פירוש על ביכורים 2:9

טעון כיסוי כדם חיה – As a stringency’ and we do not recite a blessing on the act of covering with ashes the blood of killed animals, since it is a matter of doubt.

Introduction This mishnah notes ways in which a koy (see yesterday’s explanation) is similar to a hayyah, a wild animal.

ואין שוחטין אותו ביום טוב – Since it is prohibited to cover its blood, even though the ashes of the portable stove are ready for him; they are ready/prepared for something definitive, but not something doubtful.

How is it like a wild animal?
Its blood must be covered like the blood of a wild animal. When one slaughters a hayyah one must pour the blood out on the ground and cover it (Leviticus 17:13). Since a koy might be a hayyah, one should do the same with a koy.

בטומאת נבילה בחיה – For the fat of a pure cattle is pure, as we derive from “Fat from animals that died or were torn by beasts may be put to any use, but you must not eat it” (Leviticus 7:24). And because it is it is doubtfully cattle and its fat is pure; it is doubtfully a deer/beast of chase, and its fat is impure, therefore, its impurity is doubtful.

It may not be slaughtered on a festival. Preparation of food, including slaughtering, is permitted on Yom Tov, the first and last days of Pesah and Sukkot, and Shavuot. The problem with slaughtering a hayyah is that it is prohibited to dig up dirt in order to cover its blood. If there is already dirt set aside for this use, then one can slaughter a hayyah. However, when it comes to a koy, there is another problem--one cannot use even dirt that has already been dug up, because if the koy is actually a domesticated beast, then the dirt is muktzeh because it could not have been set aside to cover blood. Therefore, one cannot slaughter a koy on Yom Tov.

ואין פודין בו פטר חמור – lest it is an animal of chase/deer and the Torah stated (Exodus 34:20): “Burt the firstling of an ass you shall redeem with a sheep; [if you do not redeem it, you must break its neck].” But this is doubtful whether it is a sheep or a deer.

If he slaughtered it, he should not cover its blood. If he nevertheless did slaughter a koy, he should not cover its blood. It might not be a hayyah, in which case covering its blood would not be necessary.

Its fat is impure like that of a wild animal, but its impurity is of doubtful status. A certain type of fat, called “helev,” is impure when it comes from a hayyah but not when it comes from an improperly slaughtered behemah. When it comes to the koy, we must be concerned lest it really is a hayyah, and therefore we need to treat its fat as if it was impure. However, the status of the impurity that it conveys is only “doubtful” because it may indeed be a behemah. This has certain ramifications that I do not wish to get into here.

One does not redeem with it the first-born of a donkey. A first-born donkey must be redeemed by giving the priest a first born sheep in its stead (Exodus 13:13). Although a koy might be related to a sheep, or perhaps be a type of sheep, it can’t be used to redeem a first born donkey, because it might be a wild animal.