We learned previously that a paschal offering accidentally slaughtered as some other kind of sacrifice is still valid as a peace offering — as long as this mistake doesn’t happen during the paschal offering’s “appointed time,” which likely means the afternoon of the 14th of Nisan (Erev Passover). But what about that morning? Yesterday’s mishnah introduced a dispute:
The paschal offering that one slaughtered on the morning of the 14th of Nisan not for its sake: Rabbi Yehoshua deems it fit as though it were slaughtered on the 13th; Ben Beteira deems it unfit as though it were slaughtered in the afternoon.
Torah states that the paschal offering must be sacrificed bein ha’arbayim. Literally, this means “between the evenings” and colloquially it means in the afternoon, which is how it is usually interpreted. According to Rabbi Yehoshua’s position, the afternoon of the 14th is the paschal offering’s “appointed time” and therefore if slaughtered not for its own sake that morning, it is valid as a peace offering. The Gemara noted that this seems to imply the inverse about Ben Beteira’s position: If Ben Beteira thinks that a paschal offering slaughtered not for its sake on the morning of the 14th is unfit, he must therefore believe that even the morning of the 14th is part of its appointed time, and therefore, conversely, a paschal offering that was slaughtered and offered for its own sake on the morning of the 14th would be kosher.
In the Gemara, in support of Ben Beteira’s unexpected position, Ulla reinterpreted the phrase bein ha’arbayim according to its literal meaning: “between the (two) evenings,” i.e., the entire day of the 14th.But, the Gemara asks, if this is true, what about all the other rituals — the daily offering, the lamps, the incense — that the Torah also states must be performed bein ha’arbayim and are traditionally reserved for the afternoon. Should we change our thinking on those? Are they also kosher to perform the entire day?
In each of these individual cases, the Gemara finds an additional verse or phrase to dismiss that conclusion and limit the daily offering, the lamps and the incense to an afternoon window. But the Gemara points out that there is another verse that seems to do the same for the paschal offering:
There too, with regard to a paschal offering, it is written: “There you shall sacrifice the Passover offering at evening.” (Deuteronomy 16:6)
If, when it comes to incense and lamps, explicit mention of evening is proof that a ritual is only valid when performed in the evening, the very same logic should apply to the paschal offering! How, then, could Ben Beteira possibly hold that it is possible to slaughter the paschal lamb on the morning of the 14th?
The Gemara answers:
That verse (Deuteronomy 16:6) comes to teach a different halakhah, that a certain item should be sacrificed after another item. As it is taught: An item, i.e., the paschal offering, with regard to which both the expressions: “In the evening,” and: “Bein ha’arbayim,” are stated, should be sacrificed after an item, the daily afternoon offering, with regard to which only “bein ha’arbayim” is stated.
According to this interpretation, while it’s possible to slaughter the paschal offering all day, if one waited until the afternoon when the daily offering is sacrificed, one must sacrifice first the daily offering, then the paschal offering.
This interpretation, however, still troubles the Gemara. If the entire day is a kosher time to slaughter the paschal offering, then how does it make sense that once afternoon comes, it can now only be slaughtered after another offering? If it has this radical flexibility timing-wise, does it make sense to say that’s suddenly limited once the afternoon comes?The Gemara states that there is, in fact, precedent for such a scenario:
Yes, as Rabbi Yoḥanan says: If one did not recite the Musaf prayers until it is time for the afternoon prayer, the halakhah is that he should first recite the afternoon prayer, and recite the additional prayers thereafter.
Morning is the ideal time to recite the Musaf prayer, but if it is not recited in the morning, it can be recited the entire day. Nonetheless, we state that if one failed to recite it in the morning and the time for Mincha came, one should first recite Mincha, and only then recite the Musaf. Though it was clearly an uphill battle, the Gemara has managed to defend the supposition that Ben Beteira might believe a paschal offering can be offered the whole day of the 14th. But does it end there? Hardly. Having gone through this extensive intellectual exercise to prove he might plausibly hold that surprising view, the Gemara ultimately dismisses that conclusion in favor of what we would expect: Agreement between the rabbis that the paschal offering is only slaughtered in the afternoon. But at least we learned that there is a second window of opportunity for Musaf.
Read all of Zevachim 12 on Sefaria.
This piece originally appeared in a My Jewish Learning Daf Yomi email newsletter sent on September 26, 2025. If you are interested in receiving the newsletter, sign up here.
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