The Pasuk (verse) says, “It and its offspring are not allowed to be slaughtered on one day.” This tells us that it is forbidden to slaughter a cow, sheep, or goat and its children—either male or female offspring—on the same day. It’s called Oto Ve'et Beno, “and its son,” but it really means its son or its daughter, its child. It doesn’t matter if the animal was slaughtered first and then the child second. It doesn’t matter what order they were slaughtered in. It doesn’t matter if two different people did the slaughter. The second person to slaughter—meaning, after one of them was killed, the second one was killed—is violating a de'oraita (Torah-level) prohibition, and they would receive Malkut. They would receive lashes for doing it. The animals, though, are allowed to be eaten after the Shechitah (slaughter) is done.
Here we’ll talk about where and when this Isur (prohibition) applies, and to what types of animals. The Mishnah says the prohibition of Oto Ve'et Beno applies in Israel and outside of Israel, when the Beit HaMikdash (Temple) is around and when the Beit HaMikdash is not around, to unconsecrated animals—to Chullin (unconsecrated) animals—and also to consecrated animals. It applies to both of them. The Mishnah, and the next one we’ll talk about, address the interplay between Oto Ve'et Beno, consecrated and unconsecrated animals, and where the Shechitah happens.
In other words, there are three different prohibitions that have different consequences. Number one: if somebody slaughters Oto Ve'et Beno, a mother and her offspring on the same day, the punishment is Malkut, but the animals are allowed to be eaten. Number one: somebody who slaughters a consecrated animal outside the courtyard of the Beit HaMikdash gets both Malkut and Karet (excision), but the animal is not allowed to be used for any purpose. Somebody who slaughters an unconsecrated animal inside the courtyard of the Beit HaMikdash does not receive Malkut or Karet, but the animal is not allowed to be used for any purpose.
So what happens when these overlap? What if you have Oto Ve'et Beno, and a consecrated or unconsecrated animal is slaughtered either on Har HaBayit (Temple Mount), in the courtyard of the Beit HaMikdash, or, if it was a consecrated animal, outside the courtyard? What happens there? The Mishnah asks how we deal with the consequences of Oto Ve'et Beno when talking about a consecrated animal slaughtered outside the courtyard of the Beit HaMikdash, or an unconsecrated animal slaughtered inside the courtyard of the Beit HaMikdash. HaShochet Oto Ve'et Beno: how do we deal with these 12 different cases of somebody who slaughters Oto Ve'et Beno on the same day, when both animals are consecrated, when both animals are unconsecrated, and when one is consecrated and one is not?
Chullin baChutz: if both animals were unconsecrated and both were slaughtered outside the courtyard, in the normal place where they’re supposed to be slaughtered, this is a regular case of Oto Ve'et Beno. Sheneihem Kesherim: both are fit to be eaten. HaSheni Sofeg et ha'Arba'im: the second slaughterer, the person who kills the second one of the set, receives Malkut; they receive 40 lashes for the violation of Oto Ve'et Beno.
Kodashim baChutz: if both were consecrated and both were slaughtered outside the courtyard of the Beit HaMikdash, where you’re not allowed to slaughter consecrated animals—they’re only allowed to be slaughtered inside the courtyard of the Beit HaMikdash—HaRishon Chayav Karet: the first slaughterer is liable for Karet for slaughtering a consecrated animal outside the courtyard of the Beit HaMikdash. Sheneihem Pesulim: both animals are unfit for any purpose; you’re not allowed to use them for Korbanot (offerings), because they were slaughtered in the wrong space. Sheneihem Sofegin et ha'Arba'im: both of these slaughterers receive Malkut Arba'im; they both receive lashes, the first one for slaughtering a consecrated animal outside the courtyard, and the second one for violating Oto Ve'et Beno.
So the first person who slaughtered is receiving Karet for offering a Korban in the wrong space. It should have been inside the courtyard of the Beit HaMikdash, because you’re dealing with something sacred, and it was offered outside the Beit HaMikdash. So he gets Karet for that, and he also gets Malkut for that same idea, the same Isur, of slaughtering a consecrated animal outside the Beit HaMikdash. The second person only receives Malkut for the violation of Oto Ve'et Beno. Even though the animal here was consecrated and was slaughtered in the wrong space, theoretically he should also receive Karet, and he should possibly receive a second Malkut, because he violated the idea of the Korban.
So we answer over here: since the first Korban was already slaughtered—for example, the mother—and then the son was slaughtered later, the Korban becomes invalid to be offered anyway. It cannot be slaughtered in the courtyard of the Beit HaMikdash because that would be a violation of Oto Ve'et Beno. Therefore, once that first slaughter happens, the second animal becomes Pesul; it becomes not a valid Korban. Therefore, for slaughtering it outside the Beit HaMikdash, the person would not receive Karet or Malkut.
Third case: Chullin bifnim. If both animals were unconsecrated and he slaughtered them inside the courtyard, he is not allowed to slaughter an unconsecrated animal inside the courtyard of the Beit HaMikdash. Sheneihem Pesulim: both of them are unfit for any purpose, and you’re not allowed to benefit from them. The second one receives Malkut for transgressing the law of Oto Ve'et Beno. We said when we started that somebody who slaughters an unconsecrated animal in the courtyard of the Beit HaMikdash would not receive Malkut, but he is not allowed to benefit from the animal. So we say they’re Pesulim, not allowed to benefit from them, and only the second one receives Malkut. But he only receives it for that sin, not for bringing a Korban in the wrong spot.
Last case of the Mishnah: if both animals were consecrated and they were slaughtered inside the Temple courtyard, where they were supposed to be, the first animal is fit to be offered as a Korban, and its slaughterer is not liable for any punishment, since he didn’t do anything wrong when he slaughtered that first Korban. He’s doing what he’s supposed to do. It’s a sacred item. He’s slaughtering it in the right spot in the Beit HaMikdash on Har HaBayit, and he doesn’t know about or isn’t involved in the second slaughter that’s about to happen, so he didn’t do anything wrong. The second slaughterer receives Malkut Arba'im for violating Oto Ve'et Beno, and the second animal is also unfit for any purpose. He cannot use it as a Korban because it was be'isur (in a prohibited state). It wasn't allowed to be slaughtered because, for example, its mother was slaughtered earlier in the day.