For the source text click/tap here: Yoma 42
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Although we know that the entire Yom Kippur service is performed by the Kohen Gadol, nevertheless, Rav believes that he need not be the one who slaughters his par (the bull that is brought as a sacrifice by the kohen gadol).
Rav explains that shehitah is not actually considered avodah (service), thus it can be done by anyone, even someone who is not a kohen. At the same time, Rav rules that a para aduma that is burned and whose ashes are used as part of the purification process for someone who came into contact with a dead body (see Bamidbar19) – can only be slaughtered by a kohen. This is true, even though a parah adumah is not considered to be a korban at all. It is not slaughtered in the precincts of the Temple, rather on the Mount of Olives, and is considered kodshei bedek ha-bayit – holiness that stems from its use for the Temple, not an actual sacrifice.
We examine the context of the law of the red heifer and its midrashic referents.