Anointing an unauthorized person with the anointing oil is on of the thirty-six acts for which one is liable to be cutoff from his spiritual source. However, for putting this oil on animals, utensil, or idolaters one is not liable. Why not? Since the idolater is not prohibited from smearing this oil on himself, others are likewise not liable for putting it on him.
If one anoints Jewish kings or High Priest with anointing oil, and if these people were already anointed, so new oil is not needed for them, then Rabbi Meir holds him liable, while Rabbi Yehudah exempts him. The argue about the status of a person who initially was authorized (needed the oil) but is now unauthorized (does not need the oil) – is such a person considered a “stranger.” We find that they disagree about this principle in other areas, such as the status of daughter of a Kohen who married to an regular Jew – does she have the rights and responsibilities of the daughter of a Kohen or not.
Sin offerings are not necessarily brought for inadvertent serious mistakes; sometimes they are brought in the course of regular life. If a woman miscarried a child, she has to bring a regular sin-offering, the meat of which is eaten by the Kohanim; if she aborted, but it is not known if the fetus was normal, she brings an offering which is not eaten; and one who aborts on the fortieth day after conception or earlier does not bring any sacrifice.
Art: Charles Sprague Pearce - The Woodcutter's Daughter
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