Pisqa’ 781
1
“And you shall perform your Holocaust-offerings, the meat and the blood,
on the altar of HASHEM your God” (Dt.12:27)—
R. Joshua says:
If there is no [suitable] blood,
then there is no meat [to offer];
and if there is no [suitable] meat,
then there is no blood [to offer].2
R. Eliezer says:
“And the blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the altar” (Dt.12:27)—
even though there is no [suitable] meat,
[the blood may still be offered].3
Indeed, how should I interpret this juxtaposition?
“And you shall perform your Holocaust-offerings,
the meat and the blood.” (Dt.12:27).
Meat is juxtaposed with blood—
just as blood must be flung
[on the side of the altar],
so, too, the meat must be flung
[on the altar itself].4
Is it possible to say that
[the officiating priest] stands at a distance and flings?
The Teaching states:
“Then the priest shall arrange them . . . on the fire which is upon the altar” (Lv.1:12)—
he stands nearby and arranges the parts on the pyre.
2
Inferring from what is stated:
“Then the priest shall burn up the whole on the altar” (Lv.1:9)—
this includes the bones, the tendons, the horns and hooves.
Is it possible that [these parts are burnt]
even if they become separated [from the meat]? 5
The Teaching states:
“And you shall perform your Holocaust-offerings, the meat and the blood” (Dt.12:27)—
[but not the bones, etc.].
Or [perhaps, we can reason otherwise]:
“And you shall perform your Holocaust-offerings, the meat and the blood” (Dt.12:27)—
is it possible that
he should remove the tendons and the bones,
and elevate [only] the meat to the altar?
The Teaching states:
“The whole” (Lv.1:9, 13).
How so?
If they are still connected [to the meat],
let them be offered;
if they are separated,
even if they are on top of the altar,
they must be taken down.6
3
How do we know that
all consecrated offerings
require an application of blood
to the foundation [of the altar],
and one pouring of blood atop the altar?
The Teaching states:
“And you shall perform your Holocaust-offerings. . .
and the blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the altar of HASHEM your God” (Dt.12:27).
How do we know that
the Cattle-tithe and the Paschal lamb
effect atonement [even] if their blood
is applied in a single application?
The Teaching states:
“And you shall offer your Holocaust-offerings, the meat and the blood” (Dt.12:27)—
[of the Paschal lamb and the Cattle-tithe].
And how do we know that,
[the blood of] the Cattle-tithe and the Paschal lamb,
must be applied in a single application?7
The Teaching states:
“And the blood of your offerings shall be poured out on the altar” (Dt.12:27)
4
R. Ishmael says:
The verse addresses the transfer of consecration
[from one sacrificial animal] to a substitute.
“You shall take up and bring to the place” (Dt.12:26)—
having arrived [with a consecrated substitute] at “the place,”
what should he do with it?
The Teaching states:
“And you shall perform your Holocaust-offerings, the meat and the blood” (Dt.12:27)—
Just as the Holocaust-offering
requires flaying, butchering, and total burning,
so, too, its substitute follows the same procedure.
Just as [the blood of] the Holocaust-offering
requires application to the foundation [of the altar],
and one pouring atop the altar,
so, too, its substitute follows the same procedure.
Just as the Holocaust-offering
requires replacement upon the altar pyre
if its pieces explode off the altar,
so, too, its substitute follows the same procedure.8
Just as with all the consecrated offerings,
the meat is permitted only after the sprinkling of the blood,
so, too, their substitutes follow the same procedure.