Chullin 22

Tractate Chullin has wandered into a discussion of bird sacrifices which continues on today’s daf with the following mishnah:

What is fit for sacrifice in doves is unfit for sacrifice in pigeons.

That which is fit for sacrifice in pigeons is unfit for sacrifice in doves. 

At the beginning of the yellowing of its plumage, a bird is unfit both as this, and as that.

The mishnah is puzzlingly terse, though the main principle is clear: There are different sacrificial standards for doves and pigeons. The Gemara brings a beraita that clarifies:

The sages taught: Doves, when they are older, are fit for sacrifice; when they are younger, they are unfit. Pigeons, when they are younger, are fit for sacrifice; when they are older, they are unfit. 

How does the beraita infer that doves are sacrificed only when mature and pigeons only when they are fledglings? In the relevant contexts in the Hebrew Bible, doves are torim (literally, doves, no modifier). Pigeons, however, are bnei yonah (literally, “offspring of pigeons” or “young pigeons”).

This explanation also clarifies the final clause of the mishnah: There’s an intermediate stage, where a bird’s plumage is changing, where it’s no longer considered a fledgling but not yet considered fully grown. In that stage of development, neither bird is fit for sacrifice.

The Gemara goes on to inquire how we arrive at this ruling:

What is the biblical derivation of these matters? Rava said: The verse would not have avoided writing: “Of young doves,” or “of pigeons.”

It’s not obvious that the Torah’s language of torim and bnei yonah necessarily excludes young doves or older pigeons from being offered. Rava explains, however, that the language is so consistent we should take notice. The Torah always refers to these offerings as doves and young pigeons, never pigeons and young doves. If it was true that these birds could both be offered at any age, we would expect at least one of the verses would have switched up the language. Rava concludes only fully grown doves and fledgling pigeons are viable offerings.

The Gemara pushes back on Rava’s answer:

Say with regard to pigeons, since the Merciful One writes: “Young,” this means younger birds, yes, older birds, no. But with regard to doves, if one wishes, let him bring older birds, and if he wishes, let him bring younger.

The Gemara points out that while the language of young pigeons is clearly limiting, the language of doves is general. Why not say that pigeons are only viable as fledglings, but doves can be offered at any age?

It is derived that the halakhah of doves is similar to the halakhah of pigeons: Just as with regard to pigeons, the halakhah is younger birds, yes, older birds, no, so too with regard to doves, the halakhah is older birds, yes, younger birds, no.

Since these two types of offerings are consistently juxtaposed throughout the Torah, the Gemara suggests we can learn the rules for one case from the other. Therefore, just as the viability of pigeons is clearly limited to one stage of development, so too the viability of doves is limited — in this case, to mature birds. This is a great example of the intentionality the rabbis assume in the Torah’s language. While it’s true that nowhere does the Torah explicitly exclude old pigeons or young doves, the rabbis assume that the consistent repetition of a modifier implying young pigeons, and its consistent juxtaposition with the unmodified doves, cannot be a mere coincidence of language. Rather, the excessive repetition is coming to teach us not only which birds can be offered, but also which ones cannot be.

Read all of Chullin 22 on Sefaria.

This piece originally appeared in a My Jewish Learning Daf Yomi email newsletter sent on May 22, 2026. If you are interested in receiving the newsletter, sign up here.