Commentaire sur Bekhorot 5:1
כָּל פְּסוּלֵי הַמֻּקְדָּשִׁין (הֲנָאָתָן לַהֶקְדֵּשׁ), נִמְכָּרִין בָּאִטְלִיז (וְנִשְׁחָטִין בָּאִטְלִיז) וְנִשְׁקָלִין בְּלִטְרָא, חוּץ מִן הַבְּכוֹר וּמִן הַמַּעֲשֵׂר, שֶׁהֲנָיָתָן לַבְּעָלִים. פְּסוּלֵי הַמֻּקְדָּשִׁין הֲנָיָתָן לַהֶקְדֵּשׁ. וְשׁוֹקְלִין מָנֶה כְנֶגֶד מָנֶה בַּבְּכוֹר:
Tous les animaux sanctifiés disqualifiés peuvent être vendus à la boucherie (abattus dans la boucherie) et pesés par rapport aux poids standard, à l'exception des premiers-nés et de la dîme, pour leur bénéfice [va] à leurs propriétaires. Le bénéfice des animaux sanctifiés disqualifiés va au Temple. En ce qui concerne un premier-né, nous pesons une portion contre une portion [non sacrée].
Bartenura on Mishnah Bekhorot
כל פסולי המוקדשין (all consecrated animals that are disqualified) – Holy Things that had a blemish befall them, if we sell them at a high price, it is a benefit of discretion to Temple property. Therefore, they are sold in the bazaar/shop, that is the marketplace where they sell in the rest of the unconsecrated meat and there it is sold at a high price.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Bekhorot
Introduction
Animals that have been dedicated to the Temple and then became blemished can be sold, the profit going to the Temple. Our mishnah teaches that this works a bit differently for blemished first borns.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Bekhorot
ונשקלין בליטרא – to be sold in the manner that the butchers sell unconsecrated meat, for since they are able to sell it at a high price, they add to its worth when they redeem them from Temple property.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Bekhorot
All dedicated animals which became unfit [for the altar] are sold in a market, slaughtered in a market and weighed by the liter, except for a first born or a tithed animal, as their profit goes to the owners, [whereas] the profit on dedicated objects which became unfit goes to the Temple. It is considered somewhat disgraceful that a once holy animal should be slaughtered and sold in the marketplace like common meat. However, this is also the most profitable way to sell the animal’s meat. Normal dedicated animals may be slaughtered and sold in the market, and weighed using weights because we want to maximize the profit that goes to the Temple. In contrast, the profit from selling a blemished first born or tithed animal goes to the priests (or in certain cases the original owners), therefore, we are not concerned with maximizing the profit. In such a case, we want to minimize the disgrace to the animal and its meat. The animal should be slaughtered and sold privately, at one’s home. The meat should not be weighed on scales using known weights, but rather its weight should be estimated.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Bekhorot
חוץ מן הבכור ומן המעשר – that if they are sold at a high price their benefit is to owners. The firstling, its benefit is to the Kohen, for the meat of a firstling is consumed by everyone, but the Kohen sells it and takes its monetary worth, for the Kohen is called the owners of the firstling. But because of the benefit of the regular individual/commoner, we do not treat lightly Holy Things to treat them with the custom of unconsecrated things to sell them in a bazaar/shop, but rather in his house, and even though people will not cut the meat so much. But they are not measured with a litra but rather by estimation, and if he loses [a bit], it does not matter.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Bekhorot
One can weigh one piece of meat of the first-born against another piece of ordinary meat. While one cannot weigh the meat of the first born on a scale using set weights, it is permitted to weigh it on a scale using another piece of meat of known weight. This is not considered to be as disgraceful.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Bekhorot
ושוקלין מנה כנגד מנה – that if he has a piece of unconsecrated meat that is weighted in the litra, he can weigh the meat of a firstling against it. But tithes we don’t weigh a Maneh against a Maneh, for at it appears as if he sells it, and the tithe of cattle it is prohibited to sell it at all because it is not written regarding it (see Numbers 18:17): “[But the firstlings of cattle, sheep, or goats] may not be redeemed,” in the manner that it is written regarding a firstling but rather (Leviticus 27:33): “[If he does make substitution for it, then it and its substitute shall both be holy:] it cannot be redeemed/לא יגאל,” and we taught in Sifrei [B’midbar] that regarding a firstling where it states “it cannot be ransomed,” tithes, where it states concerning it, “it shall not be redeemed”, is no sold, neither living nor slaughtered, and not pure and not with a blemish.
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