Zevachim, Chapter 8, Mishnah 6. From here we move on to a new sub-topic in the issue of mixtures: not a mixture of whole animals, nor even of animal parts, but a mixture of liquids - meaning, of blood. This type of mixture is called "lach belach" (liquid in liquid), two liquids that mix together, as opposed to separate objects such as animals, limbs, or animal parts, and therefore its law is slightly different. We have two possibilities before us:
"Min beshe'eino mino" - two different types of liquids that mix together.
"Min bemino" - two liquids of the same type, meaning blood that is required to go upon the altar that mixed with blood that is not required to go upon it.
We will discuss them one after the other.
The rule of 'bitul berov' (nullification in a majority):
Generally, the rule of nullification in a majority applies: when there is a mixture of items, or - as in our case - of liquids, the status of the entire mixture is determined by the majority component. The minority component loses its identity, is nullified in the context of the larger mixture, and the entire mixture receives one law.
However, there are things that prevent this. The most famous of these is 'ta'am ke'ikar' (flavor is like the essence): if the flavor is felt, it is as if the thing itself is present here. From here come the rules of bitul beshishim (nullification in sixty) - sixty times as much, and not merely a majority, as often applies to liquids - for as long as the forbidden flavor is felt, it is difficult to say it lost its identity, when it itself cries out through the flavor: "I am here."
"Chazusa milsa hi":
In our Mishnah, a different principle operates: "chazusa milsa hi" - the visual appearance is also a significant matter. Meaning, it cannot necessarily be said that the minority lost its identity and disappeared, when the eye itself testifies that it still exists and has not disappeared at all. This is the case before us.
The Mishnah advances in three stages:
The first stage - "Dam shenismazeg bamayim" - blood that mixed with water:
Blood whose law is to be sacrificed upon the altar mixed with water, which has no place on the altar, but there is also no specific prohibition to bring it up upon it. The Mishnah says: "Im yesh bo mareh dam - kasher" - if it has the appearance of blood, it is valid, meaning provided that the mixture still looks like blood. And the intention is not merely a pinkish or reddish tint, but that its appearance is an actual appearance of blood. This is possible even at a ratio of five parts water to one part blood, depending on the type of blood. In such a case, even though the blood is the minority in the mixture, since the eye sees the appearance of blood, we say it has not disappeared - chazusa milsa hi - and the obligation to place the blood on the altar remains in effect, and the mixture must be brought up on the altar.
And regarding the water on the altar, there is no prohibition to bring it up. The matter is similar to what we learned in previous Mishnahs, that a limb of a sin-offering that was brought up is considered merely a source of fuel, like wood. Although there is no permission to bring chullin (unconsecrated items) up on the altar for the sake of an offering, here there is no intention whatsoever for the water to serve as a sacrifice in any form. It is no different from someone who washes the altar with water: the water reaches the altar, but not because there is an interest in bringing it up, but simply because it happened to be there. Therefore, the matter is permitted, and as long as the blood exists and its appearance is the appearance of blood - the mixture must indeed go up on the altar.
The Second Stage - "Nisarev beyayin":
Water is clearly distinct from blood and dilutes its appearance, but what is the law regarding red wine, whose own appearance is similar to blood? When such wine mixes with blood, it will not necessarily appear that the color has ceased to be the color of blood, even in a large quantity. Therefore, the Mishnah says: "Ro'in oso ke'ilu hu mayim" - whatever ratio would have been determined if it were clear water, say five to one, is the ratio that will also be applied to the red wine. If the mixture is within that ratio, its status is like blood, identical to the laws of water, and it is brought up on the altar.
The Third Stage - "Nisarev bedam behemah o bedam chayah":
What is the law when the blood of a sacrifice mixes with blood that has no business going up on the altar? Here too, it is permitted to bring up the mixture, even though it contains non-sacred blood (chullin) or the blood of a wild animal (chayah). A wild animal, such as a deer, although it is a kosher animal, is never brought as a sacrifice. Nevertheless, whether the blood of a deer mixed into it, or the blood of a regular non-sacred sheep mixed into it, the mixture may be brought up on the altar, exactly like the law for water. We do not ask how one can bring non-sacred blood or the blood of an animal unfit for the altar up on the altar, because it is the exact same logic: it is treated like water. The condition is that the intention must be directed - there is no desire for the foreign blood, from the wild animal or the domesticated animal, to serve as a sacrifice, but rather that only the blood of the sacrifice be offered. Those same rules apply here, as if it were red wine or water, and there is no difference between them.
The Opinion of Rabbi Yehudah - "Ein dam mevatel dam":
In practice, there is a dispute regarding this, and it is related to the opinion of Rabbi Yehudah that applies throughout the entire Torah. Rabbi Yehudah holds that in a mixture of liquid with liquid that is of the same kind - as in our case, blood with blood - we cannot say that the blood loses its identity within other blood, for it is merely pushed aside by the presence of a larger quantity of blood. Therefore, according to his opinion, in a liquid-with-liquid mixture of the same kind, there is never any nullification (bittul): even if a single drop of sacrificial blood mixed into a bathtub of non-sacred blood - the mixture is considered as if the sacrificial blood is still present within it, and it may be brought up on the altar.
There is a separate discussion that we will not enter into here: whether we can assume that the blood is mixed evenly, such that every sample taken from it contains a bit of the sacrificial blood. According to the opinion of Rabbi Yehudah, we assume yes, that this can be assumed.
Hence the words of Rabbi Yehudah in the Mishnah: "Ein dam mevatel dam" - blood cannot nullify blood, and therefore in a mixture of valid blood whose place is on the altar with other blood whose place is not there, in any quantity whatsoever, there remains an obligation to bring the mixture up on the altar, since there is an obligation to offer the sacrificial blood.
The halachah does not follow Rabbi Yehudah, but rather the Tanna Kamma: a mixture of liquid with liquid of the same kind is indeed subject to nullification, but if the appearance of the mixture is the appearance of blood - we say that it is not nullified, its status is like blood, and it is obligatory to bring it up on the altar.
Side Note - "Kamma kamma batel":
To conclude, we will add an important halachic point: there is a separate principle called "kamma kamma batel", meaning the first one is nullified. Its meaning is that if there was a vessel of water here and the sacrificial blood dripped into it drop by drop, each drop upon entering is swallowed up in the majority of water and loses its identity. This principle applies to all types of mixtures, crossing all areas, and such is the halachah in practice - kamma kamma batel. It turns out that in order for the laws of mixtures that we learned to apply, we must assume that the liquid poured into the mixture all at once, the way it pours from a wide spout, and not drop by drop, for then each one is nullified on its own through that same mechanism.
In summary: In this Mishnah we learned the laws of liquid mixtures - "lach belach" - regarding sacrificial blood: the rule of nullification in a majority and its limitations, 'taam ke'ikkar' (taste is like the essence) and 'chazuta milsa hi' (appearance is significant); the three stages in the Mishnah - blood that blended with water, mixed with red wine, and mixed with the blood of a domesticated animal or the blood of a wild animal - that in all of them, as long as the mixture has the appearance of blood, it is obligatory to bring it up on the altar; the opinion of Rabbi Yehudah that "ein dam mevatel dam" in a liquid-with-liquid mixture of the same kind, where the halachah does not follow his view but rather the Tanna Kamma; and finally, the principle of "kamma kamma batel".