דברים, פרק ט״ו, פסוק כ״ב

When a designated holy animal, such as a firstborn, sustains a physical blemish, it can no longer be offered on God's altar. This physical defect fundamentally alters the animal's status, releasing it from the strict purity laws of the Temple and transforming it into food permitted for everyday consumption. The primary approach among commentators is that the permission to eat this meat anywhere outside the Temple is directed specifically at the priest [אבן עזרא, רבנו בחיי, חזקוני]. However, other scholars expand this allowance. They maintain that once the animal is blemished, an ordinary Israelite may also consume it, meaning the priest is entirely free to invite non-priests to share in his meal [תורה תמימה, ביאור יש״ר].

This new status introduces a highly unusual exemption regarding ritual purity. Typically, eating holy meat while in a state of impurity carries a severe divine penalty. Yet in this specific case, there is an explicit, direct allowance that anyone, whether pure or impure, may partake [אבן עזרא, רבנו בחיי]. Practically, this means a pure person and an impure person can eat together from the exact same bowl. The pure individual need not worry about accidentally consuming food that became impure through their companion's touch. This leniency is entirely unique to this specific meat and does not apply to other sacred foods, such as agricultural offerings, where eating from an impure mixture remains a strict violation [תורה תמימה, רלב״ג]. Because the blemished animal has lost its sacred status, it is treated exactly like ordinary meat, making it permissible even for women in a state of ritual impurity [העמק דבר, ביאור יש״ר, תורה תמימה].

To fully illustrate this dramatic shift in status, the meat is compared to wild animals like the gazelle and the deer. Just as these wild creatures are inherently unfit for the altar and are entirely free from the laws of holiness, the blemished firstborn animal may be eaten freely and without restriction [ביאור יש״ר, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Furthermore, because the meat of wild animals is naturally shared without religious restriction, this comparison teaches that one may even invite non-Jews to join in eating the meal [תורה תמימה].