Study Sotah folio 46A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
And the priests recite: “Forgive, Lord, Your people Israel, whom You have redeemed, and suffer not innocent blood to remain in the midst of Your people Israel” (Deuteronomy 21:8). They did not have to recite the conclusion of the verse: “And the blood shall be forgiven for them,” as this is not par
Talmud: With regard to the Mishnah’s statement that the heifer is not disqualified by a blemish, the Talmud suggests: And a blemish should disqualify in the case of the heifer, by means of an a fortiori inference: And if in the case of the red heifer, which is not disqualified by years, as it may
The Talmud asks: However, if that is so, if the word “bah” precludes a derivation by an a fortiori inference, then any other labor performed with the red heifer, apart from pulling a yoke, should not disqualify it. While the verse disqualifies a red heifer only if it pulled a yoke, as it states: “
Why, then, does Rav Yehuda say that Rav says: If he placed a bundle [uda] of sacks on a red heifer, the heifer is immediately disqualified from being used as the red heifer; and as for the heifer whose neck is broken, it is not disqualified by such labor until it pulls and moves the burden, as the
The Talmud raises an objection: If there is a verbal analogy between the red heifer and the heifer that will have its neck broken, then the halakha that a blemish should disqualify the heifer whose neck is broken should also be derived from the usage of “yoke” with regard to the heifer whose neck is