פרשת כי תבא- Red Meat vs Poultry

ושמחת בכל הטוב AND THOU SHALT REJOICE IN EVERY GOOD THING — From this they (the Rabbis) derived the law that the recital on the occasion of bringing the first fruits is made only during the joyful period of the year — from Pentecost till the Feast of Tabernacles — when a man is gathering in his grain, his fruits, his wine and his oil; but from Tabernacles onwards until Chanucah if he brings these, he does not make the recital (Pesachim 36b).

The birds [tied to] the basket were [offered] as whole burnt-offerings, and those which they held in their hands they gave to the priests.

ושמת בטנא, “and you shall place it in a basket.” The donor brings pigeons and turtle doves at the same time as a sacrificial offering seeing the Torah writes: “you shall rejoice with all the goodness” (and there is no true enjoyment unless accompanied by the eating of some kind of meat (Pessachim 109).

§ The mishna stated that Israelites fulfill their obligation to eat peace-offerings of rejoicing with their vow offerings and gift offerings. The Sages taught that the verse: “And you shall rejoice in your feast” (Deuteronomy 16:14) comes to include all types of rejoicing as constituting a fulfillment of the mitzva of rejoicing. From here the Sages stated: Israelites fulfill their obligation to eat peace-offerings of rejoicing with their vow offerings and gift offerings and likewise with animal tithes. And the priests fulfill their obligation of rejoicing with the meat of sin-offerings and guilt-offerings, and with firstborn offerings, and with the breast and thigh of peace-offerings. One might have thought that they can fulfill their obligation even by eating bird-offerings and meal-offerings. Therefore, the verse states: “And you shall rejoice in your feast.”

This teaches that eating those animals from which the Festival peace-offering may come, i.e., sheep and cattle, is a fulfillment of the mitzva of rejoicing. This excludes these, i.e., bird-offerings and meal-offerings, from which the Festival peace-offering may not come. Rav Ashi said: There is no need to derive this halakha from “And you shall rejoice in your feast” by explaining that the word feast is referring to the Festival peace-offering. Rather, this halakha is derived simply from the phrase “And you shall rejoice.” This excludes those bird-offerings and meal-offerings that do not have an element of rejoicing, as the joy of eating is provided only by animal meat.