According to the Torah, many sacrifices may be eaten, but only within a strictly defined time window. The paschal offering (pesach), for example, was sacrificed during daylight and had to be consumed by midnight, just a few hours later. A thanksgiving offering (todah) could be eaten on the day it was offered and all through the ensuing night. Other offerings, like the peace offering (shelamim), tithe offering (ma’aser), or first-born offering (bechor) could be eaten as late as the following day.
Whatever the prescribed limit, any sacrificial meat left beyond its permitted time became notar, from the Hebrew root meaning “left over.” Meat that became notar could no longer be eaten and was disposed of by burning. Eating notar was considered a serious transgression, punishable by karet (spiritual excision).
Notar is not the only category of forbidden sacrificial meat. In rabbinic texts, it is often paired with the concept of piggul, a sacrifice that becomes impermissible simply by virtue of the officiating priest’s intention to consume it outside the prescribed time boundary.
