In chapter 12, mishnah 5, we open a new topic: the burning of the bulls that are burned and the he-goats that are burned - the five inner sin-offerings. In these sacrifices, the blood is sprinkled on the inner altar, the fats are burned on the outer altar, and the rest of the body is not eaten but rather burned.
The five sin-offerings that are burned - three bulls and two he-goats:
The bull of the anointed kohen.
The bull for an unknown matter.
The bull of Yom Kippur.
The he-goat of Yom Kippur.
The he-goat for idolatry, which is brought according to the laws of the bull for an unknown matter.
The he-goat for idolatry is brought when the court mistakenly ruled permissively regarding a matter that carries the penalty of kares, the majority of the public acted according to this mistaken ruling, and subsequently, the court retracted. If the mistaken ruling concerned idolatry, they do not bring a bull for an unknown matter but rather a he-goat.
These five animals are burned outside Jerusalem, and those participating in their burning become tamei - a matter that will be the topic of the next mishnah.
The language of the Mishnah: "Par hanisrafim vesa'ir hanisrafim... bizman shehen nisrafin kemitzvatan - nisrafin beveis hadeshen umetam'in begadim" - when the burning is done to fulfill the mitzvah properly, and not because they became invalid during the service, the place of their burning is the place of the ashes (beis hadeshen), and the participants in it become primary sources of tumah (avos hatumah) who even make their clothing tamei. We will leave the discussion of the tumah itself for the next mishnah.
Four places called 'beis hadeshen':
By the end of this mishnah we will count four different places that are all called by the name beis hadeshen, and this is very confusing. We will list them first, and then we will discuss them:
On the eastern side of the ramp: Next to the bottom of the ramp. There they place the feathers and the crop of the bird burnt-offering, as well as the terumas hadeshen - a small sample of the ashes taken every morning.
In the Azarah: A special place in the Azarah where they burn the fats of sacrifices that became invalid. A sacrifice that became invalid while still in the Azarah is burned there.
On the Temple Mount: This place is not in the Azarah. A sacrifice that was taken out of the Azarah and there it was discovered that it became tamei or invalid - they do not return it inside, but rather burn it there on the Temple Mount.
Outside Jerusalem: This is the place to which our mishnah refers. To there they clear the ashes that came down from the large ash pile in the middle of the outer altar, called 'the apple' (hatapuach), which is cleared from time to time. In that same place outside Jerusalem, the bulls and he-goats that are burned are also burned.
The three camps and the three derivations:
In the time of the Mishkan there were three camps: the Camp of the Divine Presence (Machaneh Shechinah) - the inner camp, containing the Ohel Moed and Moshe Rabbeinu; the Camp of the Levites (Machaneh Leviyah) - where the Levites camped around it; and the Camp of the Israelites (Machaneh Yisrael) - the outer layer for the rest of all of Israel. In the Holy Temple, the Camp of the Divine Presence corresponds to the Azarah, the Camp of the Levites corresponds to the Temple Mount, and the Camp of the Israelites corresponds to the walls of Jerusalem.
The expression "outside the camp" appears three times: regarding the bull of the anointed kohen, the bull for an unknown matter, and the ashes from the apple. These three instances are connected to each other in the derivations of Chazal, and from them we learn that when it is required to take something outside the camp - at least in the context of the bulls and he-goats that are burned - the taking out is to outside the Camp of the Israelites, the third and outermost camp, and in the Holy Temple: to outside the walls of Jerusalem.
"Ve'im ein nisrafin kemitzvasan, nisrafin b'veis habirah, ve'ein metam'in begadim" - and if they are not burned according to their mitzvah, they are burned in the beis habirah, and they do not render garments tamei:
If the burning of the bulls or the he-goats is not due to the fulfillment of the mitzvah in its proper way, but rather because they became disqualified in some way, they are not burned in the designated place but rather in the beis habirah, and those who participate in burning them do not become tamei. The tumah stems specifically from the commanded burning - the burning that is a positive part of the sacrificial service - and not from a burning whose entire purpose is the disposal of a sacrifice that became tamei or disqualified.
Regarding the identity of the beis habirah, Reish Lakish and Rabbi Yochanan disagree in a famous dispute: According to Reish Lakish, 'birah' means a palace, and the beis habirah is the Temple Mount - the Temple compound - and there is a place for burning there. Rabbi Yochanan understands the beis habirah as a specific place.
According to Reish Lakish, the intention of the Mishnah is that if they took the burned bulls and he-goats outside the Courtyard and then it was discovered that they were disqualified, they do not burn them in the regular place outside Jerusalem, but rather right there on the Temple Mount - which is the third place of the ashes that we enumerated. However, if they became disqualified while still inside the Courtyard, they burn them in the Courtyard - in the second place of the ashes.
This concludes the words of the Mishnah. In the next Mishnah, we will discuss the matter of tumah more extensively.