Bekhorot

Bekhorot (Hebrew: בְּכוֹרוֹת, romanized: bəḵōrōṯ, lit. 'firstborns') is a tractate of the Mishnah, the Tosefta, and both the Talmud Bavli and Talmud Yerushalmi. It primarily discusses the laws governing firstborn animals and humans. It forms part of Seder Kodashim (סֵדֶר קָדָשִׁים, sēḏer qāḏāšîm, 'order [of] holy things'), the fifth order of the Mishnah.

The tractate primarily concerns the laws governing the firstborn, the bekhor (בְּכוֹר, bəḵōr, 'firstborn'). It discusses three principal categories: the firstborn male of a ritually permitted domesticated animal, the firstborn male of a donkey, and a woman's firstborn son. The firstborn of cattle, sheep, or goats acquired sacred status at birth and, while the Temple in Jerusalem stood, was given to a priest and offered as a sacrifice. The tractate details the physical blemishes (מוּמִים, mûmîm) that rendered an animal unfit for sacrifice, as well as those that disqualified a priest from Temple service.

The tractate also addresses the redemption of a firstborn donkey (פֶּטֶר רֶחֶם, peṭer reḥem, 'one that opens the womb') and the redemption of a firstborn son (פִּדְיוֹן הַבֵּן, piḏyôn habbēn, 'redemption of the son'), commemorated in the pidyon haben ceremony. Its final chapter concerns the animal tithe (מַעְשַׂר בְּהֵמָה, maʿśar bəhēmâ, 'tithe of animals').

Contents of the Mishnah

The Mishnah's tractate—upon which the Talmud compiles the commentary of Chazal (IPA: [/χaˈzal/])—includes nine chapters and treats several related questions of judicial and professional responsibility:

Chapter 1 concerns the petter chamor (IPA: [/ˈpɛtɛr ħăˈmoːr/]; פֶּטֶר חֲמוֹר, peṭer ḥămôr, 'that which opens the womb of a donkey') ritual. Based on the mitzvah (מִצְוָה, miṣwâ, 'commandment') that God gives the Israelites in Exodus 13:13, it discusses circumstances that exempt the animal from firstborn status and the choice between redeeming it with a lamb and breaking its neck.

Chapter 2 concerns the firstborn of ritually permitted domesticated animals, particularly cases involving ownership or partnership with a non-Jew (נָכְרִי, noḵrî, 'foreigner') and the circumstances under which such an interest exempts an animal from firstborn status.

Chapter 3 addresses uncertainty about whether an animal is a firstborn, including cases involving previous births, multiple offspring, and uncertainty over which animal first emerged from the womb.

Chapter 4 concerns the care and inspection of firstborn animals and the authority and liability of experts who rule on blemishes. It distinguishes between authorized and unauthorized experts who issue erroneous rulings and records testimony attributed to Theodos the physician. The chapter also addresses compensation for adjudicating cases and provides that the judgments of one who accepts payment to adjudicate are void. This form of religious-legal decision-making is related to the later role of the posek, or halakhic decisor (פּוֹסֵק, pôsēq; pl. פּוֹסְקִים, pôsəqîm).

Chapter 5 discusses disqualified sacred animals, including firstborn animals whose blemishes were intentionally caused, restrictions on their slaughter and sale, and the treatment of their wool and labor.

Chapter 6 enumerates the physical blemishes (מוּמִים, mûmîm) that render a firstborn animal unfit for sacrifice.

Chapter 7 enumerates the physical blemishes that disqualify a kohen (כֹּהֵן, kōhēn, 'priest') from performing the Temple service, based on the priestly requirements given in Leviticus 21:16–23.

Chapter 8 concerns the firstborn son. It distinguishes firstborn status for redemption from firstborn status for inheritance, sets out the laws of pidyon haben (פִּדְיוֹן הַבֵּן, piḏyôn habbēn, 'redemption [of] the son') and discusses the firstborn son's right to a double portion of his father's estate. These laws derive principally from Numbers 18:15–16 and Deuteronomy 21:15–17. Chapter 8 concludes with laws of firstborn inheritance, including a dispute over which transfers of property are reversed in the Jubilee year.

Chapter 9 concerns the animal tithe (מַעְשַׂר בְּהֵמָה, maʿśar bəhēmâ, 'tithe of animals'), under which every tenth eligible animal is sacred, as prescribed in Leviticus 27:32–33. Its sacred status and restrictions resemble those governing a firstborn animal.

Tosefta

In the Tosefta, Bekhorot is the fourth tractate, akin to the Mishnah but divided into seven chapters. Chapter 1 corresponds to the first Mishnah chapter; chapter 2 corresponds to Mishnah chapters 2–3; chapter 3 covers chapters 4–5; chapter 4 aligns with chapter 6; chapter 5 with chapter 7; chapter 6 with chapter 8; and chapter 7 with chapter 9. The Tosefta significantly differs from the Mishnah in how it lists blemishes and their names. Besides enumerating blemishes, it also explores various situations wherein a kohen might assess the status of a firstborn, such as when a creature gives birth to an animal that resembles another species.

Talmud

The Jerusalem Talmud (Talmud Yerushalmi) does not contain a tractate Bekhorot, in contrast to the Babylonian Talmud, in which it is the third tractate in Seder Kodashim. In addition to the common theme of purity, the Babylonian Talmud expands on the exemption of the firstborn Levite, or kohen. The child of a Levite mother or of a kohen, regardless of whether or not the father is a Levite or a general Jew, is automatically exempt from the toll. This exemption reflects the view that firstborn males are already born in the service of God, so redemption is not needed.

References

↑ Encyclopaedia Judaica. Vol. 3 (2nd ed.). Macmillan Reference USA.
↑ Exodus 13:2–15
↑ Talmud, b. Pesachim 121b:1
↑ The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion. Oxford University Press. 1997. ISBN 978-0-19-508605-8.
↑ Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Bekorot" . The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
↑ Exodus 13:13
↑ Talmud, b. Bekhorot 2a–13a
↑ Talmud, b. Bekhorot 13a–19b
↑ Talmud, b. Bekhorot 19b–26b
↑ Talmud, b. Bekhorot 26b-31a
↑ Talmud, b. Bekhorot 28b:13–14
↑ Talmud, b. Bekhorot 29a:5
↑ Talmud, b. Bekhorot 31a–37a
↑ Talmud, b. Bekhorot 37a–43a
↑ Talmud, b. Bekhorot 43a–46a
↑ Leviticus 21:16–23
↑ Numbers 18:15–16
↑ Deuteronomy 21:15–17
↑ Talmud, b. Bekhorot 46a–52b
↑ Talmud, b. Bekhorot 52b
↑ Leviticus 27:32–33
↑ Talmud, b. Bekhorot 53a–61a
↑ Encyclopaedia Judaica (2nd Ed. Vol. III. ed.). MacMillan Reference USA.
↑ Fine, Lawrence (2001). Judaism in Practice: From the Middle Ages through the Early Modern Period. Princeton University Press. p. 102. ISBN 0-691-05786-9.

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Bekorot". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.

External links

Text of the Mishnah for tractate Bekhorot (Hebrew)

[1] Encyclopaedia Judaica. Vol. 3 (2nd ed.). Macmillan Reference USA.

[2] Exodus 13:2–15

[3] Talmud, b. Pesachim 121b:1

[4] The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion. Oxford University Press. 1997. ISBN 978-0-19-508605-8.

[JE-Bekhorot-5] Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Bekorot" . The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.

[6] Exodus 13:13

[7] Talmud, b. Bekhorot 2a–13a

[8] Talmud, b. Bekhorot 13a–19b

[9] Talmud, b. Bekhorot 19b–26b

[10] Talmud, b. Bekhorot 26b-31a

[11] Talmud, b. Bekhorot 28b:13–14

[12] Talmud, b. Bekhorot 29a:5

[13] Talmud, b. Bekhorot 31a–37a

[14] Talmud, b. Bekhorot 37a–43a

[15] Talmud, b. Bekhorot 43a–46a

[16] Leviticus 21:16–23

[17] Numbers 18:15–16

[18] Deuteronomy 21:15–17

[19] Talmud, b. Bekhorot 46a–52b

[20] Talmud, b. Bekhorot 52b

[21] Leviticus 27:32–33

[22] Talmud, b. Bekhorot 53a–61a

[23] Encyclopaedia Judaica (2nd Ed. Vol. III. ed.). MacMillan Reference USA.

[24] Fine, Lawrence (2001). Judaism in Practice: From the Middle Ages through the Early Modern Period. Princeton University Press. p. 102. ISBN 0-691-05786-9.