Study Yoma folio 50B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
לדברי האומר פר יום הכפורים קרבן יחיד, עושה תמורה או אינו עושה תמורה. לאו מכלל דאיכא למאן דאמר דצבור?
According to R' Meir, who says that the bull of Yom Kippur is an offering of an individual, can one perform substitution for this animal or can one not perform substitution in this case? In other words, if the High Priest violated a prohibition and designated a substitute by saying that this bull should be switched with another, does the substitution take effect or not? Is it not correct to say by inference from the wording of R' Elazar’s dilemma that there is one who says that these offerings are communal?
לא, מכלל דאיכא למאן דאמר דשותפין.
The Talmud rejects this contention: No, this is no proof, as one can say by inference that there is one who says that these offerings are of partners. There is no definitive proof that the bull of Yom Kippur is a communal sacrifice. In any event, the question of why the bull is not invalidated upon the death of the High Priest has been resolved, as the reason is either because it is a communal sacrifice or because it is a sacrifice of partners.
גופא. בעי רבי (אליעזר): לדברי האומר פר יום הכפורים קרבן יחיד, עושה תמורה או אינו עושה תמורה. מאי קא מיבעיא ליה?
§ Since the Talmud has mentioned R' Elazar’s dilemma, the Talmud addresses the matter itself. R' Elazar asked: According to R' Meir, who says that the bull of Yom Kippur is an individual offering, can one perform substitution for this animal or can one not perform substitution? The Talmud asks: What is the dilemma he is raising? What is the basis of his inquiry?
אי בתר מקדיש אזלינן, אי בתר מתכפר אזלינן.
The Talmud suggests that his dilemma is as follows: Do we follow the one who consecrates the animal, i.e., the High Priest, as he was the one who paid for it, in which case it is considered an individual sacrifice and his substitution is effective? Or do we follow the one who seeks atonement by the offering, and as this bull atones both for the High Priest and the entire community of his fellow priests, it is considered a communal sacrifice, and therefore his substitution is not effective? The question is: Which party is followed for the purposes of substitution?