Menachot 108 – One Who Forgot What Sacrifice He Promised

If one said, “I promise to bring a burned offering” but did not say which one, he brings a lamb. Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah says that he brings a turtledove or a pigeon. They do not argue in principle, but in the place where one lived lambs were cheaper, and where Rabbi Elazar lived, birds were less expensive.

One who says, “I specified to bring a peace or a thanksgiving offering but do not recall which,” brings a bull and a cow, a male calf and a female calf, a ram and a ewe, a he-goat and a she-goat, a male kid and a female kid, and a male lamb and a female lamb.

If one promised a specific ox as a burned offering and the ox became blemished, his obligation disappears. Unlike the previous cases, he promised a specific animal and not a sacrifice in general, and once this animal cannot be brought as a sacrifice, he is free from his obligation. He still needs to redeem the ox, and the money then acquires holiness and has to be used for a burned offering, but he can buy greater or smaller animals with it.

Art: Jacomo (or Victor, Jacobus) Victors - Pigeons