Mesorat%20hashas for Keritot 54:47

מטמא מקדש עשיר שהפריש קן

How is this? Thus if a man set apart [money] for a lamb or a goat and he became poor, he may bring with it a bird-offering; if he became still poorer he may bring the tenth of an ephah. If a man set apart [money] for the tenth of an ephah and he became rich, he must bring a bird-offering; if he became still richer he must bring a lamb or a goat. If a man set apart a lamb or a goat and they suffered a blemish, he may if he so wishes bring with their price a bird-offering; but if he set apart a bird-offering and it suffered a blemish he may not bring with its price the tenth of an ephah, since a bird-offering cannot be redeemed. Therefore Scripture states, 'From his sin-offering', and 'To his sin-offering'. And it is necessary for Scripture to state 'from his sin-offering' in connection with a lamb or a goat as well as in connection with a bird-offering. For if the expression had only been stated in connection with [money] set apart for a lamb or a goat, then I might have said that if he set apart [money] for a lamb or a goat and he became poor, [part] of that money may be applied<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The word used in the text is unusual and would seem to mean 'they shall be redeemed', thus implying that the entire money becomes non-holy except for the value of the bird-offering.');">²⁵</span> to a bird-offering, and he brings a bird-offering, since a lamb and a bird-offering are both blood offerings, but as for the tenth of an ephah, sinc it is not a blood offering, I might have said, had not the expression 'from his sin-offering' been stated in connection with the bird-offering, that if he set apart money for a pair of birds<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit. 'his nest'. The bird offering prescribed in the Torah always consists of two birds, a pair of turtle-doves or a pair of young pigeons, one for a sin-offering and the other for a burnt-offering.');">²⁶</span> and he became poor, he may not bring with it the tenth of an ephah, for it is not a blood offering, but he must bring the tenth of an ephah from his house, whilst that money which he had set apart shall fall to the fund for freewill-offerings. Therefore Scripture also stated 'from his sin-offering' in connection with the bird-offering to teach you that with [the money] dedicated to buy a bird-offering he may also bring the tenth of an ephah. And why is the expression 'to his sin-offering' stated in connection with the tenth of an ephah?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Emended text by Sh. Mek.');">²⁷</span> To teach you that if a man set apart money for the tenth of an ephah and before he brought the offering he became rich he must add [more money] to it and bring a bird-offering, and if he became still richer he must add [further money] to it and bring a lamb or a goat. And why is the expression 'to his sin-offering' stated in connection with the tenth of an ephah [and not in connection with the bird-offering]? If the expression 'to his sin-offering' were stated in connection with the bird-offering, I might have said that only if he had set apart money for a pair of birds and he became rich may he add [more money] to it and bring a lamb or a goat, since they are both blood offerings; but if he set apart money for the tenth of an ephah and he became rich, then if he did not become very rich he must bring [from his house] a bird-offering, and if he became very rich he must bring [from his house] a lamb or a goat, whilst that money which he had [originally] set apart shall fall to the fund for freewill-offerings. Therefore Scripture stated the expressions 'from his sin-offering' in connection with [the offering brought by a man] when rich and also in connection with [the offering brought by a man] when poor, and the expression 'to his sin-offering' in connection with [the offering brought by a man] when very poor to teach you [the expositions] as we have stated above.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The text of this entire passage is diffuse and hangs together loosely. The corrections of Sh. Mek. and Bah have been adopted generally.');">²⁸</span> R'Eleazar said in the name of R'Oshaia: If a rich man who defiled the Sanctuary<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e. he entered the Sanctuary or ate consecrated flesh whilst in a state of uncleanness. He is bound to bring a sin-offering for atonement; the offering, however, varies according to the financial circumstances of the sinner; v. Lev. V, 2ff.');">²⁹</span> had set apart a pair of birds

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