Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Tuesday's Thoughts on the Daf - Kiddushin 55

Kiddushin 55 continues the analysis of the debate between R' Meir and R' Yehudah (initiated in the Mishna on 52b) as to whether items which are hekdesh can lose their status by virtue of intentional or unintentional acts.

Within this discussion, the gemara on 55a references a mishna in Shekalim which asks the hypothetical question - if someone finds an animal within the radius of the distance between Jerusalem and Migdal Eder, what becomes of the animal? R' Oshaya posits that if a person wants to obligate himself to give money against the value of the animal, if it is a male animal he must designate monies and use them to purchase an olah and a shelamim.

On 55b, the gemara asks whether there are possibly other karbanos which the animal had been designated for, and why should the male animal be limited to just olah or shelamim. As part of this discussion, the gemara asks - maybe it was meant to be an asham. The gemara then rejects this possibility as an asham is two years old and this was a one year old male animal which was found.

Later on 55b, the gemara asks about a female animal which was found, maybe this is a chatas? The gemara rejects this possibility, stating that the mishna was discussing a two year old female animal and a chatas must be a one year old animal. The gemara then says, but what does one do if a one year old female animal was found? Eventually the gemara answers this by saying that the one year old animal is brought into the keepa until its death.

Tosafos (d'h Ishtacach) asks - why is that with a female animal we explore the possibility of what to do with a one year old animal (which we are concerned may be a chatas), whereas the gemara previously (after rejecting the possibility that an asham could be a two year old male) does not discuss what to do if one finds a two year old male animal? Tosafos answers that if one finds a two year old male animal he can always keep it until it develops a blemish and then be podeh the animal. However, the one year old female animal which is suspected of being a chatas cannot be solved the same way. This is because a chatas can never be podeh, even if it develops a blemish. It is for this reason that the gemara must examine the situation of what to do with a found one year old female animal.

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