Commentary for Berakhot 3:5
הקטר חלבים ואברים מצותן עד שיעלה עמוד השחר וכל הנאכלים ליום אחד מצותן עד שיעלה עמוד השחר אם כן למה אמרו חכמים עד חצות כדי להרחיק אדם מן העבירה:
[For example:] Burning the fats and organs [of the sacrifices, on the Temple altar] — this precept [can be performed] until the break of dawn. [Another example:] All [sacrifices] which may be eaten for one day — the precept [of eating them can be performed] until the break of dawn. "If so, why did the Sages say [that these precepts can be performed only] until midnight? To keep a person away from sinning."
Abraham Cohen Footnotes to the English Translation of Masechet Berakhot
Cf. Leviticus vi. and vii.
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Abraham Cohen Footnotes to the English Translation of Masechet Berakhot
Cf. ibid. vii. 15 ff.
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Reshimot Shiurim on Berakhot
See Rashi there, D''H K'dei L'harchik: "And they forbade eating before the time, in order that one should not come to eat them after Amud Hashachar and would be subject [to the punishment of] kareis, and so too by Kriyat Shema, [in order to] motivate a person so he should not say "I still have some time [to say Kriyat Shema], and all the while, Amud Hashachar [came and passed], and he missed the proper time. And the [sacrificial] fats were offered up, as it was taught, "the Sages
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Rashi on Berakhot
The Burning of the fats and limbs - Of the sacrifices that their blood is sprinkled during the day.
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Rashi on Berakhot
Their commandment - is to be brought the entire night and they do not become invalidated through "sleeping" until the morning star rises
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Rashi on Berakhot
Fats - of all (types) of sacrifices
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Rashi on Berakhot
Limbs - of a burnt offering
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Rashi on Berakhot
And all (offerings) which must be eaten that same day - for example sin offerings and guilt offerings and the lambs of atzeres and meal offerings and thanksgiving offerings
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Rashi on Berakhot
Their commandment - ie the allotted time for their being eaten
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Rashi on Berakhot
Until Dawn - And this is what brings them to become Nossar (leftover) as it says with the Todah Sacrifice "A person should not leave anything over until morning" and all of this is learnt from the Todah sacrifice.
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Rashi on Berakhot
If so why did the sages say until midnight - This is regarding Kerias Shema and eating Kodshim.
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Rashi on Berakhot
In order to distance a man from sin - And they are forbidden to eat before their time, in order that they should not come to eat them after dawn and therefore he would be liable to Kores. Similarly with reading the Shema, this is to encourage a person, so that he should not say "I still have time" and in the meantime it will get dawn and he would have missed the time. The offering of the fats that we learn here the sages did not say until midnight at all, and we did not learn here only to teach us that anything that is applied to at night is valid the entire night. Here also we learnt in a mishnah in the second chapter of Megillah. "The whole night is valid for reaping the omer and to offer up the fats and the limbs".
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