Meilah 13 – Eggs And Milk

Milks of sacrificial animals, and eggs of turtledoves – there is not misappropriation for them: since they are not fit for the Altar, they are not considered as “holies of God.” However, the Sages decreed not to use them. That is true for actual sacrifices, but something consecrated to the Temple's treasury, which cannot be brought on the Altar itself – like chicken or she-donkey – their eggs and milk are subject to misappropriation prohibition.

The offspring of the tithe animal may not be allowed to suckle from its mothers – because the mother is a sacrifices; therefore, others would donate milk for it. The same was true for any consecrated animal. Workers may not eat of the dried figs of the Temple with which they work. Even though normally it is their right to eat fruit while harvesting, and the owner violates a mitzvah if he stops them, it does not apply to the Temple, since the Torah said, “The harvest of your fellow,” not of Temple. Similarly, a cow may not eat what it is threshing for the Temple, but must be muzzled.

Art: Winslow Homer - Fresh Eggs

Meilah 12 – Ashes

Every morning, the Temple service started with removing a small portion of the ashes from the Altar and placing them at the southwestern corner of the Altar, where they were swallowed into the ground. Since there was this mitzvah of “separation of ashes,” that continued, there remained a prohibition of misappropriation for the ashes. In contrast to the ashes of this outer Altar, the ashes of the inner Altar, which was used for burning the daily incense, lost the misappropriation prohibition once they were burned. However, they were put on the place where the outer Altar ashes, and after they were mixed, the prohibition of misappropriation was again in force.

Bird sacrifices, turtledoves and pigeons, had to be of specific age: turtledoves – older than a year, and pigeons – younger than a year. Therefore, if turtledoves were too young, or pigeons were too old for the sacrifice, there was no prohibition of misappropriation for them. There Sages established a prohibition not to use them, but there are no Torah-imposed penalties if one does.

Rabbi Shimon disagrees on the last point: turtledoves whose time for a sacrifice has not yet arrived nevertheless have a prohibition of misappropriation: since they eventually will come of age, there is a prohibition of misappropriation even now. This is not true for pigeons older than year, since they will never become younger, but only older.

Art: Jan Victors - A Still Life With A Couple Of Pigeons Nesting And Preening Together With Four Chicks

Meilah 11 – When Misappropriation Does Not Apply

We learned earlier that there are five cases of a sin-offering, which unfortunately cannot be used and have to be left to die. This ruling is repeated here, to introduce the laws of misappropriation for such offerings. Once an offering enter this category (such as a sin-offering whose owner died), there is no prohibition of misappropriation for it. Why is that? Since nothing can be done with it, and it is destined to die, it is no longer classified as “holies of the Temple.” Because of that, the prohibition of misappropriation does not apply. However, the Sages prohibited their use, even though they did not impose the restitutions and sacrifices required by the Torah for misappropriation.

Another case when misappropriation does not apply is the money of a nazirite. A nazirite may separate money in anticipation of completing his period of being a nazirite, when he will be required to bring offerings. However, one of his sacrifices is a peace offering, to which misappropriation does not apply. Since any coin from his money may in the end go to purchase the peace offering, there is no misappropriation for the whole sum. Nevertheless, it is forbidden to use this money for other purposes, because all sacrifices, even not strict ones, are prohibited for benefit.

Art: Edwart Collier - A Vanitas Still Life Of A Crown, An Orb, A Sceptre, A Casket Of Coins And Jewels

Meilah 10 – Offerings That Do Not Have A “Permitter”

A while back we discussed the concept of “permitter,” an act or a substance that allows the service to go forward. For example, for animal sacrifices the “permitter” is the blood of it, when it is thrown on the Altar, and for flour offerings it is a handful of flour that a Kohen takes off of it.

As we just saw, the ”permitter” is what serves as a marker, when the misappropriation laws either begin or end. However, there are sacrifices that have no permitter, either because they themselves are permitters, or because they are completely burned on the Altar. What is their progression, for example, in the case of the handful of flour offering?

It becomes subject to misappropriation as soon as the owner says that he consecrates the offering. Once it has been put in a Temple vessel, it achieves complete consecration. Therefore, it is then susceptible to be disqualified, such as if it comes in contact with someone who went to the mikvah to purify himself, but the sun did not set yet; or with one who needs an atonement offering but has not brought it yet; or it was left beyond permitted time.

However, unlike most other offerings, wrong intentions do not disqualify a permitter. Why not? Because the law of thought disqualifications (such as planning to eat it after allowed time) were only stated for peace and similar offerings which have a permitter.

Art: Vincent Van Gogh - Pollard Willow with Setting Sun

Meilah 9 – The Progression Of Bird Burned Offering

A bird burned-offering is either turtledove or a young pigeon. Its service consists of only two steps: slaughter to the back of the neck, called “melikah,” and squeezing of its blood on the Altar. Unlike sin-offering, it is missing the step of sprinkling the blood. After its crop with feathers is removed, it is completely burned on the Altar.

The bird becomes consecrated with an oral declaration, after which it is subject to the laws of misappropriation. Once it is killed through melikah, it can be disqualified in the same ways as a sin-offering, and after its blood is squeezed on the Altar, one becomes liable if he eats eat at the wrong time, in a wrong place, or if the Kohen had the wrong intentions when doing the service. Since it never becomes permitted for consumption, it has the prohibition of misappropriation until it is burned to ashes on the Altar, and is transported to the place of ashes outside Jerusalem. At this point its mitzvah is completed, and there is no misappropriation anymore.

The Talmud describes similar progressions for animal offerings, and delineates when the prohibition of misappropriation starts and stops for them.

Art: Sophie Gengembre Anderson - The Turtle Dove

Meilah 8 – The Progression Of Bird Sin-Offering

A bird sin-offering is either a turtledove or a young pigeon. As soon as one verbally consecrates it as such, it becomes completely forbidden for any other use, and thus the laws of misappropriation begin. After it is slaughtered, and its blood  is applied to the Altar, no parts of it are burned on the Altar, but edible parts are eaten by the Kohanim. Naturally, since its meat is permitted to the Kohanim, the laws of misappropriation cease to apply.

The slaughter of birds is done completely differently than that of animals: the bird's neck is pierced with a thumbnail from the back of the neck. This process is called “melikah.” After the melikah is done, the bird becomes susceptible to be disqualified, such as if it comes in contact with someone who went to the mikvah to purify himself, but the sun did not set it; or with one who needs an atonement offering but has not brought it yet; or it was left beyond permitted time. Its last service is sprinkling of its blood on the Altar. At this time, the wrong intention disqualifies it. If the intentions were right, but one ate it beyond its time or while being impure, becomes liable to being cut off from his spiritual source.

Art: Porfiri Egorovich Pilaev - Feeding The Pigeons

Meilah 7 – The Effect Of Throwing The Blood

Sometimes throwing of the blood makes the rest of the laws stricter, but sometimes it makes them more lenient. In the case of stricter offerings (such as burned offering) it can work either way, but in the case of less strict offerings (peace offering), it always makes the law more stringent. How so?

Let's take the case of strict offerings first. Before the Kohanim throw the blood, the offering is completely forbidden, and the law of misappropriation applies to both sacrificial parts and the edible meat. Once the blood is thrown, the meat is permitted, and now there is no misappropriation for it, even though it still applies to the other parts of the sacrifice.

In the case of less strict offerings, the throwing of the blood affects all of their parts stringently. Before the Kohanim throw the blood on the Altar, there is no misappropriation for a peace offering, because it does not belong exclusively to God. However, after throwing, the parts that go on the Altar become completely dedicated to the Altar alone, and there is a prohibition of misappropriation for them.

Art: George, of Chichester Smith - Still Life with Joint of Beef on a Pewter Dish