Bekhorot 20 - October 8, 27 Tishrei

Study Guide

A braita presents opinions regarding an animal purchased from a non-Jew whose birthing history is unknown. Rabbi Yishmael establishes age-based presumptions (that a goat in its first year, a sheep in its second, and a cow or donkey in its third is assumed to have not yet produced a firstborn prior to the sale), while Rabbi Yosi bar Rabbi Yehuda requires four years for a donkey. Rabbi Yehoshua quotes his rabbis and counters that a bodily discharge (tinuf), which could indicate a prior miscarriage, would also exempt an animal from bekhora, while he himself adds that a goat that had a bodily discharge at six months could still have another offspring within a year. Rabbi Akiva breaks it all down into three cases—where it is known there was a prior birth, where it is known there was no prior birth, or where it is uncertain.

The Gemara analyzes the debate between Rabbi Yishmael and Rabbi Yehoshua—suggesting three possible ways to understand the disagreement. Is the debate whether a tinuf (murky discharge) will exempt an animal from the laws of bekhora, whether we need to be concerned that there was a murky discharge even though that only happens in a minority of cases, or whether an animal can miscarry and give birth again in the same year.

 

The Gemara then analyzes the difference between what Rabbi Yehoshua quoted in the name of his rabbis and what he himself holds. Again, three possible explanations are brought: Do they disagree about Zeiri's ruling that an animal cannot become pregnant within thirty days of a discharge, can an animal give birth before five complete months of gestation (yoledet lemikuta'in), or can we count part of a day as a full day (miktzat hayom kekulo) in this context. It then explores the dispute between Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Akiva and explains the debate to be whether milk production serves as definitive proof of a prior birth to exempt the animal.

A second braita discusses a case where a young goat and her three daughters each give birth to three female kids within a single year, enabling all twelve offspring to enter the pen for animal tithe (ma'aser behema). The Gemara clarifies why the braita specified three offspring per animal, reaching a total of twelve, rather than bringing a case that reached a total of ten, which is the minimum amount required for animal tithing.