Speaking about the ox that is stolen and consecrated, the rabbis consider the serious implications of timing. Timing determines ownership, and ownership determines liability. The consecration could be decided before or after the animal was stolen. When does ownership actually transfer? And if the animal is consecrated, does it matter when the blood is sprinkled at the Altar?
When is the ox replaced? When is it replaced with four or fivefold payment? How does consecration change the halachic mandates?
It is particularly challenging to read the rabbis' expended conversations about animals that are stolen and consecrated. They suggest that their halachot only apply to the times of the Temple. Consecrated animals were sacrificed only when the Temple was standing. I understand that the rabbis need to establish what was done in the past to understand what to do should the Temple be rebuilt. However, their conversations do not further our understanding of how to manage similar legal situations today.
Thinking about this, though, all of the rabbis arguments teach us how to think. Whether or not the Temple is rebuilt, it is useful to understand the logical reasoning of this "what if".
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