Shekalim Chapter 7, Mishnah 3. In the two previous mishnayos of this chapter we dealt with money found in various places, and the question of what we may assume about its status and origin. Our mishnah discusses meat: when meat is found in various places in the Beis HaMikdash or in Jerusalem, what type of offering may we assume it to be?
"Basar shenimtza ba'azarah" - meat found in the Azarah:
The Azarah, the courtyard of the Beis HaMikdash, is the place where the most sacred offerings are brought and eaten. The mishnah therefore distinguishes:
"Eivarin" - limbs are assumed to be from an olah. If whole limbs are found, we may assume they are from an olah offering, since an olah is cut into limbs and pieces fit to be placed on the altar, and it is not divided into small pieces fit for eating, since it is not eaten at all.
"V'chatichos" - pieces are assumed to be from a chatas. If the meat is cut into small pieces suitable for eating, we may assume it is from a chatas offering. The chatas, although it is among the most sacred offerings and is eaten only in the Azarah, is eaten by the kohanim, and it is therefore divided into pieces.
And if the meat was found in Jerusalem, we may assume it is from shelamim offerings, which are offerings eaten throughout all of Jerusalem.
Why is the meat not eaten or brought up on the altar?
Although these assumptions can be made regarding the identity of the meat, it may not be eaten or offered. Two reasons are given for this:
Diverted attention (hesech hada'as): All sacrificial meat requires constant guarding and attention, so that it should not become disqualified. Once it was no longer being watched and no one had it in mind, it became disqualified through hesech hada'as, on account of the lack of attention paid to it.
Possible nosar: We do not know how long the meat had been lying there, and perhaps it had already become nosar, meaning that the time in which it may be eaten or burned on the altar had passed, and it was disqualified on that account.
Since there is no decision between the two reasons, and even according to the second reason there is no certain knowledge that its time had actually passed, the mishnah rules: "Zeh vazeh ye'uberu tzurato v'yeitzei l'veis hasereifah" - all these types of sacrificial meat, whether found in the Azarah or found in Jerusalem, must wait until they undergo ibbur tzurah. Ibbur tzurah means that the meat is kept until after the time in which it was permitted, so that it will certainly be nosar, and afterward it is taken out to the beis hasereifah, the place where disqualified sacrificial meat is burned. This is the way to ensure that it has indeed become completely disqualified.
It is worth noting that even so, identifying the type of offering is still halachically relevant: the length of the waiting period is not the same for all of them, and an olah does not need to wait as long as shelamim.
"Nimtza bagevulin" - found outside Jerusalem:
Meat found outside of Jerusalem:
"Eivarin" - limbs are assumed to be neveilos. If they are large pieces, whole limbs that are not fit to be eaten as they are, the assumption is that the meat is from an animal that was not properly slaughtered. Since no one bothered to cut it into small pieces, we assume it was disqualified as a neveilah, and this is so even in an area whose inhabitants are all Jewish.
"Chatichos" - pieces are permitted. If the meat is cut into pieces, it is permitted, since we may assume it was properly slaughtered. And as stated, this applies in an area whose inhabitants are all Jewish.
The mishnah adds: "Uvish'as haregel" - at the time of a festival, when meat is plentiful and people eat a great deal of meat, "af eivarin mutarin" - even large pieces and whole limbs are permitted, because with so much meat around it is possible that they simply had not yet managed to cut it up properly.
In summary: Our mishnah establishes how to identify meat that is found based on where it was found: in the Azarah (limbs as an olah, pieces as a chatas), in Jerusalem (shelamim offerings), and outside Jerusalem (limbs as a neveilah, pieces as permitted, and at the time of a festival even limbs are permitted). We also learned that sacrificial meat that is found may not be eaten or offered, whether because of hesech hada'as or because of the possibility of nosar, but rather it must undergo ibbur tzurah and then be taken out to the beis hasereifah.