Zevachim 29 – Rava Masterfully Explains a Long Verse

We have learned that when a kohen slaughters a sacrifice intending to eat it in the wrong place, it is simply invalid, but if he intends to eat it at the wrong time – it is rejected, and anyone who eats its meat deserves being cut off from the people. But why is this? Rava provides an explanation from a certain lengthy verse which starts with “If any of will be consumed on the third day...”. Unlike others before him, Rava considers the verse in its entirety and derives many additional laws from it.

“Will be consumed at all” teaches that the laws of invalidation are the same for consumption by man and by the Altar (burning on it). “On the third day” teaches the invalidation produced by intention to eat the sacrifice beyond its alloted time. “The one that offers” teaches that the invalidation occurs through the wrong intention of the one that offers, and that it does not occur, even retroactively, if the sacrifice is actually eaten on the third day. "The soul that eats it" teaches that one soul is punished, but not two souls, that is, only the intention "outside its time" leads to rejection, but not the intention "outside its place."

Art: Rembrandt Van Rijn - The Slaughtered Ox