Bechorot 15: A Ba'al Mum and a Mum

Unlike yesterday's discussion of ba'al mum, an animal with a permanent blemish that forbade it being a sacrifice, an animal with a mum, a permanent blemish developed after consecration.  Once an animal has been consecrated it cannot lose some status of holiness. 

The barite on today's daf that discusses this point leaves us with with a number of types of animals and a general principal applying to each.

• a ba'al mum  before being consecrated: they are like non-sacred animals in all matters.  They have only the mitzvah of valuing them for their redemption
• a ba'al mum only after being consecrated as a sacrifice: they are like consecrated animals in all matters; we have only permission to eat them

We understand that the difference between these two cases is the type of sanctification: did it become sanctified with kedushat haguf, intrinsic holiness.  A ba'al mum cannot rise to the altar, and thus it can only receive external holiness.  In other words, its holiness is in its monetary value.  

We learn that a perfect animal that was consecrated for the purpose of sacrifice receives inherent kedusha: its body is holy.  Even if it cannot be brought to the altar and must be redeemed it can never become an ordinary animal.  An example: shearing an animal for its wool is forbidden only in the case of an animal that is intrinsically holy.  An animal whose kedusha is only monetarily holy can be sheared or made to work as long as the proceedings go to the Temple.