4,072. Only the Actual Item Is Prohibited

Hilchos Issurei Mizbeiach 4:14

Only the actual item given as the wages of prostitution or in exchange for a dog is prohibited. Accordingly, the prohibition only applies to things that might be brought on the altar. This includes such things as kosher animal, pigeons, doves, wine, oil and flour. If a man paid a prostitute with cash and she used it to buy a sacrifice, it is acceptable.

Hilchos Issurei Mizbeiach 4:15

If the man paid her with grain and she made it into flour, or he gave her olives which she made into oil, or grapes which she made into wine, these things are acceptable because they have been changed. If he paid her with a consecrated animal, it is not rendered prohibited for the altar (because it’s not his to give her). Even if he paid her by giving her a share in his korban Pesach or korban chagigah (Passover offering and holiday offering, respectively), those offerings are not rendered prohibited because the Temple acquired them first, when they were consecrated. Similarly, if a man paid a prostitute with something that doesn’t belong to him, he doesn’t cause it to be prohibited unless the rightful owner gives up hope of getting it back (because one can’t render someone else’s property prohibited). However, if he paid her with birds, they are prohibited as the wages of prostitution even if they were already consecrated. This is the subject of an oral tradition.

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