Hello chevra and welcome back to our mishnayos series on the period of time between Purim and Pesach. So we just finished the series on Rosh Chodesh Nissan and now we are moving on to the next date which is the seventh of Nissan, Zayin Nissan. This is approximately one week before Pesach and it finds itself mentioned in one mishna, rather indirectly but it is implied by the mishna and so we will learn this mishna together. So to set up our mishna, our mishna can be found in masechtas Parah פרק א משנה ד. So the mishna there is discussing the age at which you are allowed to bring different types of korbanos. The Torah says, the Torah says in Parshas Emor in פרק כב פסוק כז, the Torah tells us that when an animal is born for the first seven days it should remain with its mother and only from the eighth day and on should you shecht it, can you shecht it as a korban. So our mishna taking the pasuk into account is going to divide the world of korbanos between those korbanos that can be brought starting on the eighth day and those korbanos for which it is better to wait at least until the thirtieth day to bring it as a korban. And the basic breakdown in the mishna is as follows. There are different types of korbanos. There are korbanos that one is obligated to bring. Someone does an aveira, he has to bring a korban chatas, a korban asham. The Beis HaMikdash, the tzibur, the Klal Yisrael has to bring certain korbanos like the tamid every morning and every afternoon, the korban musafs on Shabbos and Yom Tov and Rosh Chodesh. And so those are what we would call obligatory or korbanos that one must bring. And then there are korbanos that a person is allowed to bring or can bring. So he may promise a korban olah. An olah is a type of korban where you burn the entire thing on the mizbeiach. There are korban shelamim. Shelamim, you bring an animal to the Beis HaMikdash, you bring it as a korban but you're allowed to eat from it. And then there are three subsets of shelamim. There is a korban bechor. A bechor is the firstborn animal. A firstborn kosher animal is given to the Kohen and the Kohen has to bring it as a korban. Then there is as we've spoken about before maaser behema. Every tenth animal it belongs to the owner but he has to bring it to Yerushalayim as a korban. And then of course there's the korban Pesach which again is obligatory, one has to bring it. But on the other hand it's a personal korban. It also has certain elements of being a korban tzibur. But for this part it's a korban yachid, it's a personal korban and one that has to be brought but that is also in the category of the eight days. So we will now see the mishna and see how the mishna breaks these down. And the reason why this is important is because like we said the korban Pesach can be brought on the eighth day. So if you bring the korban Pesach on the fourteenth of Nissan, that means the latest that the animal can be born is on Zayin Nissan, meaning it's Zayin, Ches, Tes, Yud, Yud Aleph, Yud Beis, Yud Gimmel, and Yud Dalet, the eighth day would be Erev Pesach and then you could bring it. So today would be the final day on which the seventh of Nissan would be the final day on which a little sheep or goat can be born and then still be used for the korban Pesach. So let us see the mishna inside. The mishna begins chatas hatzibur. A public chatas offering, which sometimes the Klal Yisrael or a segment of Klal Yisrael or a large part of Klal Yisrael will do an aveira and they have to bring a collective korban chatas. So a chatas brought by the tzibur veolosayhen and also by the way certain korban musafs are chatases as well, as well, so that would be part of that. Veolosayhen and the korban olahs that are brought by the tzibur like we said the korban tamids. Chatas hayachid, a chatas brought by a person who does an aveira. Asham nazir and someone who is a nazir under certain circumstances he brings an asham as well when he finishes his nezirus. Asham metzora and also a metzora who is tamei when during his purification cycle he also brings an asham as well. So all of those כשירים מיום שלשים והלאה. All of them are kasher to bring, are preferred to be brought starting when they are thirty days old. Veaf beyom shloshim but even on the thirtieth day one can use them as one of these korbanos. So the Beis HaMikdash itself would raise their animals and make sure they bought animals that were at least thirty days old. However ואם הקריבום מיום שמיני כשירים and if you did slaughter them starting from the eighth day they are kasher because the Torah says that you can start using them from the eighth day. However, to be because, you know, such young animals are not as fat and they're not as, you know, plump and worthy for a Karbon, so the Beis Hamikdash would like to use better animals. However, the Mishna continues, Nedarim uNedavos, if I promise an animal to the Beis Hamikdash, whether a Karbon Olah or a Karbon Shelamim, and then HaBechor, the firstborn, vHaMaaser, the Maaser Beheima, vHaPesach, and the Karbon Pesach, כשרים מיום השמיני והלאה, they are kosher to be used starting from their eighth day on this world, v'af b'yom hashemini, even on the eighth day. And therefore, there are a number of reasons for that, but the basic point here is that that would mean that the Zayin Nissan would be the last day for the animal to be brought if you want to use it for the Karbon Pesach. Separately, which is not mentioned in the Mishna, however, there is another reason why Zayin Nissan is an important day because that also, especially according to the Rambam in Hilchos Karbon Pesach, in order if someone becomes tamei meis, if someone, you know, touches a meis or is in the same room as, or ohel as a dead body, he becomes tamei for seven days and he needs to be sprinkled with the parah adumah water, the mei chatas as it is called, and that would have to be on the third day and the seventh day. And therefore, the seventh of Nissan would be the last day somebody could become tamei so that on the tes of Nissan and yud gimmel of Nissan he could be sprinkled with the waters of the parah adumah and become tahar in order to bring the Karbon Pesach. So while not explicitly in the Mishna, Zayin Nissan does have another date which is the date by which you have to stop becoming tamei meis ahead of bring your Karbon Pesach. Have a wonderful day.