Comentario sobre Pará 1:5

רבי אליעזר אומר עגלה בת שנתה – a heifer whose neck was broken needs to be one year old and no more/older.

Introduction Today's mishnah discusses how old a "heifer" can be before it becomes a cow. This is relevant to two laws. In Deuteronomy 21 we read that in order to expiate for an unsolved murder a ritual with a "heifer" must be performed. In order to perform the ritual correctly, we must determine how old a heifer is. And determining how old a "cow" is relevant to the issue of our tractate the red cow.

ופרה – red [heifer].

Rabbi Eliezer says: the heifer is no more than one year old and the cow no more than two years old. But the sages ruled: the heifer may be even two years old and the red cow even three or four years old. Rabbi Meir says: even five years old, though she is old. But they did not wait with it so long since it might in the meantime grow some black hairs and [thus] become invalid. According to Rabbi Eliezer the heifer whose neck is broken according to Deuteronomy 21 must be less than one year old. The cow must be less than 2 years old. The other sages add a year to both of these numbers. Rabbi Meir rules that a cow can even be 5 years old and still be valid to be used in the red cow ritual. However, if a red cow was born (a highly unusual event) they wouldn't wait five years to use it because if any of its hairs turn black, it becomes invalid.

ופרה בת שתי שתים – that the language of פרה/heifer implies that it is older than a עלגה/heifer (i.e., calf)

Rabbi Joshua said: I only heard of [a cow] that was three years old [shelashit]. They said to him: What does "shelashit" mean? He replied: thus have I heard it without any explanation. Ben Azzai said: I will explain: if you say "shelishit" the meaning is ‘the third’ in number to others, but when you say "shelashit" the meaning is one that is three years old. The mishnah now begins a series of discussion in which Rabbi Joshua and Ben Azzai participate and which hinge on the precise pronunciation of various words. The first of these discussions is pertinent to the issue of the red cow. Rabbi Joshua asserts that he heard that the cow must be "shelashit." This seems to be an unusual spelling of the Hebrew word for the ordinal number of three third. The other sages ask him why did you say "shelashit." Rabbi Joshua, interestingly, does not know why he pronounced the word in this unusual manner. He just heard "shelashit" and repeated what he was taught. Ben Azzai, the younger student, however, has an explanation. Had Rabbi Joshua said "shelishit," the typical pronunciation of the ordinal number, we would have thought that the cow would have to be the third born to its mother. Now that he pronounced the word "shelashit" we learn that the cow must be three years old.

וחכמים אומרים עלגה ערופה כשרה אפילו בת שתים – and all the more so, when it is one year old, but even if it is two years old, it is a עגלה /calf, and even though that we hold that every place where it states עגל, it is one year old, the Rabbis hold that the heifer whose neck is broken is different, as it is written regarding it (Deuteronomy 21:3): “[The elders of the town nearest to the corpse] shall then take a heifer/עגלת בקר, [which has never been worked, which has never pulled in a yoke],” but it is not written a mere/plain עגלה/heifer.

Similarly they said a vineyard that is "revai." They said to him: what does "revai" mean? He replied: thus have I heard it without any explanation. Ben Azzai said: I will explain: if you say "revii" the meaning is the fourth in number to others, but when you say "revai" the meaning is one that is four years old. The same argument now occurs with regard to a vineyard in its fourth year. This topic is covered in Maaser Sheni 5:1-5. The produce of such a vineyard must be brought to Jerusalem and consumed there. The word for fourth year as pronounced by Rabbi Joshua is "revai" instead of the more typical "revii." Again, the other sages ask Rabbi Joshua why he pronounces it this way and he doesn't know how to respond. Ben Azzai explains that had he pronounced it "revii" we might have thought that it was fourth in number. This could mean that it is the fourth vineyard owned by the owners or that it is the fourth vineyard planted in this field. Now that it is pronounced "revai" we learn that the these laws refer to a vineyard planted in its fourth year.

שמא תשחיר שלא תפסל (lest a hair turn black and it should [not] otherwise become unfit) – for if two black hairs would grow in it, it would be unfit, as it written (Numbers 19:2): “[Instruct the Israelite people to bring you] a red [cow] without blemish, that its being without blemish/its purity, is in its reddishness and it went away, for a red cow which is three years old or four [years old] and old is fit/proper, but we don’t wait for it, lest a hair turn black and it should [not] otherwise become unfit.

Similarly it was ruled: if a man ate in an afflicted house half a loaf, three of which can be made from a kav, he becomes unclean. They said to him: say rather "eighteen of which are made of a se'ah." He replied: thus have I heard it without any explanation. Ben Azzai said: I will explain: when you say, three of which are made of a kav it would not contain hallah, but if you say, eighteen of which are made of a se'ah, it has been reduced by its hallah. The final issue has to deal with a halakhah that came up in the last tractate we learned Negaim. If a person goes into a house afflicted with some sort of scaly plague and stays there long enough to eat half of a loaf of bread, when three loaves are made of a kav of flour, becomes impure. The rabbis ask why he expresses the amount as "three loaves in a kav" instead of "eighteen loaves in a seah." A seah is 6 kavs, so the ratio stays the same. Ben Azzai explains that had one made 18 loaves he would actually have to give some as "hallah," dough offering, to the priest. This would reduce (by a small amount) the size of each loaf. But three loaves of bread is too small of an amount to be liable for hallah. Therefore, the amount of the loaf is precise.

לא שמעתי אלא שלשית (I heard only “Shelasheet”) – I heard that a red cow is not kosher/fit other than one which is “Shelasheet” (i.e., in its third year).

כך שמעתי סתם (such I heard plain) – and I have nothing to explain.

שלישית – implies, third to the others in sequence, that two other cows were born before her and this is the third to them.

שלשית- implies that she is three years old.

רביעי לאחרים – when there are four vineyards, it belongs to say about the last that it is the fourth to the others, but [the term] רבעי/that which is in the fourth year implies a vineyard that is four years old.

האוכל בבית המנוגע פרס – he who tarries in a leprous house in order to eat a piece of bread, defiles that clothing that is upon him. [The word] פרס is half of a loaf, from three loaves to a KAB.

אמרו לו אמור משמונה עשר לסאה – meaning to say, you should have said from eighteen to a Seah, that the Seah is six KABIM, and three loaves to a KAB are eighteen to a Seah.

כך שמעתי – from my Rabbis/teachers, and it is not in my hands to explain why they didn’t say from eighteen to a Seah.

אני אפרש – what the practical difference is between this and that [and why they didn’t say eighteen to a Seah].

משלש לקב אין בו חלה – for five fourths flour and more, are liable for separating Hallah, and a person who kneads only one KAB separates Hallah from it. Therefore, when you say, from three loaves to a KAB, it implies that Hallah had not been separated from them, but when you say “from eighteen to a Seah,” it is found that each loaf is less that what we reduced for Hallah and a person who kneads a Seah must separate Hallah from it.

ופר שני בן בקר תקח לחטאת- regarding the purification of the Levities, it I s written in the Torah portion of B’haalotekha (Numbers 8:8), and this "שני"/second is extraneous, for since it is written after it (Numbers 8:12): “One shall be offered to the LORD as a purification offering (i.e., sin-offering) and the other as a burnt offering, automatically one knows that there are two [bulls], but rather, it is written [the word]"שני" to teach that it is two years old, for just as for something three years old, we call שלשית, here also for something two years old it is called "שני".

Introduction There are many occasions when the Torah mandates sacrificing a "par" or a bull. In today's mishnah there are three opinions as to how old the bull must be.

וחכמים אומרים כו' – and the Halakha is according to the Sages.

Rabbi Yose the Galilean said: bulls must be no more than two years old, for it is said, "And the second bull you shall take for a sin-offering" (Numbers 8:8). Rabbi Yose the Galilean bases his halakhah on a midrash on Numbers 8:8. The verse says that one should take the "second bull." Since the Torah states elsewhere said to take two bulls and one has already been sacrificed why does it need to say "second." From this "extraneous" word Rabbi Yose the Galilean concludes that the word "second" refers to how old the bull must be two years.

But the sages say: they may be even three years old. The sages say that the bull can even be three years old. There are some versions that don't include the word "even." According to this, the rabbis hold that it must be three years old.

Rabbi Meir says: even those that are four or five years old are valid, but old animals are not brought out of respect. Rabbi Meir again provides a much higher limit for the age of the animal being discussed (as he did in yesterday's mishnah). However, despite the fact that one can bring a relatively old animal, it is not respectful to do so because it looks as if he is offering this animal only because it will die soon anyway.

מיום ליום – if it was born on the first of Elul, it didn’t complete a full year until the first of Elul of the second year. For we follow after the its year, but not after the years of the counting of the world. But if the year were intercalated, it was intercalated for it. And similarly, with rams that are two years old.

Lambs no more than one year old, And rams no more than two years old. When the Torah mandates bringing a lamb-offering, it must be within its first year. This is explicit in the Torah, see for instance Numbers 7:17. Rams adult sheep must be at least within their second year.

אינו כשר לא לאיל – for it is not considered a ram until it enters thirty days from the second year for it.

And all these years are reckoned from day to day. When counting the age of any of the animals listed in the first three mishnayot of this tractate, we count from the day the animal was born. We don't count from the beginning of the year, as we do for other matters. So a lamb born in the beginning of Elul is not considered to be one year old until the following Elul.

פלגס (a sheep beyond the age of a כבש and below that of an איל ; a youth in the intermediate stage between boyhood and maturity) – It is the language of פלג/part, middle, meaning to say average between this and that, it has exited from the category of כבש but has not entered the category of איל (i.e., a כבש is a sheep at least one year of age; the איל is at least two years old).

One that is thirteen months old is not valid, neither as a ram nor as a lamb. Rabbi Tarfon called it palges. Ben Azzai called it noked. Rabbi Ishmael called it parakhrigma. A 13 month old sheep cannot be considered a lamb or a ram. It is too old to be a lamb and a sheep is not a ram until it is 30 days past its first birthday. The 30 days is likely to be a vestige of the notion that the life of anything born is considered precarious until it has reached thirty days old. It's almost as if we count the animal's days only from one month and on (although this is only in cases in which the rule is stringent when it comes to the limit of a lamb, it is one year, and not 13 months). The sages all have a special name for this 13 month old sheep. Palges is a Greek word which refers to something that is no longer a child but has not reached maturity (kind of like a teenager). Noked is a type of inferior sheep. And parakhrigma is a Greek word used to refer to a coin with a king's image that has been invalidated by the new king. The 13 month old has been disqualified from being a "lamb" but has not yet been validated as a "ram."

נוקד (shepherd) – it is the language of (Amos 1:1): "[דברי עמוס] אשר-היה בנקדים מתקוע"/[The words of Amos] a sheep breeder from Tekoa,” whose explanation is the owners of sheet. (Also, possibly the word נוקד (NUKAD) – a stamped, distinct coin).

If a man offered it he must bring for it the libation of a ram, but it is not counted as his offering. If a person sacrifices a 13 month old sheep he must bring the libations that are brought for a ram. This means 2 tenths of an ephah of flour, a third of a hin of oil and a third of a hin of wine (see Numbers 15:6-7). However, offering this animal doesn't count as fulfilling his obligation. So if he vowed to bring a ram or a lamb, the thirteen month old doesn't count and he still has to bring another one.

פרכדיגמא (false coin, counterfeit) -to a coin that is invalid that they call it PARCHADIGMA in the Greek language. Even this is invalid from the designation/definition of an איל or of a כבש.

One that is thirteen months old behold it is a ram. Once it reaches 13 months and one day it is a ram.

מביא עליו נכסי אלי – one-third of a Hin. And we derive it from the fact that it is written (Numbers 7:6-7): “the case of a ram, [you shall present as a grain offering: two-thirds of a measure of choice flour with a third of a Hin of oil mixed in] and a third of a Hin of wine as a libation – [as an offering of pleasing odor to the LORD],” to include the פלגס/sheep beyond the age of a כבש and below that of an איל.

חטאות הצבור (see Leviticus 4:14) – as for example the goats of the New Moons and the Festivals and their burnt offerings (see Numbers 28:3 and following) , all of them are a year old.

Introduction Today's mishnah deals with how old various animals must be before they can sacrificed.

חטאת היחיד (see Leviticus 4:28, 32 and 5:6) – a female sheep or a female goat.

The sin-offerings of the congregation and their burnt-offerings, the sin-offering of an individual, the guilt-offering of a nazirite and the guilt-offering of a metzora are valid from the thirtieth day onwards, and also on the thirtieth day. If they were offered on the eighth day they are valid. The sin-offerings of the congregation are the goats that are brought on Rosh Hodesh and other holidays. These must be within their first year. The burnt-offerings are lambs (see Numbers 28). The sin-offering of an individual can be a lamb or goat (Leviticus 4:28ff). The guilt offering of a nazirite (Numbers 6:12) and the guilt offering of a metzora (Leviticus 14:12) are both lambs. Since all of these are mandatory offerings, it is mandated that one let them grow a little bit before they are brought. Although they are valid from the 8th day and onwards, they should not be brought until they are at least 30 days old. No animal can be slaughtered or sacrificed before the 8th day, as is stated explicitly in Leviticus 22:27.

ואם הקריבום שיום השמיני כשרים – as it is written (Leviticus 22:27): “and from the eighth day on it shall be acceptable [as a gift to the LORD},” and it is stated regarding a firstborn (Exodus 22:29): “[You shall do the same with your cattle and your flocks: seven days it shall remain with its mother;] on the eighth day you shall give it to Me,” just as the firstborn that he made the eighth day like the eighth [day] and beyond, so also with the rest of the sacrifices he made the eighth day like the eighth [day] and beyond. However, with a matter that is an obligation of the most preferable way of performing a Mitzvah is to bring it from the thirtieth day onward.

Vow-offerings and freewill-offerings, firstlings and the tithe of cattle and the pesach are valid from the eighth day onwards, and also on the eighth day. Vow offerings and freewill offerings are voluntary, therefore they can be offered on the eighth day and onwards. Since people are not mandated to bring them, we don't make them wait until the 30th day to do so. As far as the firstling (the first-born animal to its mother) goes, the Torah specifically says that that on the 8th day you should give it to the Lord (Exodus 22:29). The cattle tithe and the pesah are both compared to the firstling (see Zevahim 5:8). Therefore they too can be offered from the 8th day and onwards.

והפסח – even though it is an obligation, the Sages were not quiet/silent, because they take it according to the number of souls, so that they don’t come to a case of left over (i.e., part of the offering left over after time permitted for it to be eat. One who eats the leftover portions of an offering is punishable by extirpation – see Tractate Zevahim, Chapter 5, Mishnah 8 which states that the Passover offering an only be consumed until midnight) since it is not eaten [other] than for one fellowship.