[If] he [the priest] pierced the head of a <i>Chattat</i> of a bird but not for its own sake, if he drained out its blood not for its own sake, or [he did it] for its own sake but also for the sake of something else, or for the sake of something else but also for its own sake, it is invalid. The <i>Olah</i> of a bird is valid [in such circumstances] except that it does not fulfill its owners' obligation. [With] both a <i>Chattat</i> of a bird and an <i>Olah</i> of a bird where he pierced [the neck] or drained out the blood [with the intention] of eating what is usually eaten [or] to burn what is usually burned, outside of its proper place, it is invalid but he is not subject to <i>Karet</i> [excision at the hands of Heaven]. [If one intended to act] after the proper time, it is <i>Piggul</i> [a sacrifice that becomes unfit due to the intention of the officiating priest, while offering it, to consume it outside its permitted time]; and he is liable for <i>Karet</i> provided that the <i>Matir</i> [that which enables a sacrifice to fulfill its purpose] was offered properly. How does one offer the <i>Matir</i> properly? If one pierced the neck in silence [with no unlawful intention] but drained the blood [with the intention of acting] after its proper time; or if one pierced it [with the intention of acting] after its proper time but drained the blood in silence [with no unlawful intentions]; or if one pierced it and drained the blood [with the intention of acting] after its proper time - this is [what is meant by] offering the <i>Matir</i> properly. How does one not offer the <i>Matir</i> properly? If one pierced [the neck with the intention of acting] outside of its proper place and drained the blood [with the intention of acting] after its proper time; or if he pierced [the neck with the intention of acting] after its proper time and drained its blood [with the intention of acting] outside its proper place; or if he pierced it and drained the blood [with the intention of acting] outside the proper place. [If] he [the priest] pierced the head of an <i>Olah</i> of a bird but not for its own sake, and drained its blood [with the intention of acting] after the proper time; or if he pierced it [with the intention of acting] after the proper time and drained the blood but not for its own sake; or he pierced it and drained the blood but not for its own sake - this is [what is meant by] not offering the <i>Matir</i> properly. [If one intends on] eating an olive's bulk outside its proper place and an olive's bulk the next day, or [he intends on eating] an olive's bulk the next day and an olive's bulk outside its proper place; or half an olive bulk's worth outside its proper place and half an olive's bulk the next day; or half an olive's bulk the next day and half an olive's bulk outside its proper place - it is invalid, but he is not subject to <i>Karet</i>. Rabbi Yehudah said: This is the general rule: If [unlawful] intention of time precedes [unlawful] intention of place, it [the offering] is <i>Piggul</i> and it subjects him to <i>Karet</i>; but if the [unlawful] intention of place precedes [unlawful] intention of time it is invalid but he is not subject to <i>Karet</i>. And the Sages say: In both cases it is invalid but he is not subject to <i>Karet</i>. [If one intends] on eating half an olive's bulk and burning half an olive's bulk it is [nevertheless] valid, because eating and burning do not combine.
Bartenura on Mishnah Zevachim
חטאת העוף שמלקה שלא לשמה – pinching of the neck of the fowl in place of the slaughtering for cattle, and the draining of the blood of the fowl in place of the sprinkling of the blood of the cattle. For the intention that invalidates the slaughtering and sprinkling of the blood in cattle invalidates the pinching of the neck of the bird and in the draining of the blood in a fowl/bird. But there is no receiving and bringing [of blood] in the fowl/bird.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Zevachim
Introduction
This mishnah introduces the problem of a sacrifice not sacrificed with the correct intent in connection with bird sacrifices. Many of these same rules can be found in the first four chapters of the tractate in connection with the animal sacrifices.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Zevachim
עולת העוף כשרה – as it is taught in the Mishnah at the beginning of the first chapter [of Tractate Zevakhim, Mishnah 1]: “All of the animal offerings which were slaughtered not for their own sake are valid [so that the blood is tossed and the entrails burned, etc.] , but they do not go to the owner’s credit in fulfillment of an obligation, except for the Passover offering and the sin-offering.”
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English Explanation of Mishnah Zevachim
If he nipped a hatat of a bird for the sake of something else; if he drained out its blood for the sake of something else, or for its own sake and for the sake of something else, or for the sake of something else and for its own sake, it is unfit. An olah of a bird is fit [in such circumstances] except that it does not count for its owner’s obligation. In all of these cases the priest offering the bird hatat performed one of the actions with the intention that the offering be something other than a hatat. Such an intention invalidates the sacrifice, but only in the case of the hatat. In the case of the bird olah, the animal can still be burned on the altar. Nevertheless, it doesn’t count for its owners, so they will have to bring a replacement bird olah. This is the same rule we saw with regard to animal olahs (see 1:3).
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Bartenura on Mishnah Zevachim
לאכול דבר שדרכו לאכול – the sin-offering of the fowl/bird.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Zevachim
A hatat of a bird or an olah of a bird which he nipped, or drained out the blood [with the intention] to eat what was normally eaten or to burn what was normally burned outside of the appropriate place, is invalid, but it does not involve karet; After the appropriate time, it is piggul and involves karet, Provided that the mattir was offered in accordance with the regulations. If the priest nips off the head of either bird sacrifice or drains the blood with the intention of either eating something or burning something outside of the proper place (meaning outside of the Temple) then the sacrifice is invalid (see mishnayot 2:3-5). However, an intention concerning the wrong place does not make the sacrifice piggul, and the person who eats it is not liable for the punishment of karet. If he nips off the head or drains the blood with the intention of eating or burning it after the appropriate time, then the sacrifice is piggul and one who eats it liable for karet. The one caveat is that in order for the sacrifice to be piggul and for the one who eats it to be liable for karet the “mattir” has to be offered correctly. What this means, as we shall see, is that if both problematic intentions are involved with the sacrifice, then the sacrifice is not piggul, although it is still invalid. It is piggul only if the only type of wrong intention involved in the sacrifice was eating it after the appropriate time.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Zevachim
להקטיר דבר שדרכו להקטיר – the burnt-offering of the fowl/bird.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Zevachim
How does he offer the mattir according to regulations? If he nipped it in silence and drained the blood [with an intention of] after the appropriate time; or if he nipped it [with an intention of] after the appropriate time and drained the blood in silence; or if he nipped it and drained the blood [with an intention of] after the appropriate time: in these cases he offered the mattir according to regulation. The mishnah now illustrates what the previous line means. One of the actions was done in silence, meaning with correct intention, and the other of the actions was done with the intent of eating it after its appropriate time, or if both actions were done with the intent of eating at the wrong time, then the sacrifice is piggul, because the only wrong intention was with regard to time.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Zevachim
שלא לשמה – we don’t remove a burnt-offering from improper intention, because it is fit/acceptable when it is not for its own sake. And all of our Mishnah is explained above in chapter two, [Mishnah four].
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English Explanation of Mishnah Zevachim
How does he not offer the mattir according to regulation? If he nipped it [with an intention of] outside the appropriate place and drained the blood [with an intention of] outside the appropriate time; or if he nipped it [with an intention of] after the appropriate time and drained the blood [with an intention of] outside the appropriate place; or if he nipped it and drained the blood [with an intention of] outside the appropriate place; or if he nipped a hatat of a bird for the sake of a different sacrifice and drained the blood [with an intention of] after the appropriate time; or if he nipped it [with an intention of] after the appropriate time and drained the blood for the sake of a different sacrifice; or if he nipped it and drained the blood for the sake of a different sacrifice: in these cases he did not offer the mattir according to regulation. If, however, one of the actions done with the intention of eating it or burning it in the wrong place, and the other action was done with the intention of eating it or burning it after the appropriate time, then it is not piggul. It is also not piggul if both actions were done with the intention of eating it in the wrong place, as we learned in section two above.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Zevachim
[If he intended] to eat as much as an olive outside the appropriate place [and] as much as an olive the next day, [or] as much as an olive the next day [and] as much as an olive outside the appropriate place; Or half as much as an olive outside the appropriate place [and] half as much as an olive the next day; Or half as much as an olive the next day [and] half as much as an olive outside the appropriate place, [the sacrifice] is unfit, and does not involve karet. In this section he performs one action (nipping the head or draining the blood) with the intention of eating at least one olive’s worth in the wrong place and one olive’s worth at the wrong time, or in the opposite order, or half an olive’s worth in the wrong place and half an olive’s worth at the wrong time, or in the opposite order. In these cases the sacrifice is invalid, but one who eats it is not liable for karet for two wrong intentions were involved in this sacrifice. The order of the wrong intentions, according to this opinion, doesn’t matter. As long as the two different improper intentions were mixed up in one sacrifice, the sacrifice is not piggul and the one who eats it is not liable for karet.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Zevachim
Rabbi Judah said: this is the general rule: if the [wrongful] intention of time precedes that of place, [the sacrifice] is piggul, and involves karet; but if the [wrongful] intention of place precedes that of time, it is unfit and does not involve karet. But the sages say: in both cases [the sacrifice is] unfit and does not involve karet. According to Rabbi Judah, the order of the wrong intentions is significant. If the wrong intention of time comes first, then the sacrifice is piggul. It is determinative of the ultimate status of the sacrifice, because it came first. If, however, the wrong intention concerning place came first, then it is determinative, and as we learned in section two, the sacrifice is not piggul and one who eats it is not liable for karet. The sages, whose opinion was found in section five, restate their opinion that in neither case is the sacrifice piggul, and one who eats it would not be liable for karet.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Zevachim
[If he intended] to eat half as much as an olive [outside the appropriate place or after the appropriate time] [and] to burn half as much as an olive [similarly] it is fit, for eating and burning do not combine. The situation described here is actually impossible when it comes to the bird hatat, none of it is burned on the altar and it when it comes to the bird olah, none of it is eaten. So with one sacrifice, one could never have a wrong intention to eat half an olive and a wrong intention to burn half an olive. The section is taught because this was possible with animal sacrifices. There and here we learn that wrong intents with regard to eating and burning half an olive’s worth do not join together to fill the requirement for their to be the wrong to intent with regard to an olive’s worth of the flesh.
