Zevachim 25

Today’s daf contains a new mishnah, which continues with the theme of ways a priest’s sacrificial service might be disqualified. For example:

If the blood spilled on the floor, and the priest then collected it from the floor into a vessel, it is disqualified.

When the priest slaughters the animal, its blood is supposed to be collected straight from the neck. The mishnah teaches us that if the blood accidentally falls on the floor, even if it ultimately ends up in the collection vessel, it is disqualified.The Gemara proceeds to explain how we derive this by first citing the following beraita:

The sages taught: And the anointed priest shall take from the blood of the bull. (Leviticus 4:5) The priest shall take from the blood of the soul, but not from the blood of the skin, nor from the blood of exudate.

These three types of blood are somewhat puzzling to distinguish. “Blood of the soul,” sometimes referred to as “blood with which the soul departs,” is the blood that spurts from an animal’s neck. This is the blood to be collected. The blood of exudate, according to many commentaries, refers to that blood which trickles from the wound after the main gush of blood has ended. Blood of the skin is a bit more difficult to define. Most commentators on the Gemara don’t define it; the Yad Ephraim, a 19th century commentator on the Shulchan Aruch, suggests that there’s a small amount of blood which lies in the skin that is separate from blood that resides in the flesh. The Turei Zahav, a 17th century commentator on the Shulchan Aruch, says this phrase actually refers to blood that may have come from an internal puncture that would render an animal unfit. While we don’t have one satisfying conclusion, the clear takeaway is that the only blood that can be collected is that which spurts forcefully from the animal’s neck in the immediate aftermath of slaughter.

The beraita continues:

“From the blood of the bull,” should be interpreted as if it is written: He shall collect the blood from the bull. As, if it enters your mind that “from the blood of the bull” should be interpreted as it is written, i.e., that “from the blood” means that the priest may collect even only a portion of the blood, that is difficult: But doesn’t Rav say: One who slaughters the offering must collect all the blood of the bull, as it is stated: “And all the blood of the bull he shall pour out on the base of the altar” (Leviticus 4:7)?

Now we can better see the relevance of this beraita to the ruling of our mishnah. The beraita suggests that we reread the phrase “from the blood of the bull.” According to its most straightforward meaning, it would seem to imply that we need to collect some, but not all, of the bull’s blood. However, two verses later, the Torah states that “all the blood of the bull” should be poured at the base of the altar — an apparent contradiction! So we cannot read the verse according to its simple meaning. The solution to this problem might surprise you:

Rather, “from the blood of the bull” means that the priest shall collect the blood from the bull. And this sage holds that the sages subtract and add and interpret homiletically.

The sages actually suggest we edit the Torah! Instead of reading, “from the blood of the bull,” we should read, “blood fromthe bull.” This rereading does two things: First, it solves the apparent contradiction in the Torah — there is no question that we must collect all, and not some, of the blood. Second, it gives us a scriptural underpinning for the mishnah: Blood is collected straight from the bull, and with nothing (such as the floor) intervening. This rewording requires us to move one Hebrew letter. “From the blood of the bull,” in Hebrew, is midam hapar. The “mi” prefix, a single letter mem, means “from.” The suggested revision is to read it as dam meihapar, which places the mem on the second word of the phrase, rendering the new meaning, “blood from the bull.” While we have often emphasized that the sages believe that nothing in Torah should be changed, this appears to be an exception to that rule. In this case, moving a single letter makes things a lot more coherent and that solution is accepted.

Read all of Zevachim 25 on Sefaria.

This piece originally appeared in a My Jewish Learning Daf Yomi email newsletter sent on October 9, 2025. If you are interested in receiving the newsletter, sign up here.