Study Zevachim folio 80B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
ועוד תניא בהדיא: הניתנין למעלה שנתערבו בניתנין למטה – רבי אליעזר אומר: יתן למעלה והתחתונים עלו לו.
The Talmud adds: And furthermore, one can raise another difficulty against the opinion of Rav Ashi, who maintains that according to R' Eliezer there is no mixing, as it is taught explicitly in a baraita: With regard to blood of an offering, e.g., a sin offering, which is to be placed above the red line that was mixed with blood of an offering, e.g., a burnt offering, which is to be placed below the red line, R' Eliezer says: The priest should initially place the blood of the mixture above the red line for the sake of the sin offering, and the priest should then place blood from the mixture below the red line for the sake of the burnt offering, and both the blood placed above and the blood placed below count for him toward the fulfillment of the mitzva.
ואי אמרת אין בילה, אמאי עלו לו? דילמא קיהיב עליונים למטה והתחתונים למעלה!
The Talmud explains the difficulty from this baraita: And if you say that there is no mixing, why do both of the placements count for him? Perhaps he placed the blood of the mixture that belongs above the red line below it, and the blood that belongs below the red line above it.
הכא במאי עסקינן – כגון דאיכא רובא עליונים, וקא יהיב למעלה שיעור תחתונים ועוד.
The Talmud answers: Here we are dealing with a case where there is a majority of blood that is to be placed above the line, and the priest placed blood above by the measure of the blood in the mixture that is to be placed below the line, and slightly more blood. In this manner he ensures that he must have placed above the red line some of the blood that belongs there.