Daf 21 — Bechoros 21 Summary

Bechoros 21 – Good Morning Raboisai Maaser Behemah – Can There Be Ten in One Year? The Gemara discusses a remarkable case: • One goat gives birth to three daughters. • Each of those three daughters then gives birth to three offspring. • All these births take place within the same Maaser Behemah year. This produces: • 3 daughters • 9 grandchildren • Total: 12 animals born during the year. Since Maaser Behemah requires only ten animals, the Gemara asks: Why does the case need all three daughters to produce triplets? 21_transcript Why Three Sets of Triplets? The Gemara first suggests: • One daughter could have three offspring, • And the other two could each have two. Together with the three mothers: • There would still be ten. The Gemara explains that once the case requires one set of triplets: • The Beraisa describes all three in the same way. But the Gemara continues: Why not simply have each daughter produce twins and obtain the tenth animal from another birth of the original mother? Can the Mother Give Birth Twice in the Same Year? This question connects directly to yesterday's Sugya of Tinuf. Perhaps the original mother: • Could not have another complete birth within the same year. But this does not necessarily prove that: • Tinuf also prevents another birth during that year. A full - term birth and a Tinuf: • May have very different effects on the mother's ability to become pregnant again. Therefore, the Maaser case does not conclusively resolve yesterday's question about Tinuf. Tinuf and the Timing of a Second Pregnancy The Thirty - Day Period The Gemara returns to the timing after Tinuf. Suppose an animal experiences Tinuf: • At the end of its sixth month. There is then a question of whether: • It can become pregnant during the following thirty days, • And whether there is enough time afterwards to complete another pregnancy within the year. This determines whether: • A later birth can still occur during the same Maaser year. The Dispute About the Final Month The practical difference between the opinions is: How much of the final month is available for the animal to give birth? According to one view: • The birth can only occur right at the end of the year. According to the other: • There is a larger window during the final month. The issue depends on exactly how long the pregnancy must last after Tinuf. Must the Pregnancy Reach Its Full Term? The Gemara returns to the question: Can an animal give birth slightly before the complete gestation period? Or must it complete: • The entire five months? The discussion parallels yesterday's calculation from: • Herayon – pregnancy, which has a Gematria of 271. The point is that a normal viable pregnancy requires: • Its complete period. Miktzas HaYom K'Kulo The Gemara also considers: • Miktzas HaYom K'Kulo. If an animal gives birth partway through the final day: • Do we consider part of that day like the whole day? This can determine whether: • The birth belongs to the present Maaser year, • Or effectively falls beyond the required period. Mechusar Zman and Maaser Behemah An Animal Born on the Final Day There is another problem. Suppose the tenth animal is born: • On the very last day of the Maaser year. It is less than eight days old. An animal cannot yet be brought on the Mizbeach before: • Its eighth day. So how can it enter the pen and become: • Maaser Behemah? Rebbi Shimon – It Can Enter the Pen Rebbi Shimon teaches: • A Mechusar Zman can enter the pen to be counted for Maaser Behemah. Even though: • It cannot yet be offered on the Mizbeach, it can nevertheless become: • Kadosh as Maaser. Becoming Kadosh and being fit to be offered are two separate issues. Maaser Is Compared to Bechor The source is the comparison between: • Maaser Behemah, • And Bechor. A Bechor becomes Kadosh: • Immediately when it is born. Yet it cannot be brought as a Korban until: • The appropriate time. Therefore: Maaser can likewise become Kadosh before it is old enough to be brought on the Mizbeach. Should Maaser Be Compared to Bechor or Other Kodshim? Four Similarities to Bechor The Gemara asks: Why compare Maaser specifically to Bechor? Perhaps Maaser should instead be compared to: • Ordinary Kodshim. The Gemara identifies several similarities between: • Bechor and Maaser. These include areas such as: • Redemption, • Mum, • Temurah, • And how the animal is eaten after developing a Mum. In these respects, Maaser resembles Bechor. Four Similarities to Other Kodshim But Maaser also resembles: • Other Korbanos. The Gemara lists another group of similarities, including that Maaser: • Does not have to be the firstborn, • Is not limited to a male, • Does not automatically possess Kedushah from birth, • And is not a Matnas Kehunah like Bechor. So we now have: • Four similarities to Bechor, • And four similarities to ordinary Kodshim. Which comparison should we use? The Gezeirah Shavah – Ha'avarah The deciding factor is a Gezeirah Shavah. The Torah uses the language of: • Ha'avarah – passing, by both: • Bechor, • And Maaser Behemah. Therefore: Maaser is compared specifically to Bechor. Just as a Bechor can become Kadosh while still Mechusar Zman: • So can Maaser Behemah. What Exactly Is Tinuf? Defining Tinuf The Gemara now asks: What exactly does Tinuf look like? The shepherds describe it as: • A discharge associated with the womb. The Gemara describes: • A blood - like substance or bubbles of blood. This can indicate: • An unsuccessful pregnancy. It Must Be Shown to an Expert The Gemara says the Tinuf must be: • Shown to a Chacham. The Gemara asks: How would a regular Talmid Chacham know how to identify: • An animal's miscarriage? The point is that this requires: • Practical expertise and experience with animals. Halachic identification sometimes requires someone with specialised practical knowledge of the Metzius. How Long Until an Animal Pregnancy Is Significant? Tinuf and a Human Miscarriage The Daf compares this concept with: • A human pregnancy. In a human pregnancy, the stage of development can affect whether: • A later child is considered the Peter Rechem for Pidyon HaBen. The Gemara therefore asks: At what point is an animal pregnancy sufficiently developed for a miscarriage to count as Tinuf? Ze'iri's Thirty Days Is a Different Question One might think the answer is: • Thirty days, because Ze'iri previously discussed thirty days. The Gemara rejects this. Ze'iri's thirty days concerned: • How long after Tinuf the animal will not become pregnant again. It did not establish: • How old the pregnancy itself must be for the miscarriage to count as Tinuf. These are two separate questions. Buying an Animal from a Yisrael The Seller Says Nothing The Gemara now discusses buying an animal from: • A Jewish owner. The seller does not tell the buyer whether: • The animal previously gave birth. Can his silence tell us anything? There are three approaches. Rav – It Is Definitely a Bechor Rav says: • The next first - looking male offspring is a definite Bechor. Why? If the animal had previously given birth: • The seller would have told the buyer. That information increases the animal's value because: • The buyer would know he does not face the possibility of having to give the next offspring to a Kohen. Since the seller said nothing: Rav takes this as evidence that the animal had not previously given birth. Shmuel – It Remains a Safek Shmuel says: • The seller's silence proves nothing. Perhaps the seller assumed: • The buyer intended to shecht the animal immediately. If so: • Whether it had previously given birth would make no practical difference to the buyer. Therefore: The animal remains a Safek. Rebbi Yochanan – It Is Chullin Rebbi Yochanan goes in the opposite direction: • The offspring is treated as Chullin. Why? If there were a genuine possibility that the next offspring would be a Bechor: • A Jewish seller should warn the buyer. Since he remained silent: • We can assume there is no Bechor concern. His failure to warn becomes evidence that the animal had already given birth. The Proof from Oso V'Es Beno A Jewish Seller Warns the Buyer The Gemara brings a comparison from: • Oso V'Es Beno. If a seller sells: • The mother to one person, • And its offspring to another, he may need to warn the second buyer: • The related animal was already sold, so that they do not shecht both on the same day. This appears to support the idea that: A Jewish seller warns a buyer about a Halachic problem known only to him. Why Bechor May Be Different The Gemara rejects the proof. By Oso V'Es Beno: • Only the seller knows that the related animal was sold to someone else. The buyer has: • No way to discover the problem himself. But by Bechor: • The buyer himself is responsible for dealing with the Bechor status when the animal gives birth. Therefore: • The seller's silence may not prove anything. This supports the possibility that the case remains a Safek. Key Chazarah • Maaser Behemah requires animals born within the same Maaser year. • The Gemara discusses three daughters each producing offspring within the year, creating enough animals for Maaser. • The case does not conclusively prove whether Tinuf prevents another birth in the same year. • The timing after Tinuf determines whether another full pregnancy can finish within that year. • A Mechusar Zman can still enter the pen and become Maaser according to Rebbi Shimon. • Maaser is compared to Bechor: Kedushah can take effect even before the animal is fit for the Mizbeach. • Maaser has four similarities to Bechor and four to ordinary Kodshim. • The Gezeirah Shavah of Ha'avarah connects Maaser specifically to Bechor. • Tinuf is a physical discharge indicating an unsuccessful pregnancy and requires expert identification. • Ze'iri's thirty days concern when the animal can become pregnant again after Tinuf, not when the pregnancy becomes significant. • Rav, Shmuel and Rebbi Yochanan disagree about an animal bought from a Yisrael whose previous birth history is unknown. • Rav treats the next offspring as a definite Bechor, Shmuel as a Safek, and Rebbi Yochanan as Chullin. • The Gemara compares the seller's duty to warn with Oso V'Es Beno, but explains why the cases may be different. 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