Rashi holds the following two principles on which his explanation is based:

1. When a person brings a kain for a neder and a kain for a chova in one group, the first Olah that is brought applies to the chov. (Also, if by mistake more than one Chatos was brought, the first one applies to the chov.)

2. When a kain is brought as a neder, both Olos must be of the same species, as is the case with regard to the Olah and Chatos of a chov.

Expanded Translation

A woman who said "I vow to bring a pair of birds if I give birth to a son," if she gave birth to a son, provides two pair of birds, one for her vow and one for her obligation. She gave them to the Kohain. The Kohain must bring three birds at the upper part of the Mizbayach as Olos and one bird at the lower part as a Chatos. He did not do so, rather, he brought two birds at the upper part and two birds at the lower part, for he did not consult. She must provide another bird. He should bring it at the upper part. This applies if she gave one species to the Kohain.

Case of the Mishna

A woman made a neder to bring two voluntary Olos when she gives birth, aside from the two birds (Olah and Chatos) which the Torah obligates her to bring. After giving birth she gave four birds of the same species to the Kohain. The Kohain mistakenly thought they were all chovos and brought two as Chato'os and two as Olos.

Result

The woman has fulfilled her chov with the first Chatos and Olah brought. She satisfied one of her obligations of the two birds of her neder with the second Olah. She has not brought her second Olas neder, because one bird which should have been brought as an Olah was brought as a Chatos.

Din

The woman brings one more Olah (of the same species she originally brought). This obligation is a certainty, not a sofaik. [Diagram 39]

Expanded Translation

Case of the Mishna

As above, a woman made a neder to bring two extra Olos when she gives birth. After giving birth she brought four birds to the Kohain. However, in this case two were torim and two were bnai yonah. The Kohain, thinking they were both chovos, brought the torim as a Chatos and an Olah and the bnai yonah as a Chatos and an Olah. He does not remember which species he brought first.

Result

The woman successfully brought the Chatos and Olah of her chov with whichever pair of birds was brought first. She also brought one of her Olos of neder. She is obligated to bring both Olos neder from the same species, but she does not know which species her first Olas neder was.

Din

The woman brings two more Olos, one a tor and one a ben yonah. That she must bring another Olah is a certainty, but each of these two individually is a sofaik. [Diagram 40]

Reason

If she brings only one Olah it might not match the Olah she already brought. She can be sure her two Olos neder will match only if she brings both a tor and ben yonah.

Expanded Translation

If she specified the species of the birds of her vow she must provide three more birds, if all four birds she gave were of the same species.

Case of the Mishna

A woman made a neder to bring a pair of Olos of a specific species when she gives birth, aside from her chov. After giving birth she brought four birds of the same species, let us say torim, to the Kohain. The Kohain mistakenly brought them as two Chato'os and two Olos, as if they were two pair of chovos. Then the woman realized that she might have originally specified bnai yonah as the species of her neder. Thus, the torim she gave the Kohain would not have fulfilled her neder even if they had been brought properly.

Result

The woman successfully brought her Chatos and Olah of chov. If she originally specified torim for her neder, she brought one Olah of her neder. If she originally specified bnai yonah, she did not fulfill any of her neder.

Din

The woman brings one tor as an Olah, in case she specified torim and thus already brought one of her nedarim. She also brings two bnai yonah as Olos in case she originally specified bnai yonah as her neder. [Diagram 41]

Expanded Translation

If the four birds she gave were of two species, she must now provide four.

Case of the Mishna

As above, the woman stated that she will bring two birds of a certain species as a neder upon giving birth. After giving birth she brought two torim and two bnai yonah to the Kohain. The Kohain brought each species as a Chatos and an Olah. The woman does not recall which species she specified to bring as her neder.

Result

Either the Kohain brought the torim first and the bnai yonah second, or the bnai yonah first and the torim second. Whichever pair was brought first satisfied her chov. Of the pair brought second, the Chatos is possul, because she has no further requirement to bring a Chatos. The Olah of the pair brought second fulfills part of her neder, if it is the species she specified in her neder.

Din

She brings an additional two torim and two bnai yonah as Olos.

Reason

She must bring two more torim in case her neder specified torim and the pair brought second was bnai yonah. She must bring two more bnai yonah in case her neder specified bnai yonah and the pair brought second was torim. [Diagram 42]

Text © 1997 Rabbi Menachem Moshe Oppen and Project Genesis, Inc.

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