The Torah states that if blood from a sin offering is sprayed on a garment, that garment must be laundered in a sacred place, which is the Temple courtyard. In this chapter it is explained that the requirement of laundering applies only to a garment onto which the blood of a sin offering was sprayed, not the blood of another offering. Even though the Torah mentions this requirement of laundering explicitly only with regard to those sin offerings that are eaten, which are the external sin offerings, the Sages derived from certain verses that the requirement applies to all sin offerings, including the internal sin offerings, which are not eaten. Nevertheless, there is a requirement of laundering only with regard to the blood of those sin offerings that are subject to be slaughtered, excluding the blood of bird sin offerings, which are killed by pinching rather than slaughtering. Also, even among the sin offerings that are slaughtered, the requirement of laundering applies only to those fit for sacrifice, but not to those which have been disqualified, whether they have become disqualified before or after their blood has been collected in a service vessel for sprinkling on the altar. The Torah states in a general way that blood of a sin offering must be washed out of the garment onto which it sprayed, without specifying that this is so only at a particular juncture of the sacrificial process. The Sages derived that, in order for the requirement of laundering the garment to take effect, the blood must have already been collected in a service vessel for the purpose of sprinkling, and the blood must be fit for sprinkling. Therefore, if blood sprayed on a garment directly from the neck of the animal, or if the blood has already reached the altar, then the garment does not require laundering. Similarly, if the amount of blood in the service vessel is less than the minimum quantity necessary for sprinkling, if it sprays on a garment, the garment does not require laundering. In this chapter, the Gemara also deliberated as to the definition of the term garment, and the Gemara concludes that, for the purpose of these halakhot, the category of garment includes not only an item fashioned of wool or linen, but also an item made of sackcloth or hide. With regard to hide, there is a dispute among the Sages as to whether it is considered a garment as soon as it is detached from the animal, or only after it has been processed enough to become susceptible to ritual impurity in its current state. In any case, this definition of a garment includes only items fit for laundering, i.e., a cleansing process that expels absorbed dirt. Therefore, a wooden vessel, which is not fit for laundering, is not included in this definition. Laundering a garment upon which the blood of a sin offering has sprayed requires the application of the seven abrasive substances used as laundering agents, and the garment must be rubbed three times with each of those substances. Only the spot in which the blood was absorbed, and not the entire garment, must be laundered. The Torah states that if the meat of a sin offering was cooked in an earthenware vessel that cannot expel all that it has absorbed, the vessel must be broken. If the meat was cooked in a copper vessel, the vessel must be scoured and rinsed. In addition, pouring a hot substance into a pot is considered the same as cooking in that pot. With regard to scouring and rinsing, the following principles apply: Scouring is performed with hot water and rinsing with cold water. No liquid other than water, not even wine diluted in water, may be used for scouring and rinsing. Unlike laundering a garment, scouring and rinsing must be performed for the entire vessel even if the matter was absorbed in only part of the vessel. In this chapter, the Gemara also examined complex situations, such as those in which sacrificial meat is cooked together with non-sacred meat, or meat of a sin offering is cooked with meat of a peace offering. In certain cases, the vessel in which the mixture is cooked must be broken, such as if the vessel is made of earthenware, or it must be scoured and rinsed, if it is of copper. Ultimately, the halakha for the vessels, and for the food cooked within them, depends on various factors, including whether the components of the most stringent substances are present in sufficient quantity to impart some flavor. The Gemara also concluded that scouring and rinsing must be performed for all metal vessels in which any sacrificial meat is cooked, not just the meat of a sin offering. With regard to the breaking of earthenware vessels, the majority of the commentaries hold that it is required only after cooking the meat of a sin offering. Although the Torah specifies that the procedure must be done in a sacred place only with regard to laundering garments upon which the blood of a sin offering has sprayed, the Sages derived that the breaking of earthenware vessels and the scouring and rinsing of metal vessels are also performed in that place. In addition, the specified place is identified as the Temple courtyard. Several circumstances may complicate matters with regard to those garments or vessels that must be treated in the Temple courtyard. If the relevant garments or vessels have been removed from the courtyard, they can simply be brought back into the courtyard to be handled in the appropriate manner. If they have been rendered ritually impure while outside of the courtyard, they must first be rendered defective in a way that cancels their ritual impurity. Only then may they be brought back into the Temple courtyard for the appropriate treatments.

As is the sin offering, so is the guilt offering; there is one law for them; the priest that effects atonement with it, he shall have it to himself. 
(Leviticus 7:7)


And of it he shall present one out of each offering for a gift unto the Lord; it shall be the priest’s that sprinkles the blood of the peace offering against the altar.
(Leviticus 7:14)


And Aaron spoke unto Moses: Behold, today have they sacrificed their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, and there have befallen me such things as these; and if I had consumed the sin offering today, would it have been good in the eyes of the Lord?
(Leviticus 10:19)


And the bull of the sin offering, and the goat of the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Sanctuary, they shall be carried forth outside the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their hides, and their flesh, and their dung. And he who burns them shall wash his garments, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he may come into the camp.
(Leviticus 16:27–28)


This chapter addresses two main topics: The portions of offerings that priests acquire, and the halakhot of sin offerings of bulls and goats that are burned, of which the priests have no portion.
For almost all offerings, the priests receive a portion of meat, which they and their families may consume. On the one hand, the Torah grants the priest who sacrifices an offering the right to the priestly portion. On the other hand, it is agreed that all the priests of the patrilineal family serving in the Temple that day receive a share in the portions of that day’s offerings. This chapter attempts to resolve this tension by discussing which priests have a right to receive a share of sacrificial meat. Do priests who may not serve at the time of the offering due to various disqualifications receive a share? For this purpose, does the halakha distinguish between a permanent disqualification, e.g., a blemish, and a temporary one, such as ritual impurity or acute mourning? Does a priest’s right to a share of the meat depend on his being fit to partake of it at the time, or may he receive a share at that time that he will be able to partake of only later, e.g., when he will become pure? These discussions lead to a lengthy analysis of the disqualifications of priests, both from serving in the Temple and from partaking of sacrificial meat. This analysis deals mainly with the various principles of acute mourning for priests, by both Torah law and rabbinic law.
Just as a priest who sacrifices an offering has a right to those portions that are eaten, the Torah also states that he has a right to the hide of a burnt offering. This principle raises several questions, e.g., whether it applies only to burnt offerings, or to other offerings as well. The Gemara also examines the relationship between a priest’s right to the meat, the consumption of which is part of an offering’s mitzva, and his right to the hide, which becomes his personal property. If an offering is disqualified and its flesh cannot be burned on the altar, do the priests still have a right to the hide?
The second part of the chapter discusses offerings from which the priests receive neither meat nor hide, namely, those sin offerings whose blood is sprinkled on the inner altar. These sin offerings are known as bulls and goats that are burned, 
because the Torah states that their flesh and hides must be burned “outside the 
camp.” Various questions arise in this context, e.g., what is considered to be outside the camp, and whether the word camp refers to the camp of the Tabernacle or the camp of the Israelites. As well, the Gemara must determine if there is a designated place for the burning of these offerings, and what happens if they are disqualified.
The Torah also states that the priests who burn these sin offerings render their garments ritually impure. The Gemara discusses questions that follow from this principle: From what point do the sin offerings cause impurity, and at what point 
do they no longer cause impurity? Is the priest who burns the offering the only 
one who renders his garments impure, or do other priests who are involved with sacrificing the offering render their garments impure as well? The details of this impurity are the primary subject of the second part of the chapter.