Tuesday, February 9, 2021

Pesachim 81 - What happens to the ritually impure meat?

There was a place on the Temple Mount specifically designated for burning invalid offering. So, if a Passover offering became ritually impure, the whole thing or the majority of its meat - it was burnt in this place. When burning the offering, one was allowed to use the Temple wood. Even though he was using Temple property for his purposes, this was allowed - to prevent people from eating disqualified meat when they faced the expense of buying the wood to burn it.

If only a small portion of the sacrificial meat became impure, one would take it home and burn it there, in the courtyard or on the roof, and use his own wood. That would have to happen within the City of Jerusalem, called today, "The Old City." Cheapskates would burn even small amounts of impure meat next to the Temple - to take advantage of the Temple wood.

Art: Dutch farmworker gathering wood by Hans Heysen


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