May these words of Torah serve as a merit le’iluy nishmat Menachem Mendel ben Harav Yoel David Balk, a”h.
This week we learned Zevachim 8 and 9. These are some highlights.
Zevachim 8: Why don’t we recite the song of the day at Mincha?
We recite the song for the day after Shacharit, but we do not recite the song of the day after Mincha. The prayers of Shacharit and Mincha replace the korbanot tamid, the morning and afternoon daily offerings. The korban tamid was an Olah sacrifice. It was accompanied with pouring wine on the altar. The wine was accompanied with song. We recite the song of the day to remember the song of the Mikdash. We only recite the song of the day after Shacharit. Why don’t we recite the song of the day also after Mincha? The afternoon sacrifice also had libations and song. Shouldn’t we recite the song of the day to commemorate the song that was sung in the Mikdash?
Beit Yosef (Orach Chaim Siman 133 s.v. Hashir) teaches that the mitzvah of wine pouring was only in the morning. The afternoon was therefore not a time for pouring wine or singing in the Mikdash. We therefore do not sing in the afternoon. This is very troubling. Shu”t Moreinu Harav Moshe Alshich (Siman 138) points out that there were times when the afternoon offering was accompanied with song. Gemara Rosh Hashana (30b) records an incident in which the leviyim missed out on the correct song of the day for the korban tamid of the afternoon. It is clear from the Gemara that they would sing in the Mikdash with the afternoon sacrifice. Why then do we not recite the song of the day at Mincha? The Alshich suggests that while the levites would sing both in the morning and the afternoon, only the song of the morning was a requirement. The song of the afternoon was not a requirement. If the sacrifice was brought in the afternoon without a song, it was still acceptable. Since the offering of the afternoon did not have song as an absolute requirement, we did not add the recital of the song of the day to the Mincha prayer.
Magen Avraham gives another answer.
The wine libations were a requirement for the morning tamid. The wine libations would be accompanied with song. Our Gemara teaches that wine libations can be offered at night or the next day after the sacrifice was brought. Sometimes they would offer the wine libations for the afternoon tamid at night. When they would do so, they would not sing. Since the afternoon tamid sometimes would not have song, we do not recite the song of the day when we recite the afternoon prayer. Shu”t Chikrei Leiv (Orach Chaim Siman 50) finds this difficult. Our Gemara teaches that wine libations can be offered at night or the next day. This is true for the morning tamid just as it is true for the afternoon tamid. How can Magen Avraham say that the morning tamid always had wine and song? There should have been times when they offered the wine libations at night and as a result they did not sing by day. With the logic of the Magen Avraham, the law should be that there would be no recital of the song of the day in the morning, just as during the afternoon.
Mikdash Hakodesh (Chelek Bet Siman 38) provides an answer. There were two obligations of song in the Mikdash. One was that wine pouring should be accompanied with song. The second obligation was an obligation of the Mikdash. The sanctity of the Mikdash required that we sing each day in the Mikdash. The song of the Mikdash would be realized with the song of the morning tamid. This is the meaning of the lesson of the Magen Avraham. Each day, in the morning, there would be a pouring of wine in order to ensure that the Temple get its song. The afternoon sacrifice would not always get a pouring of wine. For this reason, there were times when the afternoon tamid would not have song. Since the afternoon tamid did not always have song, when the siddur was organized they did not institute an obligation to recite the song of the day at Mincha. (Mesivta)
Zevachim 9: Is there a prohibition against cross-breeding when breeding together two types of sheep?
Rav Yosef Efrati asked Rav Vozner (Shu”t Shevet Haleivi Chelek 8 Siman 236) about the prohibition against cross-breeding, kilayim. The Torah prohibits cross-breeding two different types of animals. Rav Efrati noticed that in Israel there were multiple types of sheep. Some sheep had long, fatty tails. Others did not have any tail at all. The long, fatty tail of a sheep is called the אליה. The fatty tail of the sheep produces a very tasty food. Our Gemara teaches that we learn from an extra verse about the korban Pesach, אם כשב, that the אליה of the korban Pesach is to be offered on the altar and burned in the holy fires on the mizbe’ach. Rav Efrati wondered about the prohibition of cross-breeding. Is it forbidden to breed together sheep that have an אליה with sheep that do not have an אליה? Are these considered two different types of animals and therefore we may not mix them with each other? Rav Efrati sent his question to Rav Vozner. In his letter he referenced Rav Moshe Feinstein (Igrot Moshe Chelek 4 Siman 123). Rav Moshe writes that if two creatures were created differently by Hashem, it is kilayim to cross-breed them. But, if both creatures were initially of the same type and due to location and other factors they have deviated from each other, there would be no prohibition against breeding them together. Rav Efrati asked Rav Vozner if he thought the different types of sheep differed from the time of creation or if they had merely evolved differently over time due to environmental factors.
Rav Vozner does not accept any distinction between types of sheep. The Torah lists three types of kosher domesticated animals: sheep, goats and cattle, כבשים,עזים, ובקר. If the creature has wool like a sheep, and it has the build of a sheep, it is a sheep. You may cross-breed together sheep with an אליה and sheep that have no אליה. They are both from the type of creature that the Torah calls כבש. Rav Vozner argues that while in regard to kilayim both types of sheep can be mixed, perhaps, this is not so in regard to sacrifices. A korban Pesach needs to have an offering of its אליה. If it does not have a tail, perhaps it cannot be used as a korban Pesach. (Yosef Da’at)
By Rabbi Zev Reichman
Rabbi Zev Reichman teaches Daf Yomi in his shul, East Hill Synagogue.
