Pesachim 98b — the Talmud in English

Gemara:

We learned in the Mishna: If it became mixed among firstborn animals, Rabbi Shimon says: If groups of kohanim eat it.

And we raise an objection: How is it possible to sacrifice a lamb that is uncertainly a firstborn animal and uncertainly a Pesach offering?

But he is bringing consecrated animals to disqualification.

A firstborn animal is eaten for two days and one night. Here, when he slaughters an animal that is uncertainly a firstborn and uncertainly a Pesach offering, he causes the time for eating the firstborn animal to be reduced until midnight. And what remains until morning will be burned improperly. And one does not bring consecrated animals to disqualification!

And we answer:

Rabbi Shimon

who permits sacrificing a lamb that is uncertainly a Pesach offering and uncertainly a firstborn animal

according to his view,

according to his position.

For he says: One brings consecrated animals to disqualification,

and it is permitted to slaughter an offering whose eating time, because of the uncertainty, is reduced and which comes to disqualification, because it is preferable to reduce the time for eating the offering than to send it out to graze until it becomes blemished.

As we learned:

we learned in tractate Zevachim [75b]:

An guilt-offering that became mixed with peace-offerings,

what should they do?

Rabbi Shimon says: They should be slaughtered in the north

of the altar, as is the law of a guilt-offering, and it is impossible to slaughter them anywhere on the altar as is the law of peace-offerings, since there is concern that they are guilt-offerings.

And they shall be eaten according to the stricter law among them,

like the more stringent offering among them, which is the guilt-offering, which is eaten only by male kohanim, and only for one day and one night, and only within the curtains [in the Courtyard].

But the meat of peace-offerings is eaten by every person, and the breast and thigh among them are eaten by kohanim, their wives, and their slaves, and are eaten for two days and one night throughout Jerusalem.

They said to him

the Sages to Rabbi Shimon:

One does not bring consecrated animals to disqualification,

and it is impossible to sacrifice an animal that is uncertainly a guilt-offering and uncertainly a peace-offering, since if it is a peace-offering, it turns out that he reduces its eating time and brings it to disqualification.

Rather, they shall graze until they become blemished, and he shall bring, with the money of the better one among them, a guilt-offering and a peace-offering.

And we raise an objection:

But the Rabbis,

who hold that one does not bring consecrated animals to disqualification,

how do we act,

what do we do with a Pesach offering that became mixed with firstborn animals? And it is impossible to say that also in this case they should graze until they become blemished, and he should bring, with the money of the better one among them, a Pesach offering and firstborn animals [just as we said regarding a guilt-offering that became mixed with peace-offerings, or a Pesach offering that became mixed with a burnt-offering and a guilt-offering], since a firstborn animal is not like the other offerings. Even when it has a blemish, it has no redemption; rather, it is eaten with its blemish by kohanim. And if he purchased another animal with the money of the firstborn animal [which has a blemish], the animal does not possess the sanctity of a firstborn animal, as it is stated concerning a firstborn animal: “It shall not be redeemed.”

But a Pesach offering in which a blemish occurred is redeemed, and with the money one purchases a Pesach offering, and it is forbidden to eat the Pesach offering without redemption.

Rava said

a resolution:

Let us wait for it

for each and every lamb

until they become blemished,

that a blemish occurs in both of them,

and he shall bring a fat animal

with the value of the better one among them.

And let him say,

and say:

Wherever the Pesach offering is,

wherever the Pesach offering exists,

let its sanctity take effect

its sanctity

upon this one,

upon this fat animal, and he sacrifices it for the sake of a Pesach offering.

And I shall eat them

and eat the two lambs in which a blemish occurred,

under the law of a blemished firstborn animal,

which is not slaughtered and sold in a butcher’s shop, and is not weighed by the litra [a measure of weight], since there is uncertainty regarding each and every lamb: perhaps it is the firstborn animal.

But if he recognized which of them was the Pesach offering, he could slaughter it and sell it in a butcher’s shop if he wished, since it was redeemed and became unconsecrated.

Mishna:

A group whose Pesach offering was lost, and they said to one: Go and search

search for the lost Pesach offering

and slaughter on our behalf

for us.

And he went, found it, and slaughtered it

for them,

and they took

they purchased another lamb for a Pesach offering

and slaughtered

it.

If his was slaughtered first:

All the members of the group fulfilled their obligation with the lamb that he slaughtered first.

And therefore

he eats from his own

from the lamb that he slaughtered,

and they eat with him from his own,

since they said to him, “Slaughter on our behalf,” behold, they were counted with him, and fulfilled their obligation with the Pesach offering that he slaughtered. They can no longer be counted for their own, and their Pesach offering is without owners, and is disqualified and will be burned.

And if theirs was slaughtered first:

They eat from their own

from the lamb that they slaughtered. For at the time when they slaughtered their own, it is as though they withdrew their hands from the lost one [they changed their minds and no longer wished to fulfill their obligation with it]. And they were counted for their own,

and he eats from his own,

since he was not counted with them.

And if it is not known which of them was slaughtered first, or

it is known

that they slaughtered both at the same time .

He eats from his own

since he was not counted with them.

And they do not eat with him

perhaps theirs was slaughtered first, and they can no longer count him.

And theirs goes to the place of burning.

Since we are uncertain perhaps his was slaughtered first, and they cannot count themselves for theirs.

And

even though the members of the group do not eat from the Pesach offering, they are

exempt from making a second Pesach offering,

because they certainly fulfilled their obligation with the Pesach offering that was slaughtered first, and eating the Pesach offering does not prevent fulfillment.

A group whose Pesach offering was lost, and they said to one: Go and search for us for the lost lamb. But they did not tell him to slaughter it. And

the agent said

the agent

to them: If I am delayed—

go out and slaughter on my behalf.

And he went and found

the lost Pesach offering,

and slaughtered it.

And they took

they purchased a lamb for a Pesach offering,

and slaughtered:

If theirs was slaughtered first:

They eat from their own

since once they slaughtered another lamb, they changed their minds and withdrew their hands from the lost lamb, and fulfilled their obligation with the lamb that they slaughtered.

And he eats with them

since he was counted with them and fulfilled his obligation with theirs, and his will be burned. For they all fulfilled their obligation with the Pesach offering slaughtered first, and this is like a Pesach offering that has no owners.

And if his was slaughtered first: he eats from his own,

since his was slaughtered first, and he fulfilled his obligation with it.

And they eat from their own

since they did not tell him to slaughter on their behalf; it follows that they did not fulfill their obligation through his slaughter, but only through the slaughter of their Pesach offering.

And if it is not known which of them was slaughtered first, or

it is known

that they slaughtered both at the same time:

They eat from their own

since they did not tell him to slaughter on their behalf, and they did not fulfill their obligation through his slaughter.

And he does not eat with them

perhaps his was slaughtered first, and he cannot count himself for theirs. But he also cannot eat from his own, since perhaps theirs was slaughtered first and he withdrew his hand from his own, for he made them agents, and fulfilled his obligation with theirs.

And

therefore

his goes to the place of burning.

And

even though the agent does not eat from the Pesach offering, he is

exempt from making a second Pesach offering,

since he certainly fulfilled his obligation with the Pesach offering that was slaughtered first, and eating the Pesach offering does not prevent fulfillment.

A group whose Pesach offering was lost, and they told one to search for the Pesach offering for them, and he

said to them

“If I am delayed, go and slaughter on my behalf,”

and they said

they

to him

“Slaughter for us the Pesach offering that you find”:

They all eat from the first one,

since they are his agents and he is their agent.

And if it is not known which of them was slaughtered first: both go to the place of burning.

For it is impossible to eat either of them, perhaps the other was slaughtered first. Nevertheless, they all fulfilled their obligation and are exempt from making a second Pesach offering.

A group whose Pesach offering was lost, and they told one to search for it for them, and he

did not say to them

to slaughter on his behalf,

and they did not say

they

to him

to slaughter the lamb that he would find:

They are not responsible for one another.

It is not the concern of one to know what the other did or which was slaughtered first; rather, they eat from their own, and he eats from his own.

Until here the Mishna spoke about a group whose Pesach offering was lost and who appointed an agent to search for it.

Two groups,

such as one group of kohanim and another group of Levites,

whose Pesach offerings became mixed

with one another.

These

the kohanim

withdraw for themselves

one lamb,

and these

the Levites

withdraw for themselves

one lamb

one.

One of these

from the kohanim

comes to these

to the Levites.

And one of these

from the Levites

comes to these

to the kohanim.

And thus they

the kohanim

say

to the Levite who came to them:

If this Pesach offering is ours

which we withdrew for ourselves, then we are counted for it as at first, but you, the Levite,

your hands are withdrawn from your own

[cancel your counting for an entire Pesach offering],

and be counted

and count from now

for ours.

And if this Pesach offering is yours

which we withdrew, then you are counted for it as at first. But we,

our hands are withdrawn from our own, and we are counted for yours.

And so too the Levites say to the kohen who came to them.

And why was it necessary for the Levite to come to the group of kohanim? They could have acted differently: The kohanim would withdraw one for themselves and the Levites would withdraw one for themselves, and they would say: If the Pesach offering that we withdrew is ours, it is good; and if not, our hands are withdrawn from our own and we are counted for this one!

The Gemara explains that it is impossible to act in this way, because a Pesach offering that had no owners for even one moment is disqualified forever. And if it happened that the kohanim withdrew the lamb of the Levites and said to the Levites, “Behold, our hands are withdrawn from our own and we are counted for yours,” then it turns out that the Pesach offering of the kohanim is entirely without owners, and from now the Levites cannot count themselves for this Pesach offering [and cannot say, “Behold, our hands are withdrawn from our own and we are counted for this one of the kohanim”]. It turns out that they remain without a Pesach offering.

And likewise five groups of five each

where there were five people in each group and their Pesach offerings became mixed,

and

likewise if there were groups

of ten each

and their Pesach offerings became mixed.

Withdraw for themselves

the members of all the groups

one from each and every group,

for example, if there were five groups of five people in each group, the five in each group separate and form new groups, in each of which one person comes from a different group.

And the members of each group withdraw one lamb for themselves,

and

now that they have become new groups,

so

in this manner

they

four of the members of the group

say

to one: If this is your Pesach offering, then the hands of the four of us are withdrawn from the four Pesach offerings of each one of us, wherever they may be, and we are now counted with you.

And likewise four return and say this to the second, and likewise to all of them.

And likewise the members of each and every group do.

It turns out that here there is no offering that stood for even one moment without owners; therefore, they are all valid.

Two,

for example, Reuben and Joseph,

whose Pesach offerings became mixed,

and if Reuben withdraws one lamb and says, “If this lamb is mine, it is good; and if not, my hands are withdrawn from my own and I am counted for yours,” it turns out that he leaves his Pesach offering [which is in Joseph’s possession] without owners, since Joseph has not yet been counted for it.

And how shall they act?

This one

Reuben

withdraws for himself

a lamb

one, and this one

Joseph

withdraws for himself

a lamb

one.

This one

Reuben

counts with himself one from the marketplace

for example, his brother Simeon, and says to him: Wherever my Pesach offering is found, I hereby count you for it,

and this one

Joseph

counts with himself one from the marketplace

for example, his brother Benjamin.

This one

Reuben

comes to this one

to Benjamin, who is counted for Joseph’s Pesach offering,

and this one

Joseph

comes to this one

to Simeon, who is counted for Reuben’s Pesach offering.

And thus they

Reuben and Joseph

say

each of them to the guest who is with him:

Reuben says to Benjamin:

If this is my Pesach offering,

which, when Joseph your brother withdrew one lamb for himself, he withdrew mine—then

your hands are withdrawn from your own

from the lamb of Joseph your brother [which is now in Simeon’s possession], for which you are counted,

and

from now

you are counted for mine.

And if this is your Pesach offering,

which, when Joseph your brother withdrew one lamb for himself, he withdrew his own, and you were counted with him—then

my hands are withdrawn from my own, and I am counted

from now

for yours.

And likewise Joseph says to Simeon in the same manner.

It turns out that here there is no Pesach offering that stood for even one moment without owners; therefore, both are valid.

Gemara:

The Mishna spoke about a group whose Pesach offering was lost and who said to one: Go and search for the Pesach offering for us.

The Sages taught:

The agent said

the agent

to them

that they should slaughter on his behalf.

And they said

they too

to him

to slaughter on their behalf—the

eats

each one of them

from

the Pesach offering that was slaughtered

first.

And if it is not known which was slaughtered first, both go to the place of burning.

The agent did not say

the agent

to them

to slaughter on his behalf,

and

they too

did not say to him

to slaughter on their behalf—

they are not responsible for one another.

It is not the concern of one to know what the other did or which was slaughtered first, and each eats from his own.