Zevachim Chapter 14, Mishnah 1. We are continuing with the topic of slaughtering and offering outside - the slaughtering and offering of sacrifices outside of their proper place. This Mishnah deals with two special animals: the Red Heifer, and the scapegoat - the goat on Yom Kippur that is not offered to God but is brought to the cliff in the desert and pushed off it. For both of them, a specific and exact place was established where they must be processed.
The designated places of the two:
The Red Heifer - is slaughtered on the Mount of Olives, specifically facing the Holy of Holies. The Sages checked a designated place there to ensure that it was completely pure and contained no corpses, and it had a hollow where they would slaughter it and burn it in order to obtain the ashes.
The scapegoat - is taken to the desert and pushed off the cliff.
The question is what the law is for one who slaughters the animal in a different place. Is this considered acting out of bounds, for which one should be liable for slaughtering outside? And similarly with the scapegoat: what is the law if he slaughtered it as a sacrifice near the Temple, outside the Courtyard, instead of leading it to the desert, or if he offered it as a sacrifice even though it is not meant to be offered? One might have thought that he would be liable to kares, since these too are somewhat like Temple animals that have a specific place, and one who processes them in the incorrect place processes them outside their bounds. But the Mishnah brings from a derivation that a person is not liable for them, because these are not actual sacrifices intended to be offered inside the Courtyard.
In the words of the Mishnah:
"Paras chatas" - the Red Heifer that is burned for the purpose of the ashes, which the Torah calls a "chatas", and hence it is called the paras chatas. This does not refer to an animal that is a chatas sacrifice, since female cows are not brought for a chatas.
"Sheserafah chutz migitah" - that he burned it outside its designated place. "Gitah" - its winepress (gas); a gas is the place where grape juice is collected during treading, and the designated place of the Red Heifer was given the name "gas". Some learn that the reason for this is that the wood upon which it is burned is arranged in the manner that the beams are arranged in a grape press, and some learn that it refers to the pit in the ground where it is burned, which is similar to the pit in the ground where wine is collected. It is worth noting that according to Rashi the text should read "sheshechatah" (that he slaughtered it) outside its gas, and it appears that the Bartenura also had a version of this sort.
"Vechen sair hamishtale'ach shehikrivo bachutz - patur" - one who offers the scapegoat as a sacrifice in the incorrect place, instead of sending it off the cliff in the desert, is exempt. One who slaughters or offers either of these two animals is exempt from kares.
"Shene'emar: 'Ve'el pesach Ohel Moed lo hevi'o'" - anything that is not fit to come to the entrance of the Ohel Moed, meaning to the Courtyard where the sacrifices are processed, one is not liable for it. These two animals are not offered at the entrance of the Ohel Moed but are sent to another place, and therefore one who processes them not in their place - there is a prohibition here, but there is no liability for kares.
An interesting side note:
The scapegoat is indeed brought initially to the Heichal. Both goats are stationed there, and one goes to God according to the lottery and the second to Azazel, and a confession is performed over the goat for Azazel - this confession is performed at the entrance of the Ohel Moed, in the Courtyard. We therefore find that there is a time when this animal indeed belongs there.
From here, opinions are divided regarding the law of one who slaughters the goat outside before the confession:
The majority of Rishonim (including the Raavad, Rashi, and Tosafos) - there is another derivation elsewhere, from the wording "there", which excludes even animals that have a temporary time in the Courtyard. Therefore, he is exempt from kares whether he slaughtered the goat for Azazel before the confession or after it.
The Rambam - one who slaughters the scapegoat outside before the confession is liable, since it still has a place to come to: by force of "to the entrance of the Ohel Moed" it had to enter the Courtyard first for the purpose of the confession, and therefore one who does this beforehand is liable to kares.
In summary: We learned that the Red Heifer and the scapegoat, even though they have a designated and exact place, are not included in the liability for slaughtering and offering outside. The derivation "and to the entrance of the Ohel Moed he did not bring it" teaches that whatever is not fit to come to the entrance of the Ohel Moed, one is not liable to kares for it, and therefore one who processes them not in their place violates a prohibition alone. We discussed the textual variants in the wording "outside its gas", the two explanations for the meaning of "gas", and the dispute regarding the scapegoat that is slaughtered outside before the confession - that according to the majority of Rishonim he is exempt in any case, and according to the Rambam he is liable as long as the confession has not been performed.