp and turned to the sovev, coming to the southeastern corner:
Unlike the chatas ha'of, where the melikah is technically valid anywhere within the Azarah, the olat ha'of must be performed on the altar itself. The kohen goes up the ramp on its eastern side and turns to the sovev - the ledge that surrounds the altar at a height of six amos from the ground. The sovev leads him first to the southeastern corner, which is the first corner he reaches, and there he stands and performs his service. The choice of this corner is also due to convenience, as part of the bird will eventually be placed on the floor in the place of the ashes in that area, near the ramp.
The melikah - "Hayah molek es rosho mimul orpo umavdil" - He would pinch its head from the back of its neck and sever it:
The kohen performs the melikah on the bird in the same way it is done for the chatas ha'of: he holds the bird's feet between his pinky and ring finger, the legs between his middle and index fingers, and the head stretched back between his thumb and index finger - all with his left hand. This is a rather difficult grip, and he performs the actual melikah with the thumbnail of his right hand, from the back of the neck, slightly below the skull.
In the olat ha'of, the kohen must sever it. According to most opinions, this means he must cut both the simanim - the esophagus (food pipe) and the trachea (windpipe). According to the Rambam, "mavdil" means completely severing the head from the body, and not just cutting the two simanim. Regardless, even according to the opinion that severing the two simanim is sufficient, the head will be completely separated from the body later in the service. Here, therefore, severing is a mitzvah, whereas in the chatas ha'of only one siman is cut and completely severing it is an aveirah.
Squeezing out the blood - "Umitzoh es damo al kir hamizbeach" - He squeezed out its blood onto the wall of the altar:
The squeezing is performed on the southeastern wall, above the chut hasikra - the red line at the middle of the altar's height. At this corner, there is no yesod (base) below, but since the blood is applied above the red line, there is no need for a yesod underneath it and there is no problem at all. (Similarly, the chatas of an animal is applied to all four corners, including the southeastern corner which has no yesod.) It is worth noting that here there is no hazaah, sprinkling of blood, as there is with the chatas ha'of, but only mitzuy - squeezing the blood from the bird's body against the wall.
"Venatal es harosh vehekif beis melikaso lamizbeach, vesafgo bamelach vezarko al gabei ha'ishim" - He took the head and pressed the place of its pinching against the altar, absorbed it in salt and threw it onto the fires:
The kohen takes the head that was separated from the body, presses the place of the melikah against the wall of the altar, and extracts blood from there. Afterward, he must cover the head with salt, and as Rashi explains, the salt is located on top of the altar. Therefore, he places the body of the bird on the sovev, walks back along the sovev and goes up, takes from the salt, salts the neck area of the head, and throws it into the fire - since standing near the fire, he can put it inside. He does not throw it from below on the sovev, because the sovev is six amos high from the ground and the base of the fire is another three amos above it, and a large, arced throw upward is not respectful. Afterward, he goes down and returns to the body.
"Ba lo laguf vehasir es hamur'ah ve'es hanotzah ve'es bnei me'ayim hayotzim imah" - He comes to the body and removes the crop and the feathers and the entrails that come out with it:
The body will ultimately be burned on the fire, but first the crop is removed. The literal meaning of "mur'ah" is a sort of waste product, and it refers to the digestive system - the crop, that pouch in the bird's esophagus (not present in all birds, but present in these), where the food is stored and softened before it goes down to the stomach, and from where the bird also regurgitates to feed its chicks. Rashi, citing a Midrash, explains the reason for the removal: the bird gathers its food even from stolen goods. Unlike a cow, goat, or sheep, which the farmer feeds from the food he buys and places in their trough, birds roam and eat from unknown places, and therefore the Holy One, blessed is He, does not want this place on the altar.
To reach the crop, the kohen takes a knife and cuts a sort of small, square window in the bird's neck, thereby losing a few feathers and a little bit of skin. The use of a knife specifically is intended to minimize what is removed, since everything must be burned except for what is commanded to be removed. He pulls out the crop, and with it come out the "entrails that come out with it" - the internal organs attached to it, including the gizzard, where the animal breaks down food mechanically using small stones it has eaten, until it is ready for digestion.
These, together with the feathers and the skin that were removed from the place of the cut, are thrown to the place of the ashes: a small, square area of tiles on the ground, on the eastern side of the ramp, ten amos from the beginning of the ramp (about a third of the way up) and half an amah to its east. This is the same place where they would place the Terumah of the ashes and the ashes taken from the pile on top of the altar, as well as what is cleaned from the Menorah.
"Shisa velo hivdil, ve'im hivdil kasher" - He tears it open but does not sever it, and if he severed it, it is valid:
The kohen splits the bird roughly into two halves. "Shisa" is the same word used for the split hooves of a pure animal, and it means here that he opens the bird from its back, between the wings, so that he can reach the inside with the salt. "Velo hivdil" - the intention is not to divide it into two halves, but only to open it; however, if he actually severed it, it is valid. Opinions are divided on this matter:
According to the Rambam: There is no obligation to tear it at all, but if it was torn open, it is valid.
According to others: There is an obligation to tear it, but not all the way through.
This is a major difference, as this involves a mitzvah from the Torah derived from the verse.
Burning the body - "Umesapgo bamelach vezarko al gabei ha'ishim" - He absorbs it in salt and throws it upon the fires:
After the bird is torn open, it is covered in salt ("mesapgo" - from the root for absorption) and the entire body is placed on the fire. It turns out that everything is burned completely, except for the crop - the crop itself and the entrails that come out with it - and some feathers and the piece of skin where the window was cut, which are placed below in the place of the ashes. The kohen does not eat a thing.
(Note: The lesson was recorded in May 2025. Israel is fighting a milchemes mitzvah to return the remaining hostages, twenty or so, from Gaza, and the Houthis - radical Muslims in Yemen - are participating in the war by launching missiles at Israel. In the middle of the discussion, Home Front Command sirens began to sound, and everyone had to go down and seek shelter in safe rooms for about ten minutes. This could have been omitted, but it was left in as a reminder of this sad period.)
In summary - the differences between a bird chatas and a bird olah:
The location of the melikah: For a chatas ha'of - technically anywhere in the Azarah, and it is usually performed at the southwestern corner for convenience. For an olas ha'of - specifically on the sovev, at the southeastern corner; although it is valid anywhere on the sovev, this corner was chosen because of its proximity to the Beis HaMikdash and the access to the kevesh.
The method of the melikah: For a chatas - one severs only one siman, either the windpipe or the gullet, and there is a Torah prohibition against separating the head from the body. For an olah - one severs both simanim, and there is an obligation to completely separate the head from the body according to the Rambam, and according to others, at the very least to sever both simanim.
The location of the blood application: For a chatas - at the southwestern corner, below the chut hasikra and above the yesod. For an olah - above the chut hasikra, on the southeastern side.
The method of the blood application: For a chatas - both hazzaah (sprinkling) and mitzuy (squeezing), and from one part only. For an olah - only mitzuy, and from both parts: the head and the body.
What is done with the korban afterwards: The chatas is not burned in the fire at all but is eaten by the kohanim; the olah is completely burned on the fire, except for a bit of the mur'ah - the crop and the intestines that come out with it - and those feathers and skin that were removed in order to reach it.