daf bit: Zevachim 75

[cellio]

The current chapter of this tractate is talking about cases where offerings get mixed up, so the kohanim (priests) don't know which one was for which purpose. How you handle it depends on what was mixed up. The mishna here talks about a guilt-offering being mixed up with a peace-offering, and says that they are both handled in accordance with the more stringent law. In particular, while you have two days to eat a peace-offering, if they get mixed up like this then you have only the one day that you would have for a guilt-offering, and only the kohanim can eat it. Also, guilt-offerings have to be slaughtered in a particular place (the north side of the altar) but peace-offerings are more flexible; if they get mixed up then they both have to be slaughtered in the place for guilt-offerings. (75b)

The reason -- or at least a reason -- this matters is that once you designate something for a specific holy purpose, you can't change it. (This is true of offerings, tithes, donations, ritual objects...) So one of those animals was designated as a peace-offering and one was designated as a guilt-offering, and you can't just say "whichever one we treat as the guilt-offering is it". Therefore, they treat both in a way that complies with the stricter rules. Fortunately the rules are not in conflict; one is a proper subset of the other.

I don't know who pays for the loss if the person bringing it had other plans for that peace-offering, which he probably did.

Today's daf is 76.