Bekhorot 14a (יד.) — the Talmud in English

Mishna:

It is written [Deuteronomy 12:15]: “However, according to all the desire of your soul you may slaughter and eat meat, according to the blessing of the Lord your God that He has given you in all your gates; the impure and the pure may eat it, like the deer and like the gazelle

—” The verse is speaking of consecrated animals that developed a blemish [after they had been consecrated, and which are called in the language of the Sages pesulei hamukdashin], which are to be redeemed and eaten anywhere [“in all your gates”].

One might have thought that they may be redeemed even on account of a temporary blemish. Therefore, the verse states: “However.” And the verse states: “You may slaughter and eat,” to teach you that there is no permission to shear them or to work with them [even after they have been redeemed]; rather, they may be eaten only through slaughter. And the verse states: “The impure and the pure may eat it,” because they came by virtue of consecrated animals, concerning which it is stated: “And the meat that touches any impure thing shall not be eaten.” Therefore, the verse had to permit in their case that the impure and the pure may eat from the same bowl.

And the verse states: “Like the deer and like the gazelle,” for these are species exempt from the gifts of the foreleg, the cheeks, and the maw; likewise, redeemed pesulei hamukdashin are exempt from the foreleg, the cheeks, and the maw [according to Rashi in his commentary on the Torah].

All consecrated animals whose permanent blemish preceded their consecration,

since it is impossible to consecrate them with sanctity of the body, and one consecrated them for their value, so that they would be sold and an offering or another sacrifice would be brought with their proceeds,

and they were redeemed,

this is their law:

They

are subject to the law of the firstborn

if they give birth to a firstborn,

and to the gifts

of the foreleg, the cheeks, and the maw, like entirely non-sacred animals.

And they leave the realm of non-sacred animals,

their redemption having the effect of making them non-sacred even

for shearing and work.

And

their offspring,

whose mothers became pregnant with them before the redemption and gave birth to them after the redemption, as the Gemara explains,

and their milk

[the milk drawn from them after they were redeemed]

is permitted.

All these laws that we have stated apply

after their redemption.

And one who slaughters them

—the consecrated animals whose blemish preceded their consecration—

outside,

[outside the Temple courtyard], even before their redemption,

is exempt

from karet, which is incurred by anyone who slaughters consecrated animals designated for the altar outside [the Temple courtyard], because they were not consecrated with sanctity of the body.

And one does not effect substitution

even before their redemption, as the reason is explained in the Gemara.

And

even

if they die

before their redemption—

they may be redeemed

[one may redeem them] while they are dead.

Except for the firstborn and the tithe,

which, even if their blemish preceded their consecration, acquire complete sanctity in every respect, except that they are unfit to be offered.

And all

the consecrated animals

whose consecration preceded their blemish,

and they were consecrated with sanctity of the body, which is a more stringent sanctity and not sanctity of monetary value,

or

even if they had

a temporary blemish

before

their consecration,

which does not prevent sanctity of the body from taking effect,

and afterward they developed a permanent blemish,

so that their consecration preceded their blemish—

and they were redeemed,

this is their law:

They are exempt from the law of the firstborn and from the gifts.

And they do not leave

through their redemption

the realm of non-sacred animals for shearing and work.

And

their offspring and their milk are prohibited

even

after their redemption,

for the Torah states: “You may slaughter and eat meat,” but not milk. And the offspring—this refers to offspring conceived before redemption and born after redemption—are prohibited by rabbinic decree, as will be explained in the Gemara, due to a preventive decree.

And one who slaughters them outside

before their redemption

is liable.

And one effects substitution,

both before their redemption and after their redemption.

And if they die, they must be buried

and may not be redeemed.

Gemara:

We learned in the Mishna: All consecrated animals whose permanent blemish preceded their consecration and were redeemed are subject to the law of the firstborn and to the gifts:

And we infer:

The reason is that they were redeemed,

and it is only the consecrated animals that were initially consecrated with sanctity of monetary value that become subject to the law of the firstborn and to the gifts.

Had they not been redeemed,

they would still be

exempt from the law of the firstborn and from the gifts,

even though their sanctity is only sanctity of monetary value—

he holds

that this tanna

sanctity of monetary value

is equivalent to sanctity of the body, which

excludes an animal from the law of the firstborn and from the gifts.

We learned in the Mishna: All consecrated animals whose permanent blemish preceded their consecration and were redeemed …

and they leave the realm of non-sacred animals

for shearing and work:

And we infer:

The reason is that they were redeemed; had they not been redeemed,

even though their sanctity is only sanctity of monetary value,

they would be prohibited

by rabbinic decree

for shearing and work,

even in a case in which there is no prohibition due to deriving benefit from consecrated property. If so, does

our Mishna support

the view of Rabbi Elazar, who said that

consecrated animals for Temple maintenance

—and likewise consecrated animals possessing sanctity of monetary value designated for the altar—

are prohibited for shearing and work,

by rabbinic decree, just as they are prohibited by Torah law in the case of consecrated animals designated for the altar and redeemed pesulei hamukdashin?

The members of the academy said

:

No,

you cannot prove from here the words of Rabbi Elazar. From the fact that consecrated animals possessing sanctity of monetary value designated for the altar are prohibited by rabbinic decree for shearing and work, you cannot infer that consecrated property for Temple maintenance is likewise prohibited. For:

Sanctity of monetary value designated for the altar is comparable to sanctity of the body designated for the altar,

which is prohibited for shearing and work, and therefore

the Sages issued a decree concerning it.

But consecrated property for Temple maintenance—

it may be said that

they did not

issue a decree, since it is not comparable to sanctity of the body designated for the altar.

We learned in the Mishna: All consecrated animals whose permanent blemish preceded their consecration and were redeemed,

their offspring and their milk are permitted:

The Gemara asks:

What are the circumstances

in which our Mishna is speaking, such that it needed to permit the offspring?

If you say that they became pregnant and gave birth after their redemption,

this cannot be said, for

it is obvious,

as

they are non-sacred animals.

Rather, they became pregnant

after their consecration and

before their redemption, and gave birth after their redemption.

We infer precisely:

this indicates that

the offspring that were born to consecrated animals whose blemish preceded their consecration, which were consecrated only for their monetary value—

before their redemption, they are forbidden

to derive benefit without redemption. And there is a question: