(Mishnah): The following stages of the Pesach offering override Shabbos - its slaughtering, throwing its blood, Michui of its innards and burning its fats.

However, the following stages do not override Shabbos - its roasting and rinsing its innards, carrying it and bringing it from outside the Techum and cutting off from it a wart.

R' Eliezer says that they do override Shabbos.

(Gemara): This law (that sacrificing the Pesach overrides Shabbos) was forgotten by the elders of Beseira. Once, the 14th of Nisan occurred on Shabbos and they did not know whether the sacrifice should override Shabbos.

They said, "There is a Babylonian here called Hillel who served Shmaya and Avtalyon, who knows whether or not it overrides Shabbos - perhaps there is hope!''

They sent for Hillel and asked him the question. He answered, "Do we not have several offerings like the Korban Pesach that override Shabbos every year?''

Some say that Hillel said that there are 100 such offerings, some say 200 and some say 300.

If he said 100, he was referring to the Tamid offerings (twice every Shabbos throughout the year); if he said 200, he was referring to the Tamid and Musaf offerings (the Musaf contained two sheep offerings); if he said 300, he was referring to the Tamid and Musaf offerings of Shabbos of the Yamim Tovim, of Rosh Chodesh and of the Moadim.

(Elders of Beseira to Hillel): We said that with you there is hope!

He began to expound for them the law through a Hekesh, a Kal Vechomer and a Gezeirah Shavah -

A Hekesh (in truth it is Binyan Av - a comparison; a Hekesh uses a juxtaposition in a pasuk) - Since the Tamid is a public offering and the Pesach is a public offering, just as the public Tamid offering overrides Shabbos, so the public Pesach offering overrides Shabbos.

A Kal Vechomer - If the Tamid, that is not punishable with Kares if not offered, overrides Shabbos; the Pesach, that is punishable with Kares if not offered, will certainly override Shabbos!

A Gezeirah Shavah - The pasuk concerning the Tamid states (Bamidbar 28, 2), "at its correct time''; the pasuk concerning the Pesach states (Bamidbar 9, 2), "at its correct time''; just as the Tamid overrides Shabbos, so the Pesach overrides Shabbos.

(The Elders replied): Did we say that there hope with this Babylonian?

There is an objection to your Hekesh - The Tamid has a fixed time (i.e. it is frequently brought (twice daily), the Pesach does not.

There is an objection to your Kal Vechomer - The Tamid is Kodshei Kodoshim (a sacrifice of the highest level of sanctity), the Pesach is only Kodoshim Kalim (a sacrifice of lower level sanctity).

There is an objection to your Gezeirah Shavah - A person cannot expound a Gezeirah Shavah for himself.

(R' Yosi quoting R' Aba): If someone wishes to expound a Gezeirah Shavah for himself, he could make a Sheretz bring Tum'ah to the entire room in which it is located (which is not the law) and make the minimum amount of flesh of a human corpse to bring Tum'ah to a room the size of a lentil seed (which is also not the law).

He would expound [a Gezeirah Shavah] as follows - the pasuk about a Sheretz states (Vayikra 11, 32), "a leather garment'' and the pasuk about the Tum'ah of a corpse states (Bamidbar 31, 20), "a leather garment''. (A Gezeirah Shavah between them would transfer and exchange the respective laws as listed in (l)).

Rejection: (It cannot be true that a Sheretz brings Tum'ah to an entire room, as) this is the way of a Sheretz in one's hand - even if one immerses in spring water or sea water, he can never become pure. If one casts down the Sheretz, he immediately becomes pure (even if it is still in the same room as the person).

(R' Yosi quoting R' Ba): One may expound a Gezeirah Shavah for himself in order to support his learning, but one cannot expound a Gezeirah Shavah in order to negate his learning.

(R' Yosi quoting R' Ba): One may expound a Kal Vechomer for himself but not a Gezeirah Shavah for himself. Therefore, one can question a Kal Vechomer but not a Gezeirah Shavah.

Continuing the story of Hillel: Even though he sat and expounded to them the entire day, they did not accept him until he said, "I should be cursed if I did not hear it from Shmaya and Avtalyon''. As soon as they heard this they appointed him to be their Nasi.

Once they had appointed him, he began to rebuke them and said, "What caused you to need this Babylonian? As you did not serve the two great men, Shmaya and Avtaliyon, who were residing with you!'' Because he rebuked them, he forgot a certain Halachah.

They said to Hillel, "What should be done by those who did not bring their slaughter knives?'' He replied, "I heard this Halachah and I have forgotten it. Leave alone the people of Israel - if they themselves are not prophets, they are the children of prophets, and they will know what to do!''

At that point, whoever's Pesach offering was a lamb, he inserted the knife between the wool on its back. Whoever's Pesach offering was a kid (and therefore did not have wool), he tied the knife between its horns, and consequently, everyone brought their knives. When Hillel saw this, he remembered the Halachah and declared that this was the way Shmaya and Avtalyon had taught him.

(R' Zeira quoting R' Elazar): Any words of Torah that are not said as a tradition from one's Rabbis are not valid.

(Mishnah in Maseches Parah): If one rode on it (the Parah Adumah - the Red Heifer), leaned on it, hung something on its tail, used its tail to help him cross a river, rolled up its rope (used to tie it) and rested it upon the cow or placed his garment on it, it is disqualified.

But if he tied it with its rope, made it a sandal to prevent it slipping or spread his garment on it to protect it from flies, it still qualifies for use.

The general rule is - if anything done for its need, it still qualifies; if done for another need, it is disqualified.

Pesach and Parah can learn from the other - Parah can learn from Pesach that if he hung his slaughter knife on it, it is not considered a yoke and it still qualifies; Pesach can learn from Parah that any work done for the sake of Kodshim is not considered work (as it is permitted to spread his garment on it to protect it from flies).

Question: Why did Hillel not permit them to bring their slaughter knives by passing them along a chain of people?

Answer: Rather, he was following the opinion of R' Imi that one may not transfer the item in this way.

Rejection: He could even have followed R' Simon (who permits it) - just as Hillel forgot this (that one could insert the knife into its wool or between its horns), he also forgot this (that one could transfer the knife by passing it along a chain of people).

Question (R' Abun): Surely it is impossible that in a period of 14 years, Erev Pesach will not fall on Shabbos - so why did they not know the Halachah?

Answer: In order to allow Hillel to rise to greatness.

(R' Mana): I heard from R' Yudan and all of the Rabbanan that the reason that the great Rabbis show respect for lesser Batei Dinim is in order to prevent dispute from increasing.

Three people put aside their crowns in this world and inherited the next world - Yonasan ben Shaul (who himself should have become king but instead said that David would reign and he would be his second in command), Elazar ben Azariya (that after he was appointed to be Nasi instead of Rabban Gamliel, he returned the position to Rabban Gamliel) and the elders of Beseira (who gave over the position of Nasi to Hillel).

Yonasan ben Shaul - Rebbi said that (the statement of Yonasan was not so novel as) even the women behind the loom knew that David was destined to become king.

Elazar ben Azariya - There was a stipulation in his appointment that the position of Nasi could be returned at any point to Rabban Gamliel. (Alternatively, when Rabban Gamliel returned, he shared the position with R' Elazar

Our only example of such humility is with the elders of Beseira who gave over their positions of Nasi to Hillel.

(Rabbanan of Kisarin): Even R' Chanina of Tziporin gave over his position to R' Mana.

(R' Yehoshua ben Kevasiv): All my life I fled from any position of power. Now that I have accepted one, whoever will come and drive me out, I will pursue him with this copper pot. Just as this pot scolds from the hot coals that are inside it, injures due to its weight and dirties from the soot that is inside it, so too I will pursue this person in all manner of ways.

(R' Yosi bei R' Bun): Chas VeShalom - one cannot say that he wished to have the position for personal gain. Rather, he felt that he was the person to sanctify Hash-m's name in that position.

Three laws caused Hillel to come to Eretz Yisrael from Bavel (in order to ask Shmaya and Avtalyon to validate them) -

The pasuk states (concerning a Nesek growth of Tzora'as on a person's skin that healed) (Vayikra 13, 37), "he is Tahor'' - I might have thought that he is completely exempt and can now leave; the pasuk therefore concludes by stating, "the Kohen shall purify him'', by declaring him to be Tahor. From the words "the Kohen shall purify him'', I might have thought that if the Kohen declared a Tamei person to be Tahor, that he would in fact become Tahor - the pasuk states "he is Tahor and the Kohen shall purify him''. The expounding of this law caused Hillel to come from Bavel.

One pasuk states (Devarim 16, 2), "And you shall sacrifice a Pesach offering to Hash-m your G-d, a sheep or a cow''; another pasuk states (Shemos 12, 5), "you shall take from your sheep or from your goats''. How can this be? One uses a sheep (a lamb) for the Pesach offering and a sheep or a cow for the Chagigah offering.

One pasuk states (Devarim 16, 8), "Six days you shall eat matzos'' and one pasuk states (Shemos 12, 15), "Seven days you shall eat matzos''. How can this be? Six days of the new produce (after the Omer offering is brought on the morning of the 16th of Nisan, new produce becomes permitted to eat) and seven days of the old produce (during the entire Pesach festival). He expounded these laws and then went to Eretz Yisrael where they were accepted as law.