BEKHOROT

BEKHOROT (Heb. בְּכוֹרוֹת; "Firstborn"), fourth tractate in the Mishnah, in the order of Kodashim. Bekhorot is a striking instance of the weaving together of disparate strands to form a mishnaic tractate. The main unifying principle is biblical: "I consecrated every first-born in Israel, man and beast, to Myself, to be Mine, the Lord's" (Num. 3:13). The primary theme relating directly to the order Kodashim concerns the firstborn of "pure" animal species: ideally, it must be slaughtered at the Temple and consumed as a sacrifice. The firstborn of the impure ass, however, must be "redeemed" or killed; a ritual of redemption is ordained for human firstborns as well (Exod. 13:13. 34:20). A separate issue is the law of inheritance, in which the firstborn is entitled to a double share.

The opening clauses of the first two chapters introduce the tractate's two secondary subjects: the priests (kohanim) and the tithe of cattle. The paired clauses 1:1 and 2:1 relate the various laws concerning the firstborn to the special status of the priests, whose consecration replaced that of the firstborn Israelites (Num. 3:45). The priests are not the subject of a mishnaic tractate, (cf. Kodashim), but figure significantly in Bekhorot, above and beyond the entire chapter (Ch 7, see below) detailing the physical wholesomeness required for their service in the Temple. The ninth, concluding chapter is devoted to the cattle tithe, whose manner of consecration – by objective circumstance – is similar to that of the firstborn animal (as emphasized in 2:2). Although the chapter's opening formula continues the series of Ḥullin 5–12, the tithing of cattle is grounded (like the following tractates, Arakhin and Temurah) in Lev. Ch. 27, which is also the source for the automatic consecration of the firstborn (Lev. 27:26, 32–3).

The fact that – unlike other sanctified things – the bekhor (firstborn) does not require an act of consecration is key to the tractate's main legal issues. First, since the determinative conditions of birth may be in doubt – especially if the dam gives birth to multiple young – ownership may be contested between the original owner and the priest (who has a claim to the bekhor). Hence m 2:6–8 presents a series of tannaitic disputes regarding the disposition of this contested object, including R. Akiva's classical dictum: "Whoever seeks to extract property from his fellow, has the burden of proof." Second, after the destruction of the Temple, when people desisted from consecrating animals, the firstborn – holy at birth – becomes a terrible burden. Although it can no longer be actually offered and consumed at the Temple, it still must be treated with the full care and awe due to sanctified objects and animals. The only escape allowing the priest to consume it is in case the animal happens to contract a blemish that renders it unfit as a sacrifice. Thus the Mishnah carefully determines the manner and requisite authority for examining such blemishes, as well as the specifics of the blemishes themselves.

Chapters 4 and 5 are dedicated to the procedures for examining the firstborn and to safeguards against fraudulent permissions. This becomes the classical context for broader rules about mistaken rulings and about trustworthiness in general (m 4:4–10). The caption of chapter 6 is: "The following blemishes are grounds for slaughtering the firstborn" – that is, for non-sacral consumption. The chapter goes on to enumerate these blemishes in anatomical detail; this is, in effect, the catalog of blemishes that invalidate an animal for any kind of sacrifice. Chapter 7 applies the same rules to humans – that is, to priests, who may not serve if there is a blemish in their body – but goes on to define several differences, including the issue of what may be called moral blemishes (m 7:7).

As noted above, priests figure centrally in Bekhorot. As God's representatives, they are entitled to the firstborn animal, and it is from them that the firstborn Israelite son is redeemed. Chapter 8 is devoted to the human bekhor, "firstborn for the priest" (i.e., requiring redemption) and "firstborn for inheritance." It opens by distinguishing the definition of the maternal firstborn for this redemption ("first issue of the womb," Exod. 13:2, 12) from that of the paternal firstborn, entitled to a double inheritance ("the first fruit of his vigor," Deut. 21:17).

Tosefta Bekhorot follows the arrangement of the Mishnah especially closely, but adds several significant expansions. M. 1:2 discusses scenarios in which an animal of one species gives birth to a creature resembling another species – not only with regard to the sanctity of the firstborn, but also with regard to the animal's status as "pure" or "impure" for eating – and offers the rule: "Anything that emerges from the impure is impure; from the pure – pure." The Tosefta's extensive treatment of this rule (1:5–13) includes an explanation of why it is nevertheless permitted to eat honey, and a grounding of the rule in a firm biological principle that cross-species breeding is impossible. When discussing untrustworthiness, the Mishnah (4:10) emphasizes that it is context-specific. T. endorses this in its own extended discussion of the same topic (3:8–12), but posits an exception: "One who is suspect with respect to idolatry is [on that account] suspect with respect to the entire Torah [i.e., in all matters]" (3:12).

The Mishnah's discussion of the "firstborn for the priest" includes several cases in which two women give birth and doubts then arise as to whether their children were exchanged (8:4–6). It is only in the Tosefta's extended treatment of this theme (6:2–9) that the setting for these doubts becomes clear. The events are repeatedly described as having taken place "in a hideout," evidently reflecting the grim realities of the Hadrianic persecutions.

[Noam Zohar (2^nd ed.)]

The role played by the mother in defining the firstborn for most matters leads the Babylonian Talmud to discuss the determination of a child's birth affiliation (to tribe or nation) by its father or mother (47a). A related discussion effectively recognizes a status of Levitess – the "daughter of a Levite" – whose son (even from a father who is an Israelite) is exempted, like the son of a Levite, from the toll of the firstborn (4a).

The Book of Numbers (Chs. 3 & 8) describes the Levites' dedicational ceremony, to serve in the firstborns' stead; B. explains the absence of the priests from this description by affirming that they are included in the collective group of the Levites (4a). B. concludes that prior to this replacement, the firstborn were appointed in charge of sacrificial worship (4b).

In the context of halakhic discussions of animal births, B. reports a battle of wits between R. Yehoshua b. Hanania and the "Elders of Athens," stemming from a disagreement regarding the duration of the pregnancy of the snake (8b–9a). The battle ends with the physical downfall of the Elders of Athens.

In the conclusion of its discussion of blemishes, the Mishnah (6:12) reports a debate as to whether or not androgynous and epicene (tumtum) animals are considered blemished. This leads B. into a lengthy discussion regarding the various possibilities to view the status of androgynous and epicene humans (41b–42b).

In the ninth chapter, the Mishnah defines the grouping of animals into a herd that should be counted and tithed together, both in terms of birthing cycles and in terms of physical spacing; R. Meir adds (9:2) that the Jordan River constitutes a boundary in this regard. B. discusses the status of the Jordan River as a border – whether it is considered part of the land of Israel, or a separate territory. B. then enters an extended discussion of rivers, focusing on the four rivers of Eden mentioned in the Creation account in Genesis (1:10–14): Pishon, Gihon and Tigris are said to be elevated above all other bodies of water; the Euphrates is the highest of all, and the source of all the world's water (55a–55b).

[Yedidah Koren (2^nd ed.)]

bibliography:

H.L. Strack, Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash (1945), 56, 263; P. Blackman (ed. and tr.), Mishnayoth, 5 (Eng., 1954), 241–2; J. Neusner. A History of the Mishnaic Law of Holy Things. (1978–80).