Study Yoma folio 27A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
האי מיבעי ליה לגופיה! אמר רב שימי בר אשי: אשכחתיה לאביי דהוה מסבר ליה לבריה: ״ושחט״ — שחיטה בזר כשירה. וכי מאין באת? מכלל שנאמר: ״ואתה ובניך אתך תשמרו את כהונתכם״, שומע אני אפילו שחיטה,
The Talmud asks: But that verse about putting fire on the altar is needed for its own sake, to teach that the wood must be brought by a priest; it should not be interpreted as an inference that other services, such as flaying and cutting, may be performed by non-priests. Rav Shimi bar Ashi said: I found Abaye explaining Hizkiya’s derivation to his son based on the following baraita. It is written: “And he should slaughter the bull before YHWH” (Leviticus 1:5), with no mention of a priest, which teaches that slaughter by a non-priest is acceptable. The baraita continues: Now, from where would you come to think otherwise? Why would one even suspect that a priest should be required to slaughter the offering, so that a specific verse is required to tell us otherwise? From the fact that it is stated: “And you and your sons with you should keep your priesthood” (Numbers 18:7), I would derive that no part of the sacrificial service may be performed by a non-priest, not even slaughtering.
תלמוד לומר: ״ושחט את בן הבקר לפני ה׳ והקריבו בני אהרן הכהנים את הדם״, מקבלה ואילך מצות כהונה. ״וסמך ידו ושחט״, לימד על השחיטה שכשירה בזר.
The baraita continues: Therefore, the verse states: “And he should slaughter the bull before YHWH, and the sons of Aaron…should sacrifice the blood” (Leviticus 1:5), from which it is inferred that from the sacrificing of blood, which begins with the collection of the blood, and onward is a mitzva exclusively of priesthood. Just prior to this the Torah states: “And he should place his hands upon the head of the burnt-offering…and he should slaughter the bull before YHWH” (Leviticus 1:4–5). In this verse the Torah is referring to the donor of the offering when it says: He should place his hands, and therefore when it continues: And he should slaughter, it is also referring to the donor. The Torah thereby taught that the slaughter of the offering is acceptable if performed by a non-priest.