One-Page Learn · The Halachos at a glance
מְעִילָה
Trespass 5-7
Sefer Avodah · How far consecration reaches, what counts as taking from it, and whose hand is answerable when it is spent
1
P'rutah of benefit, the whole threshold of trespass
16
Cubits of root that decide consecrated from ordinary
4
Soaking at which consecrated dregs are finally permitted (upkeep only)
2
Kinds of item a second person can still trespass: animal and utensil
Ch 5How far the holiness reaches
- Consecration does not care what you consecrated. Whether the article suits the Temple's upkeep, the altar, the wrong one of the two, or neither, and even a dungheap of fertilizer, dust, or ash, trespass applies from the moment it was consecrated until it is redeemed. (5:1)
- Only what is separated from the earth. Plowing or sowing a consecrated field is exempt, and dwelling in a consecrated cave carries nothing; but wood and stones that were consecrated and then built into a house make living in that house trespass. (5:5)
- Products yes, coincidences no. Grass in a consecrated field, fruit on a consecrated tree, and the eggs of a hen dedicated to the altar carry trespass; a consecrated cistern that later fills with water, a dungheap that fills with waste, and a dovecote that fills with doves do not. (5:6, 5:13)
- Sixteen cubits of root, and only worn tunics. A consecrated tree's roots reaching into an ordinary field carry trespass within sixteen cubits but not beyond; priestly tunics carry trespass once worn out, not while new, since benefit from new ones is permitted. (5:6, 5:14)
RememberHoliness owns what a consecrated thing produces, never what merely lands on it.
Ch 6Benefit, damage, and the golden cup
- Gold needs no damage. An article not ordinarily damageable, such as a pure gold utensil, makes a person liable on a p'rutah of benefit alone; garments and vessels of silver, copper, or iron require a p'rutah of benefit together with a p'rutah of damage. (6:1)
- Wool from an unblemished offering. Shearing an unblemished animal of the highest sanctity is trespass on the benefit alone, since shearing does not prevent its being offered; once it is blemished it is destined for sale, so benefit plus damage is required. (6:2)
- Intent decides whether the holiness stays. Unintentional misappropriation of property consecrated for the Temple's upkeep strips its holiness, so whoever benefits afterward is clear; intentional misappropriation leaves the holiness in place, and the next person can still trespass. (6:3)
- Paying with a consecrated coin. Handing a consecrated p'rutah to a bath attendant is trespass at once, before he has bathed at all, because he may now bathe whenever he wishes; the same applies to a craftsman's wage. (6:9)
RememberThe law is gentler with what you can ruin and merciless with what you cannot.
Ch 7Whose hand did it
- The instruction, not the intention. If the agent carries out the mission, the sender trespasses; if he deviates, bread instead of meat or the closet instead of the window, the agent trespasses, and what the sender privately meant is of no consequence. (7:1)
- Whoever is still unaware is the one who is liable. If the sender remembers the coin was consecrated before it reaches the shopkeeper, the agent is the one who trespasses; if both remember in time, the shopkeeper becomes liable when he spends it. (7:5)
- Transfer the holiness and the purse is free. Say over an ordinary coin or utensil that wherever the consecrated p'rutah is, its holiness should come to rest on this; without that transfer he is not definitely liable until he has spent every coin in the purse. (7:6)
- Below a p'rutah. Misappropriating less than a p'rutah's worth, whether by accident or on purpose, requires restitution of the principal alone, with no added fifth and no offering. (7:8)
RememberTrespass is the one prohibition in the whole Torah a person can commit through someone else's hands.