The most essential part of a korban (offering) is the avodat hadam, the blood service, which contains four different parts. Number one is the shechita, the slaughtering of the animal, followed by number two, the kabbalah, the collecting of the blood in a bowl. Number three is the holacha, the walking of the blood to the Mizbeach (altar). And lastly, the zerika, the throwing of the blood onto the walls of the Mizbeach. A person has to make sure that all of these are done properly. If they are done improperly, the korban would not be valid, depending on the situation, but the korban essentially would not be okay.
We learned in Mishnah Aleph that a korban Pesach (Passover offering) or chatat (sin offering) that was slaughtered shelo lishma, for the sake of a different korban, would be invalid. Here, the Mishnah is going to tell us about the other parts of the avodat hadam, the blood service: What if they were also done for a different korban, or some were done for a different korban and some for the proper korban? What would happen with regard to the Pesach and the chatat?
The Mishnah says: If a person slaughtered a korban Pesach or korban chatat not for its own sake, but for the sake of a different korban, or received the blood in the bowl, or brought the blood—he walked it to the Mizbeach—or threw it on the Mizbeach, any of these parts not lishma, not for the right purpose, but for the purpose of a different korban, then we are talking about intention. Or, he did any of these avodot, any of these parts of the service, for its own sake, for the Pesach or the chatat, and then in the middle he switched to the sake of a different korban. Or he did the opposite: He began one of these components of the avodat hadam not for its own sake, but for the sake of another korban, and then midway he switched to its own sake, the sake of the Pesach or the chatat. In any of these cases, pesulim: the Pesach and the chatat are invalid, because one of the parts of these avodot was either completely or permanently, or partially, done for a different korban. What we are saying here is that the Pesach and the korban chatat have to be 100% lishma throughout the entire avodat hadam, from the shechita to the kabbalah to the holacha to the zerika, all for the sake of that korban.
What is an example of doing the avodat for the korban’s own sake and not for its own sake? What does that mean? The same Pesach or the same Pesach? The same Pesach or the same Pesach? The person began one part of the avodat for the sake of the korban Pesach—that is lishman—and then in the middle he finished it shelo lishman, for the sake of, for example, a shelamim (peace offering). For shelo lishman or lishman, what is an example of an avodat being done not for the korban’s own sake and then for its own sake? The same shelamim or the same Pesach? He began the avodat for the sake of the shelamim, and then finished that component of the avodat midway for the sake of a korban Pesach.
Because according to this opinion, a korban could become invalidated through any of the following four components of the avodat hadam being done with improper intention: the shechita, the slaughter; the kabbalah, the catching of the blood; the hiluch, the walking of the blood to the Mizbeach; and the zerika, the throwing of the blood onto the Mizbeach. These are done with improper intention and invalidate the korban. The next Tanna (Mishnaic sage) is going to disagree about one of them. Rabbi Shimon machshir behiluch: According to Rabbi Shimon, in the situation where the blood of the Mizbeach was walked to the Mizbeach with the improper intention, it is still considered valid. Shehaya Rabbi Shimon omer, because Rabbi Shimon used to say: i efshar shelo b'shechita, v'shelo b'kabbalah, v'shelo b'zerika. Rabbi Shimon said, “Offering a korban is an impossibility without slaughter, without the receiving of the blood, and without throwing the blood on the Mizbeach.” Aval efshar shelo b'hiluch, but it is a possibility to offer a korban without actually walking the blood to the Mizbeach. Shohet b'tzad haMizbeach v'zorek, because technically, a person—a Kohen (priest)—could slaughter right beside the Mizbeach and throw the blood directly from where he is standing onto the Mizbeach. So what do we see from here? The holacha, technically, bringing the blood to the Mizbeach, is not a necessary component that has to be done. Therefore, if it is done with improper intention, it cannot disqualify the korban, because there are possible situations where, if a Kohen was slaughtered right at the side of the Mizbeach, he would not even do a holacha. Therefore, the holacha is not essential, and if it is done improperly, with improper intention, it would not invalidate the korban. That is the opinion of Rabbi Shimon. That is the second opinion in the Mishnah.
The Hachamim (sages) would disagree with him, and the Hachamim would say no. The Torah tells us that the holacha has to specifically be done by B'nei Aharon, by a Kohen. And therefore, from the fact that it mandates that the holacha only be done by a Kohen, we see that it is an essential part of the service of blood, and therefore, the korban would be invalidated if that was not done properly.
A third opinion of the Mishnah: Rabbi Elazar says that if a Kohen was walking the blood in a place where he actually had to bring it in order to reach the Mizbeach, the improper intention at that time would invalidate the korban. But if he took a detour—for example, he walked in a place where it was not necessary for him to walk in order to get to the Mizbeach—then an improper intention would be invalidated. What Rabbi Elazar is basically saying is that if a person happened to be sacrificing right near the Mizbeach, and the walk to the Mizbeach would never happen, then if he walked anyway, that was an unnecessary walk. If he had an improper thought during that unnecessary walk, it would not invalidate the korban. But if he had to walk, if it was necessary for him to walk in order to get to the Mizbeach, because the throwing would not reach the Mizbeach from the spot where he actually did the shechita, then the walk is considered essential. An improper thought during that type of walk would invalidate the entire korban.