Mishnah Meilah 6:3-4

Sugya Map: Agency in Meilah

• Core Issue: Does the principle of shlichut (agency) function in Meilah (misuse of sanctified property) when the agent deviates from instructions?
• Nafka Mina: Liability for a Korban Asham. Does liability hinge on the act of the principal or the deviation of the agent?
• Primary Sources: Mishnah Meilah 6:3-4; Tosefta Meilah 2:7-9; Rambam, Hilkhot Meilah 7:1.

Text Snapshot

• Mishnah 6:3: "If he said: 'Give meat to the guests,' and he gave them liver... the agent is liable... as he deviated from his agency."
• Nuance: The Mishnah defines agency through strict adherence to kvuim (fixed parameters). Any shift in the davar (object) or makom (location) creates a binary outcome: either the principal is liable (if instructions are met) or the agent is liable (if they are not).

Readings: The Threshold of Liability

• Bartenura: Argues that if the deviation involves less than a peruta, no Meilah occurs. The peruta is the atomic unit of sanctified value; without it, there is no Meilah.
• Tiferet Yisrael (Yachin): Distinguishes between "partial performance" (where the agent hasn't fully deviated) and "total deviation." He posits that if an agent is tasked with two distinct items (lamps/wicks) and swaps their sources, the act is rendered a full deviation because the total value impacted by the error reaches a peruta.

Friction: The "Missing" Korban

• Kushya: If the homeowner instructs an agent to buy X, and the agent buys Y, the agent has technically committed Meilah. But why is the homeowner ever liable if he didn't personally touch the hekdesh?
• Terutz: Agency in Meilah is not about physical contact; it is about responsibility for the outcome. If the instruction is followed, the principal is the "legal cause" (tzad le-tzad). If the agent deviates, the legal link is severed, shifting the issur onto the agent as an independent actor.

Intertext & Psak

• Cross-ref: Compare to Kiddushin 42b ("there is no agency for a transgression"). Meilah is the exception because the agent acts as a "hand" of the principal, provided the instruction remains intact.
• Heuristic: In modern din, this defines "Scope of Authority." Liability is not just about the final product, but the continuity of the mandate. If the mandate is violated by a peruta’s worth, the "hand" becomes a "separate body," assuming full legal burden.

Takeaway

In Meilah, agency is a fragile legal bridge; if the agent steps one peruta outside the principal’s specific instructions, the bridge collapses, and the agent becomes solely responsible for the issur.