Yoma 28A

והרי אברים ופדרים! סוף עבודה דיממא היא. והרי תרומת הדשן! תחילת עבודה דיממא היא, דאמר רבי יוחנן: קדש ידיו לתרומת הדשן, למחר אינו צריך לקדש, שכבר קדש מתחלת עבודה. אלא קשיא!

The Talmud expresses wonder at R' Zeira’s equation of these two issues: But isn’t there the burning of the limbs and the fats? The Talmud answers: That is not difficult, because the burning of the limbs and the fats is the end of the daytime service. The Talmud asks further: But isn’t there the removal of the ashes? The Talmud rejects that argument: Removing the ashes is the start of the daytime service, as R' Yoḥanan said: If a priest sanctified his hands at night by washing them for the removal of the ashes, the next day, i.e., after daybreak, he need not sanctify his hands again, as he already sanctified them at the start of the service. R' Zeira’s equation between services that are incomplete by themselves and services for which a non-priest does not incur the death penalty therefore remains intact. If so, the question that he asked concerning R' Yoḥanan’s statement remains difficult.

אלא: אי אתמר, הכי אתמר: אמר רבי אסי אמר רבי יוחנן: זר שסידר שני גזירי עצים ⁠— חייב, הואיל ועבודה תמה היא.

Rather, R' Yoḥanan’s statement must be revised, and one must posit that when it was stated, this is how it was stated: R' Asi said that R' Yoḥanan said: A non-priest who arranges the two logs is liable to receive the death penalty, since it is a service that is complete, i.e., it is not followed and completed by a subsequent service. Although the burning of the limbs upon the altar follows the placement of the logs, that is considered to be an independent act, not the completion of the service of placing the logs. This is because the placing of the logs is done while still night, while the burning of the limbs cannot be done until daybreak.