Gittin 55b
Bar Kamtza Plays a Trick
View Mode
Passage Content
The emperor went and sent with him a choice 3 year-old calf.
While bar Kamtza was coming with the calf to the Temple,
he made a blemish on the calf’s upper lip.
Or he made a blemish on its eyelids,
a place where according to us, i.e., halacha,
it is a blemish, but according to them,
gentile rules for their offerings, it is not a blemish.
Therefore, when bar Kamtza brought the animal
to the Temple, the priests would not sacrifice
it on the altar since it was blemished, but they
also could not explain this satisfactorily to the
gentile authorities, who did not consider it to be blemished.
While bar Kamtza was coming with the calf to the Temple,
he made a blemish on the calf’s upper lip.
Or he made a blemish on its eyelids,
a place where according to us, i.e., halacha,
it is a blemish, but according to them,
gentile rules for their offerings, it is not a blemish.
Therefore, when bar Kamtza brought the animal
to the Temple, the priests would not sacrifice
it on the altar since it was blemished, but they
also could not explain this satisfactorily to the
gentile authorities, who did not consider it to be blemished.