Zevachim Daf 12 זבחים דַף 12

Rebbe Yochanan concludes that Ben Beseira holds that a pesach shechted on the morning of Erev Pesach is invalid, whether it was shechted לשמו or שלא לשמו. Rebbe Abahu objected forcefully that if so, no korban pesach should ever be valid!? If he designated it that morning, דחוי מעיקרו הוא – it is rejected from the outset, since it could not have brought at all then, and remains invalid (in Rebbe Yochanan’s opinion). If it was designated the day before (when it would have been valid as a שלמים), נראה ונדחה הוא – it was originally fit and then rejected, and remains invalid! Three answers are given: (1) It was designated after חצות and was always fit as a pesach. (2) Even if it was designated that morning, אין מחוסר זמן לבו ביום – there is no status of prematurity for a korban which becomes fit later that day (although it is not actually fit when it was designated). (3) Even if it was designated the night before, לילה אין מחוסר זמן – a designation at night (when it will be fit the next day) is not considered premature, because a derashah implies that an animal designated on its eighth night is valid, although it cannot be sacrificed until its eighth day.

Rebbe Zeira observed that the above challenge to Rebbe Yochanan’s explanation of Ben Beseira’s opinion indicates that Rebbe Yochanan holds בעלי חיים נדחין – living creatures can be permanently rejected from the מזבח, which is a machlokes elsewhere. Rebbe Abahu confirmed that this is Rebbe Yochanan’s opinion: Rebbe Yochanan said about an animal owned by partners, that if one partner was makdish his half, and then purchased the other half and was makdish it as well, קדושה ואינה קריבה – it is hekdesh but cannot be brought as a korban, since when its first half was designated, it was not fit for sacrifice. Three principles emerge from this ruling: (1) בעלי חיים נדחין – living creatures can be permanently rejected from the mizbeiach, (2) דחוי מעיקרא הוה דחוי – a rejection from the outset (of becoming hekdesh) is considered a rejection, and (3) יש דחוי בדמים – there is a law of rejection even for something with only monetary kedushah (such as this animal which was only partially hekdesh), even though it did not have קדושת הגוף – physical sanctity.

Rebbe Yochanan said that if one designated a chatas, והמיר דת וחזר בו – then rebelled against his religion, but later repented, הואיל ונדחה ידחה – since [the korban] was rejected while he was a מומר, it remains rejected even after he repented. Similarly, Rebbe Yochanan ruled that if one designated a korban, ונשתטה וחזר ונשתפה – and he became insane but later regained his sanity, since the korban was disqualified while he was a שוטה, it remains disqualified even afterwards. This is a greater novelty than a מומר, דהוא דחי נפשיה בידים – where he actively pushed himself away, as opposed to a שוטה, who might have been comparable to a someone sleeping (whose temporary inability to bring his korban does not disqualify it). On the other hand, this latter case is אין בידו לחזור – not within his ability to recover, but a מומר who was always capable of repenting, perhaps would not permanently disqualify the korban. Therefore, Rebbe Yochanan taught that both cases permanently disqualify it. The Gemara concludes that Rebbe Yochanan also said that if, after one designated a korban, Beis Din mistakenly permitted חלב (exempting him from a korban), and then retracted, his korban is certainly disqualified permanently, because this entire korban itself was rejected, as opposed to a particular person.