150px, Pidyon haben Bekorot (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

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

tractate Tractate, a written work dealing formally and systematically with a subject, may refer to: * Masekhet, an organizational element of Talmudic literature * Minor tractate, a group of essays on Jewish religious laws * Treatise, a formal and systemati ...

of the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...

and

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

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

Kodashim 150px, Pidyon haben Kodashim () 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 Jerusalem, its maintenance and design, the ''korbanot'', or sa ...

'' (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 ( "supplement, addition") is a compilation of Jewish Oral Law from the late second century, the period of the Mishnah and the Jewish sages known as the '' Tannaim''. Background Jewish teachings of the Tannaitic period were cha ...

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

Pidyon haben The ''pidyon haben'' () or redemption of the first-born son is a mitzvah in Judaism whereby a Jewish firstborn son is "redeemed" with money. The redemption is attained by paying five silver coins to a kohen (a patrilineal descendant of the pr ...

ceremony.

Mishna

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

). * Chapter 8 on blemishes that disqualify a priest for the sacrificial service * Chapter 9 on laws concerning the

animal tithe The animal tithe (, "Ma'sar Behemah") is a commandment in the Torah requiring the sanctifying a tithe of kosher grazing animals (cattle, sheep, and goats) to God, to be sacrificed as a ''Korban'' at the Temple in Jerusalem. The tithe of animals ...

—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 often used to refer to the celebration of a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term comes from the Hebrew Bible (see, "Old Testament"), initially concerning ...

; 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 (, often for short) or Palestinian Talmud, also known as the Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century Jewish oral tradition known as the Mishnah. Naming this version of the Talm ...

does not contain a tractate Bekhorot. The

Babylonian Talmud The Talmud (; ) 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 centerpiece of Jewi ...

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 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 definite article "" ''Ha-' ...

, or

Kohen Kohen (, ; , ، Arabic كاهن , Kahen) is the Hebrew word for "priest", used in reference to the Aaronic Priest#Judaism, priesthood, also called Aaronites or Aaronides. They are traditionally believed, and halakha, halakhically required, to ...

. 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