Monday, April 23, 2012

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

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