For the source text click/tap here: Zevachim 28
To download, click/tap here: PDF
The primary biblical text states: "And if any of the flesh of his peace offerings be at all eaten on the third day, it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be credited to he who offers it; it shall be piggul, and the soul that eats of it shall bear his iniquity" (Leviticus 7:18).(33) A seemingly parallel verse appears in Leviticus 19:7: "And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is piggul; it shall not be accepted."
The rabbinic tradition understood these verses not as addressing literal consumption on the third day but as legal categories concerning priestly intention (machshavah) during sacrificial rites.(34) Two types of improper intent were distinguished:
Temporal intent: Intending to consume the offering beyond its designated time (chutz li-zemano)
Spatial intent: Intending to consume the offering outside its designated area (chutz li-mekomo)
We explore the hermeneutics of interpretation.