Does the obligation of offering Shalmei Simchah require that one *sacrifice*
a Korban Simchah and eat it, or does it require only that one *eat* from the
meat of a Shalmei Simchah, even if he did not sacrifice it? If the only
obligation is to eat from the Korban but not necessarily to sacrifice it, it
would stand to reason that one could fulfill his obligation by eating the
meat of someone else's Korban Simchah; if the obligation is more than just
eating the meat of a Korban, but involves sacrificing a Korban specifically
for the Shalmei Simchah, then one must bring his own. (ARUCH LA'NER, Sukah
48a DH b'Masnisin)
(a) The Gemara (Pesachim 71a) says that the Chiyuv of Shalmei Simchah applies
even to the last night of Sukos, the night of Shemini Atzeres (and not the
following day, according to Rashi; see however Rashi in Sukah 48a, DH
Lerabos). The DEVAR SHMUEL there cites those who prove from here that it must
be a Chiyuv to *eat* the Korban and not to sacrifice it, because one cannot
*bring* a Korban at night.
TOSFOS (Pesachim 96b, end of DH Ta'un) indeed says that a person fulfills his
obligation of Simchah by eating his friend's Korban.
(b) However, our Gemara is bothered by the question of how a person can
fulfill his obligation of Shalmei Simchah with an animal that is not Chulin.
The rule is that any obligatory Korban -- such as the Shalmei Simchah -- must
come from Chulin and not from an animal which is already Kadosh to be brought
as a Korban (such as Ma'aser Behemah or an animal purchased with Ma'aser
Sheni money). The Gemara cites a verse which teaches that the Shalmei Simchah
is an exception to this rule and may be brought from Chulin.
If the Chiyuv is to *eat* the Shalmei Simchah, then there is no obligation
per se to bring the Korban, and if so, it should not have to come from
Chulin! Something which must only be *eaten* to provide Simchah obviously can
be from any Korban -- only something which must be *sacrificed* must be
brought from Chulin, and sanctified for the specific Korban that one wants to
sacrifice. From this Gemara it seems, therefore, that there is a Chiyuv to
*sacrifice* a Korban for Shalmei Simchah, and if so one may not satisfy his
obligation by eating from another's Korban. (It does not seem that the verse
teaches that it is not necessary to sacrifice, but only to eat, a Korban for
Simchah. The verse does not seem to be teaching that the Mitzvah of Simchah
is eating rather than offering a Korban, but rather to be allowing even
Nedarim and Nedavos to be eaten as Korban Simchah, as an *exception* to the
normal rule. This is the implication of RASHI Pesachim 70a, DH Yotzei; see
however Rashi here 7b, DH Af Min ha'Ma'aser.)
This is also evident from the ruling of Rebbi Elazar (Pesachim 70b) that one
fulfills the Mitzvah of Simchah only when eating a Korban that was
slaughtered *on the Regel*. If the Mitzvah involves only *eating* meat of a
Korban, what difference does it make if the Korban was slaughtered on Yom Tov
or before Yom Tov? It must be that the Mitzvah involves *offering* the
Shalmei Simchah as well as eating it.
What about the Gemara which says that there is a Chiyuv of Simchah even at
night? How can there be a Chiyuv of Simchah at night, if the Chiyuv of
Simchah is to bring a Korban, and it is not possible to bring a Korban at
night?
It must be that the Mitzvah of Shalmei Simchah is to eat an animal *that one
has sacrificed as a Korban*, and according to Rebbi Elazar, a Korban that was
slaughtered *on the Regel*. (Apparently, the Simchah must come from a Regel-
related Korban.) In this sense, bringing a Korban is obligatory. However, it
is not obligatory to bring a Korban *on every day of the Regel*, let alone on
the last night. In fact, it may not even be obligatory to bring a Korban on
the Regel altogether. The Gemara (Pesachim 70a, 71a) cites opinions that one
may even fulfill the Mitzvah of Simchah by eating a Korban slaughtered on
*Erev Pesach* (in contrast to the opinion of Rebbi Elazar cited above); as
long as it is *his* Korban, it makes no difference whether or not it was
brought on the Regel itself. The Mitzvah is only for each person to *eat*
from his Korban every day (and night) of the Regel.
Tosfos also seems to have been in doubt whether one fulfills the Mitzvah of
Simchah with another's Korban. In Sukah 47a DH Linah, Tosfos asks the same
question he asked in Pesachim (how can a person avoid bringing a Korban of
some sort every day of the Regel), yet he refrains from offering the simple
answer that he proposed in Pesachim, that one may eat from another's Korban
Simchah.
(See also Hagaon Rav Shach, shlit'a, in AVI EZRI, Hilchos Chagigah 2:3, who
proposes that there is also a special Mitzvah to *offer* a Korban Simchah
once on the Regel, besides the Mitzvah of eating meat from a Korban every day
of the Regel [and Aruch la'Ner, ibid., who makes a similar proposal], and
SHIMUSHA SHEL TORAH p. 277-279, who recounts the Chazon Ish's reaction to
this and Rav Shach's response; see also DEVAR SHMUEL, Pesachim 109a.)