Commento su Sheqalim 7:3

אברים עולות – since it has been dissected in the manner of the dissection that has been explained for burnt-offerings, it is known that they are of the burnt offerings.

Introduction This mishnah deals with meat found in various places and how a person should treat that meat do we assume that it comes from a sacrifice? Is it kosher?

חתיכות חטאות – for we consume nothing in the Temple courtyard other than sin-offerings and guilt-offerings.

Meat which was found in the Temple courtyard: Limbs: [they must be treated as belonging to] whole burnt-offerings; Pieces: [they must be treated as belonging to] sin-offerings. Burnt-offerings are cut up into limbs before they are brought up to the altar. Therefore, if one finds whole limbs in the Temple courtyard, one must assume that they belong to burnt-offerings. Sin-offerings are eaten by the priests and therefore they are cut up into pieces. If one finds a piece of meat in the Temple courtyard, he therefore must assume that it is a sin-offering.

ובירושלים זבחי שלמים – for most of the meat eaten in Jerusalem is that of peace-offerings.

[Meat which was found] in Jerusalem, [must be treated as belonging to] wellbeing-offerings. Wellbeing offerings can be eaten anywhere in Jerusalem. Therefore, if meat is found outside of the Temple but within Jerusalem, it must be treated as if it was a wellbeing offering.

זה וזה – whether it is found in the Temple courtyard or whether it is found in Jerusalem.

In both cases it must be left to become disqualified and must then go out to the place of burning. In all of the cases in the above two sections, the meat cannot be eaten lest it is impure or “remnant” sacrificial meat which should have already been eaten. It also cannot be burned lest it be fully pure and not remnant and it is prohibited to burn sacrificial meat which can be eaten. What they must do is wait until the meat becomes disqualified from being eaten, one day and night for a sin-offering and two days and one nigh for a wellbeing offering. Then it may be burned outside of the Temple where they burn disqualified meat.

תעובר צורתן – because they have been defiled through being given up/discarding from the mind and are prohibited for eating but we cannot despise them and burn them until they have clearly been defiled. Therefore, they require that its status must be altered/let its appearance be gone (i.e., the flesh looks disfigured by beginning to decay), which is that they be defiled through portions of sacrifices left over beyond the legal time and bound to be burned or the status must be altered for peace-offerings – which is until the third day.

[Meat which was] found within the borders [of Israel but outside of Jerusalem]: Limbs: [they must be treated as] carrion; Pieces: they are permitted. But [if found] during the time of a festival, when meat is abundant, it is permitted [to eat it] even when cut up in limbs. If it is found outside of Jerusalem, then it is not assumed to be sacrificial meat. If it is in limbs, meaning not cut into proper pieces, then it must be assumed that the animal was not slaughtered properly and that the owner intended to cast the meat to the dogs. This meat cannot be eaten. If it is cut into pieces than we can assume that the meat is kosher, because people don’t bother cutting the meat into proper pieces if it cannot be eaten. However, in the time of the festival when many people eat meat and meat is in abundance even found limbs may be eaten. They may have come from a kosher animal and someone may have had just so much meat that they didn’t bother to cut it properly.

נמצאו בגבולים – in the cities of Israel.

אברים נבלות – for it is the manner that we sever the carrions (i.e., animals that died a natural death) into limbs and cast them into the streets so that the dogs would eat them.

חתיכות מותרים – for it was not customary to dissect the carrions to pieces but the fit parts, it was customary to cut them into small pieces to sell them to Jews or to place it into the pot, and this law applies in a city that is completely Jewish; but in a city where there are heathens, even the pieces are forbidden.

שהבשר מרובה – we don’t dissect the flesh into small pieces but cook it by limbs.