Zevachim 89a — the Talmud in English

Mishna:

Every

sacrifice

that is more frequent,

which is offered at times more frequently

than its fellow, precedes

it

over its fellow

for offering [and for eating].

And the Mishna explains which sacrifices precede their fellows because of their greater frequency:

On a Shabbat on which the New Moon falls,

the additional offerings of Shabbat precede the additional offerings of the New Moon.

On the New Year, which is also the New Moon,

the additional offerings of the New Moon precede the additional offerings of the New Year.

And the source of the law that the more frequent precedes is learned from what

is stated

in the passage of the additional offerings:

“Besides the morning burnt offering, which is the burnt offering of the regular offering, you shall make these,”

[the additional offerings] ,

and it implies that the regular offering is made before the additional offering, because the regular offering is more frequent than the additional offering.

Gemara:

And the Gemara discusses:

From where do we know

that everything more frequent than its fellow precedes it?

The Gemara asks: What is the question

“From where do we know?”

for the answer to this question is found in the words of the tan­nnay in the Mishna,

as he states the reason,

that we learn the principle that the more frequent precedes the less frequent from the verse

“Besides the morning burnt offering,

you shall make these [the additional offerings]”?!

The Gemara explains: The question “From where do we know?” is

perhaps,

perhaps one should learn from the verse “the morning burnt offering” only that

the regular offerings are what precede the additional offerings because they are frequent,

the regular offerings every day, and therefore their frequency is important enough to advance them before the additional offerings. But

additional offerings before additional offerings,

where both are not offered every day, but one is more frequent than the other,

from where do we know

that in their case too we say the principle that when one additional offering is more frequent than another additional offering, the more frequent one precedes?

Now the Gemara brings the answer to the question of “from where do we know that additional offerings that are more frequent precede additional offerings that are less frequent”:

Rabbi Ilaa said: For the verse says

regarding the additional offering of the festival of Passover:

“Like these you shall make each day for seven days.”

And this verse is stated after the verse “Besides the morning burnt offering you shall make these.” And we expound:

“These”

the additional offerings shall have the law

“like these,”

like those stated above. The verse teaches that just as the regular offerings precede the additional offerings [as is learned from the verse “Besides the morning burnt offering you shall make these”], so too the additional offerings themselves shall precede one another when one of them is more frequent than its fellow.

But the Gemara is astonished:

And this,

behold, this verse “like these” is not superfluous for a derivation, since

it is needed for its own matter,

to teach that on all seven days of the festival of Passover an additional offering like the one on the first day shall be offered?

And we answer:

If so,

if the verse came only for this,

let it write “These you shall make each day”

alone; why is “like these” stated? Rather, certainly it comes to expound from it that “these shall be like these.”

And we ask: Perhaps the verse had to say “like these” because

if it had written “These you shall make each day for seven days,” I would have said

that

these,

those seven lambs mentioned in the passage, would be divided

among the seven days,

one lamb for each day. Therefore the verse said “like these,” to teach that on each of the seven days the seven lambs shall be offered; and in truth the verse did not come to derive an additional teaching from it.

And we answer: Even if only “these” had been stated, we would know that seven lambs are offered each day, since “These you shall make

each day” is written,

which implies that all these seven lambs shall be made on each one of the seven days. Necessarily, then, what the verse said “like these” comes for the aforementioned derivation.

And we ask:

Still,

if not for “like these,”

say

that the explanation of the verse is as follows:

“These,”

the sacrifices mentioned in the passage, “you shall make

each day”

on the first day.

But

“seven days,” on

the other days,

he shall offer “a fire-offering, a pleasing fragrance to the Lord,” but

we do not know how much

he shall offer on them. Therefore “like these” was written, so that we must explain that “like these” means: just as they offer on the first day, so shall they offer on each of the seven days. And in truth, the verse did not come for the derivation that “these shall be like these”?

And we answer: Even without “like these,” we would know that on each of the seven days they shall offer all the sacrifices mentioned in the passage. This is because

the verse says, “you shall make,”

and we derive from this:

that all the acts of making shall be equal.

Therefore “like these” comes for the derivation that “these shall be like these.”

Abaye said:

Regarding your question from where we know to advance additional offerings before additional offerings, behold,

from the body of the verse

we learn this. For

if so,

if you say that only regular offerings precede additional offerings,

let the verse say “Besides the morning burnt offering,” and be silent,

and say no more.

“Which is the burnt offering of the regular offering,”

which the verse added and said,

why do I need it?

For it is obvious that the morning burnt offering is the regular offering. Rather, the verse came

to say that the one that is more frequent,

even with regard to other sacrifices, such as additional offerings before additional offerings,

shall precede!

Mishna:

Every

matter

that is more sacred

than

its fellow precedes

it

over its fellow.

And these are the matters that precede their fellows because of the superiority of their sanctity:

The blood of a sin offering precedes

being sprinkled upon the altar

the blood of a burnt offering,

when the two sacrifices have been slaughtered and their blood is standing for sprinkling,

because

the blood of the sin offering

effects appeasement

[atones] for the unwitting violation of offenses punishable by excision, and its atonement is greater than that of a burnt offering, which atones only for the violation of a positive commandment.

The limbs of a burnt offering precede

burning them upon the altar

the fats of a sin offering,

when the blood of both has already been sprinkled and they are standing for burning,

because

the burnt offering

is entirely for the fires,

and through this its sanctity is greater with regard to burning.

A sin offering precedes an asham,

both for sprinkling and for burning,

because its blood

of the sin offering

is placed

in four separate placements

upon the four horns

of the upper altar,

and

the remnants of its blood are poured

upon the base

located on the ground of the altar. Whereas an asham is sprinkled on the altar below the red line, in two placements that are four, and the law of pouring its remnants is not stated explicitly in the Torah [although its law too is that they be poured onto the base] .

The guilt-offering precedes the thanksgiving-offering and the nazirite’s ram, because

the guilt-offering

is a most holy sacrifice, whereas the thanksgiving-offering and the nazirite’s ram are lesser holy sacrifices.

whereas the thanksgiving offering and the nazirite ram are offerings of lesser sanctity.

The thanksgiving-offering and the nazirite’s ram precede the peace-offering, because they are eaten for one day only,

whereas peace-offerings are eaten for two days.

And they require bread,

for together with the thanksgiving-offering one brings forty loaves, and with the nazirite’s ram twenty loaves. But a peace-offering does not require bread at all.

The peace-offerings precede the firstborn, because they require the presentation of four

two that are four] of their blood on the altar, whereas the firstborn requires only one presentation. And the peace-offerings likewise require

laying on of hands, libations, and the waving of the breast and the thigh.

But the firstborn does not require any of these.

The firstborn precedes the animal tithe

because

the

firstborn

is holy from the womb and is eaten by priests.

Whereas the tithe is not holy from the womb and is eaten by the owners.

The tithe precedes the

bird-offering

sacrifices, because it is a sacrifice,

for it is slaughtered with a knife, whereas a bird is pinched by hand. And sacrifices are more important, for all offerings are sacrifices.

And it has

in the tithe

most holy sacrifices,

namely, it has two things that are a portion of the Most High, for

its blood and sacrificial portions

are offered on the altar, whereas with the bird sin-offering only its blood is offered on the altar [and since the animal tithe precedes the bird sin-offering, all the more so it precedes the bird burnt-offering, for the bird sin-offering precedes the bird burnt-offering, as will be explained below] .

The birds precede the meal-offerings, because

the birds

are kinds of blood,

and atonement that is performed through blood is a more important atonement than atonement performed through the burning of the handful of the meal-offering [which is the matter corresponding to the blood of the sacrifice].

A sinner’s meal-offering precedes a voluntary meal-offering, because it comes

to atone

for a sin,

and therefore its sanctity is greater.

The bird sin-offering precedes the bird burnt-offering

[in the Gemara this is learned from a verse].

And likewise

the bird sin-offering precedes the bird burnt-offering

in its consecration.

When one sets aside two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one for a sin-offering and one for a burnt-offering, he consecrates the sin-offering first.