The Torah instructs in Parashat Emor (22:27) that a newborn animal becomes eligible to be offered as a sacrifice only on its eighth day. During the first seven days, it is to remain with its mother, and on the eighth it becomes suitable for use as a sacrifice. This verse introduces a prohibition which is formulated as an affirmative command (“Lav Ha’ba Mi’chlal Aseh”), as the Torah commands us to regard an animal suitable for a sacrifice from the eighth day, implying that an animal younger than eight days (called “Mehusar Zeman”) may not be offered as a sacrifice. The Sefer Ha’hinuch explains that the Torah forbade offering an animal before its eighth day because it is exceedingly small, and unfit for any purpose. A person would not want to slaughter such an animal for food, sell it, or give it as a gift, and so the Torah forbade offering it as a sacrifice. The Sefer Ha’hinuch reiterates the principle which he has already mentioned on numerous occasions – that people’s minds are affected by appearances. Allowing the offering of such a young animal, which is not suitable for any purpose, would lower the esteem of the sacrifices in the people’s eyes, and so the Torah commanded offering only animals that are at least eight days old. Others explain the reason behind this prohibition differently, drawing a comparison to a child’s circumcision on the eighth day. The Rabbis explain the Misva of Berit Mila by way of an analogy to a person who wishes to have an audience with the king, and the king orders him to first meet the queen before he can then come before the king. Similarly, before an infant enters into a covenant with the King of the world, he must first “meet” the “queen” – Shabbat, which is referred to as the “queen.” Therefore, a Berit Mila is not conducted until the child’s eighth day, after he has experienced a Shabbat. By the same token, some explain, an animal is not deemed eligible as a sacrifice to G-d, expressing closeness to Hashem, until its eighth day, after it had gone through a Shabbat. This law applies specifically to animals brought as sacrifices. Different rules apply to Torim and Beneh Yona, the two species of bird which the Torah allows offering as sacrifices. Namely, when the feathers around the bird’s neck are yellowish, the bird may not be offered. In the case of Torim, this feature indicates that the bird is too young to be offered, whereas in the case of Beneh Yona, to the contrary, this color signifies that the bird has already aged and is thus unsuitable as a sacrifice. The Torah here in this verse speaks of an animal “Ki Yivaled” (“that is born”), implying that only an animal which was born through a natural birth is eligible as a sacrifice. This excludes an animal born through a Caesarean section, which may not be brought as an offering. The verse also states that a newborn animal should remain with its mother during its first seven days of life (“Yihyeh Im Imo”), from which the Sages inferred that an animal must have been born by its mother to be eligible as a sacrifice. If a pregnant animal was slaughtered, and the infant was delivered thereafter, once the mother had died, the infant may not be offered as a sacrifice. At first glance, we would assume that this prohibition applies only to Kohanim, who are the ones who offer sacrifices in the Bet Ha’mikdash. However, the Rambam, in Hilchot Issureh Mizbe’ah (3:10), writes that this command forbids even consecrating a “Mehusar Zeman” as a sacrifice. He compares this prohibition to the command forbidding the offering of a Ba’al Mum (animal with a physical blemish), which is forbidden even to be consecrated. As such, even a non-Kohen, and either a man or a woman, can transgress this prohibition by consecrating an animal before its eighth day. However, one is not liable Malkut for consecrating or offering such an animal, because, as mentioned, the Torah formulates this prohibition as an affirmative command (“Lav Ha’ba Mi’chlal Aseh”), and it is thus tre