Mishnah Kinnim

1 A bird hatat is performed below the red line, but a beast hatat is performed above the red line. A bird olah is performed above, but a beast olah below. If he changed this procedure with either, then the offering is invalid. The seder ordered ritual in the case of kinnim is as follows: In the case of obligatory offerings, one bird is a hatat and one an olah. In the case of vows and freewill offerings, however, all are olot. What constitutes a vow? When one says, “I take it on myself to bring an olah.” And what constitutes a freewill offering? When one says, “This is to be an olah.” What is the practical difference between vows and freewill offerings? In the case of vows, if they die or are stolen, one is responsible for their replacement, but in the case of freewill offerings, if they die or are stolen, one is not responsible for their replacement.

2 If a hatat becomes mixed up with an olah, or an olah with a hatat, even if it is one in ten thousand, they all must be left to die. If a hatat becomes mixed up with unassigned obligatory bird offerings, the only ones that are valid are those that correspond to the number of hatats among the obligatory offerings. Similarly, if an olah becomes mixed up with unassigned obligatory bird offerings, the only ones that are valid are those that correspond to the number of olot among the obligatory offerings. This rule holds true whether the unassigned obligatory offerings are in the majority and the freewill offerings in the minority, or the freewill offerings are in the majority and those that are obligatory in the minority, or whether they are both equal in number.

3 When is this so? When obligatory offerings get mixed up with voluntary offerings. When, however, obligatory offerings get mixed up one with another, with one pair belonging to one woman and the other pair to another woman, or two pairs belonging to one and two pairs to another, or three pairs to one and three pairs to another, then half of these are valid and the other half invalid. If one pair belongs to one woman and two pairs to another, or three pairs to another, or ten pairs to another or one hundred to another, only the lesser number remains valid. This holds whether they are of one name or of two names, and whether they belong to one woman or to two.

4 What is meant by one “name”? One for a birth and one for a birth, or for zivah and zivah, that is one name. And “two names”? One for a birth, and the other for a zivah. What is meant by “two women”? When one woman brings her offering for a birth and the other for a birth, or when one brings for a zivah and the other for a zivah, this is “of one name”. And a case “of two names”? When one brings for a birth and the other for a zivah. Rabbi Yose says: When two women purchased their kinnim in partnership, or gave the price of their kinnim to the priest for him to purchase them, then the priest can offer whichever one he wants as a hatat or as an olah, whether they are of one name or of two names.

1 If from an unassigned pair of birds a single pigeon flew into the open air, or flew among birds that had been left to die, or if one of the pair died, then he must take a mate for the second one. If it flew among birds that are to be offered up, it becomes invalid and it invalidates another bird as its counterpart in the pair, for the pigeon that flew away is invalid and invalidates another bird as its counterpart in the pair.

2 How is this so? Two women, this one has two pairs and this one has two pairs, and one bird flies from the pair of one to the other woman’s pair, then it disqualifies by its escape one of the birds from which it flew. If it returned, it disqualifies yet another by its return. If it flew away again and then returned, and again flew away and returned, no further loss is incurred, since even if they had all become mixed together, no fewer than two pairs would still be valid.

3 If one woman had one pair, another two, another three, another four, another five, another six and another seven pairs, and one bird flew from the first to the second pair, and then a bird flew from there to the third, and then a bird flew from there to the fourth, and from there a bird flew to the fifth and from there a bird flew to the sixth, and from there a bird flew to the seventh, and then a bird returns in the same order as they flew away it disqualifies at each flight and at each return. The first and second women have none left, the third has one pair, the fourth two, the fifth three, the sixth four, and the seventh six pairs. If again one from each group flew away and returned in the same order as above, it disqualifies at each flight and return. The third and fourth woman have none left, the fifth has one pair, the sixth two pairs, and the seventh woman five pairs. If again one from each group flew away and returned in the same order as above, it disqualifies at each flight and return. The fifth and sixth women have none left, and the seventh has four pairs. But some say that the seventh woman has lost nothing. If a bird from those that are left to die escaped to any of all the groups, then all must be left to die.

4 An unassigned pair and an assigned pair: if one bird from the unassigned pair flew to the assigned pair, then a pair must be taken for the second bird. If one bird flew back, or if in the first place a bird from the assigned pair flew to the other pair, then all must be left to die.

5 Hatat birds are on one side, and olot birds are on the other and an unassigned pair is in the middle: If from the middle pair one bird flew to this side, and one bird flew to this side, then he has not lost anything, because he the priest says that the bird that flew from the middle toward the hatats is a hatat and the bird that flew toward the olot is an olah. If one from each side returns to the middle, then all those in the middle must be left to die, but those left on either side can be offered up as hatats or as olot respectively. If again a bird from the middle returned and flew away to the sides, then all must be left to die. One cannot pair turtledoves with pigeons or pigeons with turtledoves. How is this so? If a woman has brought a turtledove as her hatat and a pigeon as her olah, she must then bring another turtledove as her olah. If her olah had been a turtledove and her hatat a pigeon, then she must bring another pigeon as her olah. Ben Azzai says: We go after the first offering. If a woman brought her hatat and then died, her heirs must bring her olah. But if she first brought her olah and then died, her heirs do not need to bring her hatat.

1 When does this apply? When the priest asks advice. But in the case of a priest who does not seek advice, and one pair belongs to one woman and one to another, or two pairs to one and two to another, or three pairs to one and three to another, and he offered all of them above the red line, then half are valid and half are invalid. Similarly, if he offered all of them below, half are valid and half are invalid. If he offered half of them above and half of them below, then of those offered above, half are valid and half are invalid, and also of those offered below, half are valid and half are invalid.

2 If one pair belonged to one woman and two pairs to another, or even three pairs to another, or ten pairs to another or a hundred to another, and he offered all of them above, then half are valid and half are invalid. Similarly, if he offered all of them below, half are valid and half are invalid. If he offered half of them above and half below, then the number of birds as there is in the larger part are valid. This is the general principle: whenever you can divide the pairs of birds so that those belonging to one woman need not have part of them offered above and part offered below, then half of them are valid and half are invalid. But whenever you cannot divide the pairs of birds without some of those belonging to one woman being offered above and some below, then the number as there is in the larger part are valid.

3 If the hatats belonged to one and the olot to another, and the priest offered them all above, then half are valid and half invalid. If he offered them all below, half are valid and half invalid. If he offered half of them above and half below, then all of them are invalid, because I can argue that the hatats were offered above and the olot below.

4 If a hatat, an olah, an unassigned pair of birds and an assigned pair became mixed up, and he offered them all above, then half are valid and half are invalid. Similarly if he offered all of them below, half are valid and half are invalid. If he offered half of them above and half below, none is valid except the unassigned pair, and that must be divided between them.

5 If hatat birds were mixed up with unassigned birds that were obligatory offerings, only the number of hatats among the obligatory offerings are valid. If the unassigned obligatory offerings are twice as many as the hatats, then half are valid and half invalid. But if the hatats are twice as many as the unassigned obligatory offerings, then the number of hatats among the obligatory offerings are valid. So, too, if birds assigned as olot were mixed up with unassigned obligatory offerings, only the number of olot among the obligatory offerings are valid. If the unassigned obligatory offerings are twice as many as the olot, then half are valid and half invalid. But if the olot are twice as many as the unassigned obligatory offerings, then the number of olot among the obligatory offerings are valid.

6 If a woman says, “I vow a pair of birds if I give birth to a male child,” and she does give birth to a male child, then she must offer up two pairs, one for her vow and one for her obligation. If before she assigned them she gave them to the priest, and the priest who ought to offer three birds above and one below does not do so, but offers two above and two below, and does not seek guidance, she must bring another bird and offer that above. This is so if the birds were of the same kind. If they were of two kinds, then she must bring two others. If she had expressly defined her vow, then she must bring three other birds. This is so if the birds were of the same kind. If they were of two kinds, then she must bring four others. If she made a definite designation at the time of her vow, then she must bring another five birds. This is so if the birds were of the same kind. If they were of two kinds, then she must bring six others. If she gave them to the priest and it is not known what she gave, and the priest performed the sacrifice, but it is not known how he performed it, then she must bring four other birds for her vow, and two for her obligation and one for her hatat. Ben Azzai says: she must bring two hatats. Rabbi Joshua said: This is what they meant when they said, “When the beast is alive it has one sound, but when it is dead its sound is sevenfold.” In what way is its sound sevenfold? Its two horns are made into two trumpets, its two leg bones into two flutes, its hide into a drum, its small intestines for lyres and its large intestines for harp strings; and some add that its wool is used for the blue pomegranates. Rabbi Shimon ben Akashiah says: Ignorant old people, the older they become, the more confused their minds become, as it is said, “He removes the speech of trusted men and takes away the sense of the elders.”Job 12:20 But when it comes to aged scholars, it is not so. On the contrary, the older they get, the more settled their minds become, as it is said, “Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding with long life.”Job 12:12