Gender and תמימות (Wholeness) in Korbanot

Notes and Analysis

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I. Rambam – Species, Gender, and Age Requirements

Hilkhot Ma’aseh HaKorbanot, Chapter 1:

• Halacha 8:
  • Olah (burnt offering):
    • Only from male בהמה (domesticated animals)—sheep, goats, cattle—of any age group (young or old).
    • Birds (turtledoves, young pigeons) – both male and female are acceptable.
    • Chiddush: Rambam uses the category “בהמה” here, grouping species, which is rare for him elsewhere.
• Halacha 9:
  • Chatat (sin offering):
    • From all five species (sheep, goats, cattle, birds), both males and females, young and old.
• Halacha 10:
  • Asham (guilt offering):
    • Only from male sheep (rams), both young and old, depending on the specific asham.
• Halacha 11:
  • Shelamim (peace offering):
    • From sheep, goats, cattle—both male and female, young and old.
    • Birds are not brought for shelamim.
    • Defines “young” as from the 8th day until a full year (for sheep/goats), or up to 3 years for cattle.
    • Older animals (beyond this) are considered “old” and not eligible.

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II. Aruch Hashulchan HaAtid – Summarizing and Detailing

Siman 63, Various Sifim:

• Sif 13:
  • Olah: Only from male beheimot, as per explicit pesukim (“זכר תמים יקריבנו”).
  • Olah can be from sheep, goats, cattle, young or old (from day 8 and up).
  • Bird Olah: No gender distinction—based on “תמות וזכרות בבהמה ואין תמות וזכרות בעופות” (Temurah 14b); Torah doesn’t mention “זכר תמים” for birds.
• Sif 14:
  • Chatat:
    • From five species, young/old, male/female.
    • Most individual chatat offerings are female (as per pesukim), but some (e.g., certain leaders, High Priest) are male.
    • Communal chatat offerings (e.g., musafim, par he’elem davar, etc.) are always male.
• Sif 15:
  • Asham:
    • Always from male sheep, as per Torah.
    • Some ashamot require rams (older), others (e.g., nazir, metzora) require younger sheep.
• Shelamim:
  • From any gender (male or female), any age, but only from beheimot—not birds, not asham.
  • Derived from pesukim and Sifra: “ואם מן העוף עולה קרבנו” excludes shelamim and asham from birds.
  • Aruch Hashulchan notes that pesukim often use “קרבנו,” which he elsewhere limits to individual korbanot, but here he doesn’t distinguish gender requirements between individual and communal korbanot—this requires further analysis (צריך עיון).

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III. Key Points and Open Questions

• Gender requirements:
  • Olah—only male animals (beheimot), but birds: both genders.
  • Chatat—mostly female for individuals, male for certain leaders and communal offerings.
  • Asham—always male sheep.
  • Shelamim—either gender, but only beheimot.
• Bird korbanot:
  • Gender is not a halachic requirement; this distinction is unique to beheimot.
• Species groupings:
  • Rambam’s unusual use of “בהמה” as a halachic category.
• Communal vs. individual offerings:
  • Aruch Hashulchan’s approach to pesukim mentioning “קרבנו” (typically a term for individual korbanot) but not distinguishing gender requirements for communal vs. individual korbanot—needs deeper investigation.

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IV. Sources

1. Rambam Hilkhot Ma’aseh HaKorbanot 1:8–11
2. Aruch Hashulchan HaAtid, Hilkhot Ma’aseh HaKorbanot 63:13–15
3. Temurah 14b (re: gender only applies to beheimot, not birds)
4. Relevant Pesukim:
   • “זכר תמים יקריבנו” (repeated in Vayikra re: Olah)
   • “קרבנו” in various korban contexts

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V. Summary Table: Gender and תמימות in Major Korbanot

Korban	Species	Gender Requirement	Age Requirement	Communal/Individual Distinction
Olah	Beheimot	Males only	Young/old (bounds)	“קרבנו” (individual), but communal not explicit
Olah	Birds	Both genders	Not specified
Chatat	All (5 species)	Mostly females	Young/old	Communal: males; Individual: mostly females
Asham	Male sheep only	Males only	Young (some), old (some)
Shelamim	Beheimot	Both	Young/old (bounds)	Not from birds; “קרבנו” used but not distinguished

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VI. Open Issue for Investigation

• Does the term “קרבנו” in the pesukim always mean individual offerings? If so, why does Aruch Hashulchan not distinguish gender requirements for communal vs. individual korbanot?

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