Mishnayos Meilah Perek 3 Mishnah 3
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מעילה פרק ג׳ משנה ג׳
Rabbi Shimon says: With regard to misuse of the blood of offerings that is to be sprinkled on the altar, the halakha is lenient with regard to the status of the blood at the outset and stringent at its conclusion. With regard to misuse of the wine of the libations that accompany the offerings, the halakha is stringent with regard to the status of the wine at their outset and lenient at their conclusion. The mishna explains: With regard to blood, at its outset, before it is sprinkled on the altar, one is not liable for misusing it; but once its remainder has been poured on the base of the altar and it emerges via the canal that runs through the Temple to the Kidron Valley at the foot of the Temple Mount, one is liable for misusing it. With regard to libations, at their outset, from the moment they were consecrated, one is liable for misusing them, but once they have descended to the drainpipes built into the altar and which extend beneath it, through which the libations flowed out of the Temple, one is no longer liable for misusing them, as their mitzva was fulfilled and therefore their sanctity has ceased.
רַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל אוֹמֵר, הַדָּם, קַל בִּתְחִלָּתוֹ וְחָמוּר בְּסוֹפוֹ, וְהַנְּסָכִים, חֹמֶר בִּתְחִלָּתָן וְקַל בְּסוֹפָן. הַדָּם, בַּתְּחִלָּה אֵין מוֹעֲלִים בּוֹ. יָצָא לְנַחַל קִדְרוֹן, מוֹעֲלִים בּוֹ. הַנְּסָכִים, בַּתְּחִלָּה מוֹעֲלִים בָּהֶן. יָצְאוּ לַשִּׁיתִין, אֵין מוֹעֲלִים בָּהֶם:
Bartenura
הדם בתחילה אין מועלין בו. היינו קודם זריקתו, דכתיב (ויקרא י״ז:י״א) ואני נתתיו לכם על המזבח לכפר, לכפרה נתתיו ולא למעילה:
יצא לנחל קדרון מועלין בו. היינו בתר זריקה. כדתנן אלו ואלו היינו דמים החיצונים ודמים הפנימים הנשפכים על מזבח העולה, מתערבים באמה, סילון שבעזרה, ויוצאים לנחל קדרון ונמכרים לגננים לזבל. ומועלים בהן. והך מעילה, מדרבנן היא ולא מדאורייתא, דאין לך דבר שנעשית מצותו ומועלים בו:
יצאו לשיתין. נקב היה במזבח שבו יורדים הנסכים לשיתין, דהיינו יסודות של מזבח שהן חלולים ועמוקים מאד. ואם הכניס ידו וקבל הנסכים קודם שירדו לתהום, אין מועלין בהן, שכבר נעשית מצותן:
הדם בתחילה אין מועלין בו – that is prior to its (i.e., the blood’s) sprinkling/tossing, as it is written (Leviticus 17:11): “[For the life of the flesh is in the blood,] and I have assigned it to you for making expiation for your lives upon the altar,” for expiation I have given it but not for sacrilege.
יצא לנחל קדרון ומועלין בו – that is after the sprinkling/tossing [of the blood on the altar]. As it is taught in the Mishnah (see Tractate Yoma, Chapter 5, Mishnah 6): “The two streams of blood that mingled together in the [flow of the] surrounding channel and flowed down into the Kidron Brook and are sold to gardeners for fertilizer and the law of sacrilege applies to them [until the sale].” This religious sacrilege is from the Rabbis and not from the Torah, for there is nothing where its command is performed and the law of religious sacrilege applies.
יצאו לשיתין – a perforation was in the altar through which the libations would descend to pits, and these are the foundations of the altar which are hollow and very deep. But if he placed his hand inside and received the libations prior to their descending into the pit, he does not commit religious sacrilege, for their command had already been fulfilled.