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Chagigah Chapter 1, Mishnah 2: The Value of the Korbanos

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Chagigah, Chapter 1, Mishnah 2. This mishnah deals with the two offerings a person is obligated to bring when he comes up to the Beis HaMikdash:

  • Olas re'iyah - a burnt offering, which is burned entirely on the altar and none of which is eaten at all.

  • Shalmei chagigah - a peace offering, most of which is eaten by the owner who brings it, with portions of it eaten by the kohanim as well.

The mishnah discusses how much money a person must spend on each of these offerings, and here Beis Shammai and Beis Hillel disagree: on which of the offerings must one spend the larger sum?

The view of Beis Shammai:

"Beis Shammai omrim: ha're'iyah shtei kesef, ve'hachagigah ma'ah kesef" - on the olas re'iyah, which is burned in its entirety, one must spend two silver, that is, two ma'ah of silver (a ma'ah is a sixth of a dinar); whereas on the chagigah offering, which is a peace offering and is eaten, he spends only one ma'ah - half the amount.

In the opinion of Beis Shammai, the burnt offering is the one on which it is fitting to spend more, since it is given over entirely to Heaven; whereas the chagigah offering, which serves more for a person's own personal use, does not warrant spending quite so much.

The view of Beis Hillel:

"U'Beis Hillel omrim: re'iyah ma'ah kesef, va'chagigah shtei kesef" - Beis Hillel say precisely the opposite: on the re'iyah offering, which is burned entirely and offered up completely to the Holy One, blessed is He, one spends only one ma'ah of silver; whereas on the chagigah one spends two silver.

And the reason for this: the chagigah offering provides benefit to several parties -

  • To Heaven - part of it is burned on the altar, as it were, for the Holy One, blessed is He.

  • To the kohanim - a portion is given to them.

  • To the owners - a portion is eaten by them.

For this reason the chagigah offering needs to be of greater value.

In summary: Beis Shammai and Beis Hillel disagree about how much must be spent on the two offerings of the pilgrimage festival. Beis Shammai require two silver for the olas re'iyah and a ma'ah of silver for the chagigah, since the burnt offering goes entirely to Heaven; and Beis Hillel require a ma'ah of silver for the re'iyah and two silver for the chagigah, since in the chagigah the altar, the kohanim and the owners all have a share.