Today the rabbis discuss the case of one who sacrifices an impure animal on the altar. Note that though there are lots of ways for humans to become impure, by “impure animal” the rabbis mean an animal that isn’t kosher. What are the consequences for such a violation?
Reish Lakish says: He is flogged. Rabbi Yohanan says: He is not flogged.
The Talmud next explains each of these rabbis’ reasoning:
Reish Lakish says flogged — a kosher animal, yes, a non-kosher no, and (one who transgresses) a prohibition that stems from a positive mitzvah is flogged for it.
And Rabbi Yonahan says: One is not flogged for it, (as one who transgresses) a prohibition that stems from a positive mitzvah is not flogged for it.
As Rashi notes, Leviticus 1:2 commands that sacrifices be brought from the herd and from the flock, meaning cows and sheep. This biblical commandment is framed as a positive (do something), not as a negative (don’t do something).
As we learned, rabbinic courts only mandate flogging when one transgresses a negative commandment. But in this particular case, Reish Lakish seems to derive a negative commandment from the positive commandment to bring cows and sheep (don’t bring anything except cows and sheep). Rabbi Yohanan agrees that one shouldn’t bring a non-kosher animal, but he doesn’t think the prohibition rises to the level of a negative biblical commandment. And if there’s no actual negative commandment transgressed, then no flogging should be allowed.
After a brief discussion of this tradition, the Talmud offers a different version of the dispute between Reish Lakish and Rabbi Yohanan.
Rabbi Ya’akov said to Rabbi Yirmeya bar Tahlifa: I will explain it to you: With regard to (one who sacrifices the) limbs of a non-kosher animal, everyone agrees (that he is not flogged). When they disagree, it is with regard to an undomesticated animal, and it was stated like this: Rabbi Yohanan says: He transgresses a positive mitzvah. Reish Lakish says: He does not transgress anything.
Rabbi Ya’akov thinks that everyone agrees that there is no negative commandment that prohibits offering a non-kosher animal on the altar (which is not to say that it’s recommended, or even allowed, only that it’s not explicitly barred). Instead, he thinks that Rabbi Yohanan and Reish Lakish are arguing about one who offers a kosher animal from a species that is undomesticated (think deer, gazelles, or ibexes). Rabbi Yohanan thinks that offering a wild animal is forbidden because the Torah requires that offerings be either cows or goats, both domesticated animals. Reish Lakish, however, thinks that the Torah’s naming of cows and goats only describes the optimal kinds of sacrifices, but that other kosher animals are permitted.
Rava next attempts to disprove the position of Reish Lakish. As part of his refutation, he brings a fascinating analogy: Therefore, the verse states: “cattle” (Leviticus 1:3), and: “flock” (Leviticus 1:10): I have told you to bring from the cattle and the flock, but not an undomesticated animal. To what is this comparable? To a student whose teacher told him: Bring me only wheat, and he brought him wheat and barley. It is not like adding to the statement of the teacher; rather, it is as though he is disobeying his statement, and it is disqualified.
Jewish tradition uses a range of different analogies for the relationship between God and the Jewish people – King and subjects, Father and child, Owner and enslaved person. Though it’s a far less common rabbinic analogy, for Rava, God is the teacher and we are God’s students. Like any good teacher, God has made God’s expectations clear from the start, laying out the precise rubric by which animal sacrifices will be measured. Trying to offer something is not adding to the possibilities but directly disobeying God’s express wishes. And as any student will tell you, if you don’t follow the assignment instructions, you will earn a failing grade.
And indeed, the recognizability of this analogy points to its success as a refutation. The Talmud concludes that animal sacrifices must be either cows or sheep.
Read all of Zevachim 34 on Sefaria.
This piece originally appeared in a My Jewish Learning Daf Yomi email newsletter sent on October 18, 2025. If you are interested in receiving the newsletter, sign up here.
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