Parah 3:4-5

Parah 3:4

They didn’t use one purification for another (i.e., if they had to bring another cow, he would have to purify again), nor one child for another. Rabbi Yosi HaGlili said that the children had to be sprinkled with the purification waters; Rabbi Akiva said that this is unnecessary.

Parah 3:5

If they didn’t find the ashes of the seven red heifers, they performed the sprinkling with the ashes of six, five, four, three, two or one. Rabbi Meir said that Moshe prepared the first cow, Ezra the second, and five were prepared from the time of Ezra; the Sages say that all seven were from the time of Ezra. Shimon HaTzaddik and Yochanan the Kohein Gadol each prepared two; Ely’hoeinai ben Hakof, Chanamel the Egyptian and Yishmael ben Piavi each prepared one.