Rabbi Eliezer says: a red heifer [Parah Adumah] that is pregnant — valid. But the Sages disqualify it. Rabbi Eliezer says: it may not be purchased from non-Jews. But the Sages rule it valid. And not only this — but all communal and individual offerings may come from EY or outside EY, from new or old crop, except the Omer and the two loaves, which come only from new crop and from EY.
Fuchsia — Rule
Green — Positive ruling
Red — Negative ruling
Gold — Name of Tana
Black — Case
Tinted — shared clause
Listen with Ephraim Diamond · 6:380:00 / 6:38
0:00
6:38
Speed
Click any Hebrew phrase above to jump to where Ephraim reads it · Highlight holds while he discusses each phrase
Transcript · click any word to jump▾
A picture is worth a thousand words▾
Two disputes — R' Eliezer and the Chachamim split their rulings
Dispute 1 — the pregnant cow
R' Eliezer — valid
פָּרַת חַטָּאת הַמְעֻבֶּרֶת — כְּשֵׁרָה
The fetus is part of the mother (ever yerech imo). Carrying it is not work — the cow is valid.
Chachamim — invalid · Halacha
וַחֲכָמִים פּוֹסְלִין
The fetus is an independent entity (ever lo yerech imo). Carrying it constitutes work — the cow is disqualified. Halacha follows the Chachamim.
Dispute 2 — the non-Jewish seller
R' Eliezer — do not buy from a non-Jew
אֵינָהּ נִלְקַחַת מִן הַנָּכְרִים
Non-Jews are suspected of reva'ah — an act that disqualifies a Korban. R' Eliezer extends this suspicion to all Korbanos purchased from non-Jews.
Chachamim — valid · Halacha
וַחֲכָמִים מַכְשִׁירִים
A non-Jew would not do this — reva'ah renders the animal barren and worthless. Halacha follows the Chachamim; the restriction against purchasing from a non-Jew is a rabbinic stringency applied specifically to the Parah, not a biblical disqualification.
The reasoning behind each ruling
Why not a pregnant cow?
עֻבָּר — יֶרֶךְ אִמּוֹ אוֹ לָאו?
The Parah must never have been used for work (Bamidbar 19:2). Crucially, both sides agree — following R' Yehuda — that natural mating without the owner's knowledge does NOT in itself disqualify the cow. The entire dispute is about whether carrying the fetus constitutes work: R' Eliezer holds the fetus is part of the mother (ever yerech imo) — no burden, no work; Chachamim hold it is independent (ever lo yerech imo) — she carries it as a burden, constituting disqualifying labor.
Why not from a non-Jew?
חֲשׁוּדִים עַל הָרְבִיעָה
R' Eliezer suspects non-Jews of reva'ah — which disqualifies a Korban. The Chachamim counter: a non-Jew would not do this to his own animal since reva'ah renders it barren and worthless. The Bartenura confirms: since the cow can still be used even if purchased from a non-Jew (the restriction is not biblical), a non-Jew who sold a valid cow would be paid — so he has no incentive to risk the animal's value.
The Dama ben Netina story — Kiddushin 31a
The Sages needed precious stones for the ephod — the High Priest's breastplate — and came to Dama ben Netina of Ashkelon, who had the right gems. The potential profit was 600,000 gold dinars (some say 800,000). But the key to the chest was beneath his sleeping father's head. Dama refused to wake him, forgoing the entire sum. The following year, a red heifer was born in his herd — divine recompense mirroring the loss exactly: the Sages who came for Temple gems now came for a Temple purification animal. He charged them precisely what he had lost, no more: "I ask only that money I lost due to honor of Father." The story confirms a Parah purchased from a non-Jew is valid after the fact — the prohibition is a rabbinic stringency. And it shows that kibud av, even by a non-Jew, brings singular, precisely calibrated reward.
The closing clause — וְלֹא זוֹ בִלְבַד — the GRA's reading
The phrase "and not only this" connects directly to the non-Jew dispute. The GRA (Eliyahu Rabbah on Parah 2:1) explains: R' Eliezer's position was that just as the Parah may not be purchased from a non-Jew, ALL Korbanos may not be purchased from non-Jews. The Chachamim therefore respond with the closing clause: not only IS this Parah purchasable from a non-Jew — ALL communal and individual Korbanos may come from outside EY and from non-Jews — except the Omer and Shtei HaLechem, which are bound to new grain from EY alone. The clause is the Chachamim extending their leniency explicitly against R' Eliezer's full position.
Position in the Omer to Shavuos arc — 43 mishnayos
Preceding · Mishnah 6
Menachos 8:1
The primary statement: all Korbanos vs. the Omer/Shtei HaLechem exception
Current · Mishnah 6b
Parah 2:1 — A Different Mishnah, Same Clause
Movement I·B
Parah 2:1 is a genuinely different mishnah — it teaches the eligibility rules for the Parah Adumah through R' Eliezer's two positions and the Chachamim's responses. It is shown here because the Omer/Shtei HaLechem clause appearing in Seder Taharos shows how foundational that restriction is across all of Shas.
Following · Mishnah 7
Kelim 1:6
EY's holiness defined by the Omer, Bikkurim, and Shtei HaLechem
