Karetot 24: Two Cases: When Animals Have Been Set Aside Without Need

Daf 23 of Massekhet Karetot introduced our final perek.  It began with a new Mishna regarding the conflicted views on a korban taluey, a provisional offering, this time one brought by one who does not know whether or not he has sinned.  The focus in our Gemara is on one who puts aside an animal for this sacrifice and then learns that s/he has not sinned after all.

Rabbi Meir ruled that that the sacrifice had been brought in error and this the animal can be returned to its herd without its redemption.  The Sages say that we treat these animals like any other sacrifice which cannot be brought.  That is, we leave it alone until it develops a blemish that stops it from being qualified for sacrifice.  It is then redeemed and the money earned is given to the Temple to use for a different sacrifice.  

Today is not filled with argument but with agreement/ we are told about a number of cases where Rabbi Meir and the Sages accept each others' rulings.  Rabbi Meir agrees that the sacrifice will continue to be holy after animals have been set aside.  Rabbi Yehuda says that the Sages agree that the animals can be returned without redemption as long as there were not two witnesses lying in their testimony about the the asham taluey.  

The Gemara argues that in the first case, obviously the person feels guilty.  Thus even if the sacrifice is not necessary, the sanctity remains.  In the second case, the individual was not aware of a transgression and relied on the testimony of others, and thus the sanctification was not wholeheartedly embraced - their testimony might have been wrong.  Thus at the time that we know that the sacrifice was unnecessary, we also learn that it was not truly sanctified from the start.