Internal Deficiency in Sacrificial Animals

חסרון מבפנים

Can a flaw that is entirely hidden inside an animal disqualify it as a sacrifice upon the altar?

The Torah requires sacrificial animals to be free of physical defects. Biblical verses list visible flaws such as blindness or broken limbs, which constitute a מום (blemish) that invalidates an offering and permits redeeming it.

Rav Ahadvoi bar Ami raises a dilemma regarding an internal organ that is missing, such as a kidney or a spleen. Because this defect cannot be seen outwardly, it is obvious that it does not permit slaughtering a בכור (firstborn offering) outside the Temple or redeeming consecrated animals.

The question is solely whether this internal absence renders the offering invalid for the altar. Does the requirement of being תמים (complete) exclude any missing part, or is wholeness defined strictly relative to visible blemishes?

The question

Does an internal deficiency disqualify an offering upon the altar, and if so, is it categorized as a standard blemish or as a distinct defect of incompleteness?

Through the sources

The Gemara (Gemara)

תָּמִים יִהְיֶה לְרָצוֹן אָמַר רַחֲמָנָא, תָּמִים — אִין, חֶסְרוֹן — לֹא.

The Gemara contrasts the requirement of total completeness with the definition of a blemish. Scripture demands a whole animal, which might exclude even an internal deficiency from being accepted.

Rabbi Yohanan (Gemara)

וְרַבִּי יוֹחָנָן אֲמַר: דְּכוּלֵּי עָלְמָא אֵין בְּרִיָּה בְּאַחַת, וְחֶסְרוֹן מִבִּפְנִים שְׁמֵיהּ חֶסְרוֹן.

Rabbi Yohanan concludes that all opinions treat an internal lack as a disqualifying deficiency. It invalidates the sacrifice whenever the loss occurs prior to blood collection in the Temple service.

The Rambam (Halacha)

לֹא מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהִיא בַּעֲלַת מוּם שֶׁאֵין חִסָּרוֹן שֶׁבִּפְנִים מוּם אֶלָּא מִפְּנֵי שֶׁאֵין מַקְרִיבִין חָסֵר כְּלָל

The Rambam formulates a fundamental distinction between two categories of disqualification. An internal missing organ is not a blemish, but violates the mandate of wholeness required of altar offerings.

Kessef Mishneh (Rishonim)

ופירש רש״י לאישחוטי בכור על חסרון שבפנים ולאפרוקי קדשים לא מיבעי' דלא חשיב מומא כולי האי:

The Kessef Mishneh links the Rambam's ruling directly to the opening sugya in Bekhorot. Because an internal defect is not obvious, it never constitutes a formal blemish to allow redemption.

Tosafot Rabbi Akiva Eiger (Acharonim)

הרי דיתר בפנים ממש דאינו נראה כלל פסול לאקרוביה דממעטינן מן תמים יהיה

Rabbi Akiva Eiger applies this principle to an internal surplus, such as a third kidney. Through the rule that an excess is treated like a deficiency, it disqualifies solely through lack of tamim without being an exposed defect.

Torah Temimah (Acharonim)

The Torah Temimah emphasizes that an animal lacking a spleen or kidney is kosher for eating. Yet it remains forbidden on the altar due to an autonomous scriptural decree of wholeness distinct from blemish laws.

Ways to understand it

Single Category of Defect

The initial side of the dilemma considered equating all physical deficiencies to the standard status of a מום (blemish). Under this assumption, just as a blemish must be exposed to disqualify, an internal lack would not be disqualified at all.

Dual Track of Disqualification

Halacha operates on two independent tracks. A מום (blemish) permits desecration and redemption, requiring an exposed flaw, whereas תמים (wholeness) demands absolute physical completeness and bars any internally deficient animal from being sacrificed.

Where it lands

The halacha follows Rabbi Yohanan as codified by the Rambam. An animal missing an internal limb like a kidney is disqualified from the altar and must be burned. However, it does not possess the status of a בעל מום (blemished animal), meaning it cannot be redeemed or slaughtered outside the Temple.

An internal deficiency does not create a blemish for redemption, but it completely breaks the animal's required state of wholeness.

Learn Bekhorot 39 on Super Daf