Siman - Pesachim Daf 65
- כת עצלנית
A Baraisa taught regarding the כת שלישית, the third group that would enter the azarah to bring their pesachs , היא נקראת כת עצלנית – It was called the lazy group, because its members procrastinated until the last possible moment to come. The Gemara asks what should they have done given that the pesach must be offered in three shifts, and answers, אפילו הכי איבעי להו לזרוזי נפשייהו – even so, they should have hurried themselves to be amongst the first ones, as it was taught in a Baraisa, Rebbe says, אי אפשר לעולם בלא בסם ובלא בורסי – It is not possible for the world to function without perfume merchants and without tanners, אשרי מי שאומנתו בסם אוי לו מי שאונמתו בורסי – Happy is he whose occupation is that of a perfume merchant and woe to him whose occupation is a tanner. ואי אפשר לעולם בלא זכרים ובלא נקבות – Similarly, it is not possible for the world to exist without males and females, אשרי מי שבניו זכרים אוי לו מי שבניו נקבות – Fortunate is the one whose children are males and woe to him whose children are females. This is because a daughter is a constant source of worry to her father to protect her and marry her off . Here too, even though the pesach must be offered in three shifts, those who have joined the third group are lazy.
- כוס היה ממלא מדם התערובת
The Mishnah on Daf 64a stated, Rebbe Yehuda says, כוס היה ממלא מדם התערובת זרקו זריקה אחת על גבי המזבח ולא הודו לו חכמים – The Kohen would fill a cup with blood of the pesach that had mixed on the floor of the azarah and throw it once upon the mizbeyach but the Chochomim did not agree with him. In a Baraisa on this Daf Rebbe Yehudah explains his position, שאם ישפך דמו של אחד מהן נמצא זה מכשירו – that if the blood of one of them had spilled on the floor before it was applied to the mizbeyach, the application of the mixed blood renders the pesach whose blood spilled, valid. After clarifying that the blood only spilled after first being received in a kli shareis, becauseהן כהנים זריזין, the Kohanim are diligent and catch the blood properly, which makes it fit to be applied to the altar, and even though the majority of the blood on the floor is דם התמצית – blood that drained out of the animal after the דם הנפש, the life blood, spurted out, and is not fit for the mizbeyach, Rebbe Yehuda follows his own reasoning where he says, אין דם מבטל דם – Blood cannot nullify blood. Therefore, a small amount of spilled blood retains its status, and the mixture can be applied to the mizbeyach.
- Kohanim walking knee deep in blood
It was taught in a Baraisa that Rebbe Yehudah said to the Chochomim, לדבריכם למה פוקקין את העזרה – According to your opinion, that blood was not collected from the floor on erev Pesach, why did they plug the hole in the azarah floor? They should have let the blood drain out. They answered him, שבח הוא לבני אהרן שילכו עד ארכובותיהם בדם – It is praise to the Kohanim that they walk in blood up to their knees, for this shows how dear the avodah is to them. The Gemara challenges the Chochomim’s position, given that the blood on the floor would be a chatzitzah and disqualify the avodah, their garments would soil and become unfit, and they were not allowed to pull up their garments. The Gemara answers that the Kohanim would walk in the blood, בהולכת עצים למערכה – when carrying the wood up to the pyre of wood on the mizbeyach, which is not an avodah, and they walked on platforms when carrying the limbs to the mizbeyach, so they would not soil their garments.
