150px, Pidyon haben Bekorot (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: בכורות, "First-borns") is the name of a

tractate A tractate is a written work dealing formally and systematically with a subject; the word derives from the Latin ''tractatus'', meaning treatise. One example of its use is in citing a section of the Talmud, when the term ''masekhet'' () is used i ...

of the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...

and

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...

which discusses the laws of first-born animals and humans. It is one of the tractates forming ''Seder

Kodashim file:Pidyon HaBen P6020102.JPG, 150px, Pidyon haben Kodashim ( he, קדשים, "Holy Things") is the fifth of the six orders, or major divisions, of the Mishnah, Tosefta and the Talmud, and deals largely with the services within the Temple in Jer ...

'' (Hebrew סדר קודשים, "Order of Holy Things"). The primary focus of the tractate relates to the ritual sacrifice (or slaughter) of first-born animals. Priests were required to inspect the first-born for blemishes prior to consecration. These blemishes are enumerated in both the

and

Tosefta The Tosefta (Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: תוספתא "supplement, addition") is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the late 2nd century, the period of the Mishnah. Overview In many ways, the Tosefta acts as a supplement to the Mishnah ( ...

. An exemption is made for the first-born son, who is "redeemed" in the Pidyon haben ceremony.

Mishna

The tractate contains nine chapters: * Chapter 1 on the first-born donkey (

Petter Chamor The Petter Chamor ( he, פטר חמור) or Redemption of the firstborn donkey, is a mitzvah in Judaism in which a male firstborn (bechor) donkey is redeemed by the owner of the donkey, who gives a lamb or kid to a Kohen. The lamb is not required ...

) * Chapters 2-6 on the first-born of kosher cattle (calf, lamb, or kid): cases of exemption through partnership with a non-Jew (chapter 2); cases of doubt whether an animal is first-born or not (3); on first-born cattle having a blemish (4); on cases of blemishes willfully caused by the owner (5); a list of blemishes (6). * Chapter 7 on the first-born son and laws of his redemption ( Pidyon haben). * Chapter 8 on blemishes that disqualify a priest for the sacrificial service * Chapter 9 on laws concerning the animal tithe—a subject which has many things in common with the "first-born" (see Zevahim 5:8). Besides chapters 7 and 9, there are a few digressions in the tractate. 1:7 speaks of the option between redeeming the first-born donkey and killing it, and recommends the former course; a few parallels are then introduced of option between two courses, of which one is recommended. The examination of the blemishes of the first-born animal had to be done gratis (4:5,6), but an exception is made in favor of a professional veterinary surgeon, such as Ila (or Ayla; in Tosefta Bekhorot 4:11, Amlah). In the same chapter another veterinary authority is named: Theodos the physician (4:4). To take payment for giving a decision in religious matters was considered unlawful and it rendered the decision invalid (4:6). When unqualified persons caused loss through their decision, they had to compensate for the loss; not so in the case of qualified persons (4:4). Transfer of property is generally reversed in the

Jubilee year A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of ...

; but what the first-born obtains by his birthright remains his forever. Parallel cases are given in 8:10.

Tosefta

In the Tosefta the treatise Bekorot has likewise the fourth place, and is divided into seven chapters. Chapter 1 corresponds to the first chapter of the Mishnah; chapter 2 to 2-3; chapter 3 to 4-5; chapter 4 to 6; chapter 5 to 7; chapter 6 to 8; chapter 7 to 9. The Tosefta differs greatly from the Mishnah in the enumeration of the blemishes and in their names. In addition to names of blemishes, the Tosefta expands on different scenarios in which a Kohen may find himself when determining the status of a first-born, for example when a creature gives birth to an animal resembling another species.

Talmud

The

Jerusalem Talmud The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...

does not contain a tractate Bekhorot. The

Babylonian Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...

contains such a tractate, where it has the third place in the Seder. In addition to the common theme of purity, the Babylonian Talmud expands on the exemption of the first-born

Levite Levites (or Levi) (, he, ''Lǝvīyyīm'') are Jewish males who claim patrilineal descent from the Tribe of Levi. The Tribe of Levi descended from Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. The surname ''Halevi'', which consists of the Hebrew defi ...

, or

Kohen Kohen ( he, , ''kōhēn'', , "priest", pl. , ''kōhănīm'', , "priests") is the Hebrew word for "priest", used in reference to the Aaronic priesthood, also called Aaronites or Aaronides. Levitical priests or ''kohanim'' are traditionally b ...

. The child of a Levite mother, or Kohenim, regardless whether or not the father is a Levite or Israelite, is automatically exempt from the "toll". This exemption is due to the notion that first-born males are already born in the service of God thus redemption is not needed.

References

External links

Text of the Mishnah for tractate Bekhorot
(Hebrew) {{Jews and Judaism, state=collapsed Mishnah

Mishna

Tosefta

Talmud

See also

References

External links