[1] The conclusion of the tractate (12a-13b) deals with the prioritization of korbanot in the temple and explores the question of how to quantify human life in emergencies.

These chapters deal with the verses in the Torah (Leviticus 4[2]) that specify different procedures for the sin offering brought by a private individual, an anointed priest, a nasi, and an entire community.

[5] Maimonides sums up the conditions necessary for the bringing of such a sacrifice, the conditions being found in the first and second chapters, as follows:[6][not specific enough to verify] (1) the head of the Sanhedrin and all its members must have been present when the decision was rendered; (2) every one of them must have been fully qualified to serve as a member of that body; (3) the decision must have been passed by a unanimous vote; (4) the error must concern a Biblical law; (5) at least a majority of the people must have followed the decision in practice; (6) those who followed the decision in practice must have been unaware of the mistake, and must have supposed that they were acting in accordance with law; (7) the error must have been due merely to ignorance of a matter of detail, and not to ignorance of the existence of the whole Biblical law in question.

The anointed priest who had interpreted a Biblical law erroneously, and acted accordingly, was required to bring a special sacrifice.

The laws regarding the special sacrifice of the Leading Elder of the Sanhedrin, the Nasi, are also discussed in this chapter.

If the sin was committed after they left their offices, the Nasi was regarded as an individual, while the status of the anointed priest was unchanged.

The Mishnah (10a) states that the Nasi is considered the king, deriving this from the verse in Leviticus 4:22, that "all the commandments of the Lord his God."

The Mishnah clarifies the meaning of the Hebrew word Mashiach, anointed one or messiah, in the context of the high priesthood.

The Mishnah begins prioritizing the distribution of charity money or lost objects to people based on their gender or title.

The Gemara is mainly devoted to interpreting the laws of the Mishnah dealing with sacrifices for unintentional sin, with a few aggadic digressions in the third chapter.

There is reason to believe[9] that this commentary on Horayot attributed to Rashi was composed by the school of Rabbeinu Gershom.

[11] The first Mishnah discusses the authority of the sages and the responsibility to act autonomously and not follow a misguided ruling.

[12] From this first Mishnah, and the Talmudic discussion that follows, the conclusion is drawn that experts in Halakha are obligated to weigh their internal truth and autonomous decision before acting on halakhic matters.

The only times when the bull is offered to atone for communal transgression is when the entire congregation sinned based on a court ruling on a detail of mitzvah prohibited in the Torah; i.e., no bull would be brought if the court annulled an entire negative prohibition and the congregation blindly followed them.

In the language of the Talmud, if the matter is such that even the Sadducees acknowledge it is a prohibited mitzvah in the Torah, no bull would be brought in such a case of communal transgression following a court's unwitting ruling.

The Gemara clarifies that a sin offering (korban ḥatat, IPA: [χaˈtat]) would be brought either by the High Priest or by the king, who is called the Nasi in Leviticus.

Rav Pappa teaches that the case in question is one in which the anointed priest was a distinguished Torah scholar with the same authority to issue rulings as the Sanhedrin.

The Mishnah teaches that for offerings in which the penalty is kareth for intentional violation, the individual brings a sacrifice if he transgressed unwittingly.

The High Priest participates in bringing Temple offerings, even if this were to be immediately after the death of a close relative, i.e. during the time of aninut.

[38] The Gemara (12b) proceeds to explicate an argument between Rav (Abba Arikha) and Shmuel (Samuel of Nehardea) regarding how the High Priest tears his garment in an expression of mourning in accordance with the Mishnah.

The Gemara explicates that the position of Shmuel is partially in accord with that expressed by Rav Yehuda (Judah bar Ilai).

[41] The Talmud continues the discussion about priority or precedence when saving a life or rescuing an individual from captivity.

[43] Similarly, a triage of life based on hierarchy of class is categorized such that the order is from highest to lowest: Priest, Levite, Israelite, mamzer, Nethinim, convert, and lastly the slave.

This triage based on class hierarchy is only applicable if they are of equal wisdom, but a wise mamzer precedes others of higher social rank.

Rabbi Yehoshua said to Rabban Gamliel: There is one star that rises once in seventy years and misleads sailors at sea, causing their journeys to be extended.

[46] This first identification of Halley's Comet by Rabbi Yehoshua is likewise noted by R. Patai in The Children of Noah: Jewish Seafaring in Ancient Times (Princeton University Press 1998) and I.

The sages proceed to discuss various legends regarding the anointing oil of the High Priest in the Bible and the First Temple Kings of Judah and Israel.

Abudarham notes that on the night of Hoshana Rabba people would walk out naked in the dark covered only in a cloth to see if they could see the shadow of their head.

He proceeded to sabotage their plan by reciting Uktzim to Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel so that he would know the tractate.

Maimonides explains that the reason for the compilers of the Mishnah deciding on placing Horayot last in the Order of Nezikin was that after they dealt with torts and the laws of capital punishment, and then with ethics in Pirkei Avot, they felt it necessary to include a section on mistaken rulings.