Zevachim 101B

וייטב בעיניו״⁠ – לא בוש משה לומר ״לא שמעתי״, אלא ״שמעתי ושכחתי״.

and it was good in his eyes” (Leviticus 10:20). Moses was not embarrassed and did not attempt to justify himself by saying: I did not hear this halakha until now. Rather, he said: I heard it, and I forgot it.

איבעי להו לשהוייה, ולמיכלה באורתא! טומאה באונס באתה.

The Talmud asks: According to this opinion, why was the sin offering burned? They should have delayed its consumption and consumed it that night. The Talmud answers: Ritual impurity came upon this sin offering due to circumstances beyond the priests’ control, and they were forced to burn it.

בשלמא לרבנן, היינו דכתיב: ״היום״; אלא לרבי נחמיה, מאי ״היום״? חובת היום.

The Talmud asks: Granted, according to the Rabbis, i.e., R' Yehuda and R' Shimon, this is as it is written: “And if I had consumed the sin offering today, would it have been good in the eyes of YHWH”? The verse indicates that Aaron could have eaten it at night. But according to R' Neḥemya, who holds that Aaron distinguished between the offerings of that particular time and the offerings of all later generations, what did Aaron mean by the word “today”? The Talmud answers: He meant: And if I had eaten the sin offering of Rosh Chodesh, which is today’s obligation, would it have been good in the eyes of YHWH?

בשלמא לרבי נחמיה, היינו דכתיב ״הן היום״; אלא לרבנן, מאי ״הן היום״? הכי קאמר: הן הקריבו?! אני הקרבתי!

The Talmud asks: Granted, according to R' Neḥemya, this is as it is written: “Behold, today have they sacrificed their sin offering and their burnt offering before YHWH,” i.e., they offered it as the obligation of the day. But according to the Rabbis, i.e., R' Yehuda and R' Shimon, what did Aaron mean by the phrase “behold [hen], today”? The Talmud answers: This is what Aaron is saying: Did they [hen], my sons, sacrifice the offering today, which would have been prohibited to them in acute mourning? No, I sacrificed the offering, and as High Priest, I may perform the service in acute mourning.