- נשיאות מהו שתפסיק
Rava interpreted a Baraisa to teach that if one ate half a כזית of חלב, then was appointed as נשיא, then finished the כזית, and later became aware of his sin, the two halves do not combine, and he does not bring any korban. Rava asked Rav Nachman: נשיאות מהו שתפסיק – what is the halachah regarding whether status as נשיא separates between acts of eating? The case is one who ate half a כזית of חלב, was then appointed נשיא, later left his position, and then finished the כזית. Although the two halves do not combine in the first case, is that because דאכליה פלגא כשהוא הדיוט ופלגא כשהוא נשיא – he ate half when he was a commoner and half when he was a נשיא, in contrast to this case, where both halves were eaten when he was a הדיוט? Or does his status as נשיא separate the acts of eating? The Gemara suggests a resolution from Rebbe Yochanan’s ruling that if one became a מומר after designating a korban for eating חלב, and later did teshuvah, his korban remains disqualified. Here, too, his status as נשיא “disqualified” him from a הדיוט’s korban. The Gemara distinguishes between the cases: מומר לאו בר אתויי קרבן הוא – a מומר is not eligible to bring any korban, but a נשיא is fit to bring a korban (albeit a different one).
- Disqualifying the חטאת of a מומר vs. לא שב בידיעתו
In a Baraisa, the Tanna Kamma darshens: מעם הארץ – “from among” the people of the land, פרט למומר – this excludes a renegade who willfully transgresses aveiros (defined later), teaching he may not bring a חטאת for unintentional sins. Rebbe Shimon derives this differently: the passuk says one brings a korban if he transgresses any of the commandments אשר לא תעשינה בשגגה ואשם – which are not to be done, unintentionally, and becomes guilty. This teaches: השב בידיעתו – one who would refrain from sinning through his knowing about the prohibition, מביא קרבן על שגגתו – brings a korban for his error, but one who would transgress the aveirah even after being informed that it is prohibited (e.g., a מומר), does not bring a korban for his שגגה. A practical difference between these sources is one who eats neveilah לתאבון – for enjoyment (i.e., if he cannot obtain kosher meat), ונתחלף לו בשומן – and [חלב] was exchanged by him with permitted fat, and he ate it. The Tanna Kamma holds he cannot bring a korban, since he eats neveilah לתאבון, but Rebbe Shimon holds since he would not have eaten the חלב had he realized what it was, he brings a korban.
- How the שמן המשחה was produced and the miracles that occurred
The next Mishnah states that a Kohen Gadol is only considered a "משיח" (regarding bringing a פר) if he was anointed with the שמן המשחה, but not through wearing the Kohen Gadol’s additional בגדים. In a Baraisa, Rebbe Yehudah says that when Moshe made the שמן המשחה in the מדבר, they boiled the roots of the various spices in the olive oil. Rebbe Yose objects: והלא לסוך את העקרים אינו סופק – but it is not even sufficient to smear the roots with oil, let alone to boil them!? Rather, they soaked the roots in water, and after they absorbed the water, poured the oil onto them, of which they did not absorb so much. Thus, they absorbed the spices’ fragrance. Rebbe Yehudah counters: וכי נס אחד נעשה בשמן המשחה – did only one miracle occur with the making of the anointing oil? From the original twelve לוגין of שמן המשחה, they anointed the משכן, its כלים, Aharon, and his sons, for all the שבעת ימי המלואים, yet all of it will remain לעתיד לבא!? Therefore, it is also possible that it miraculously sufficed to boil all the roots.