One-Page Learn · The Halachos at a glance
בְּכוֹרוֹת
Firstlings 5-7
Sefer Korbanot · The firstborn nobody can identify, then the tithe of animals: what is owed, who owes it, and the corral in which the tenth one out becomes holy
10
Animals counted before one is consecrated
200
Merged partnership lambs, all exempt
16
Mil apart and two herds still combine
3
Fixed threshing floor dates each year
Ch 5The firstborn of doubtful status
- Two males, and the priest takes the weaker. When a ewe that never gave birth bears two males, one certainly emerged first even if the heads appeared together, so the priest takes the weaker and the other is a doubtful firstborn; if one of the two died, the priest receives nothing, since whoever expropriates from a colleague carries the burden of proof. (5:1)
- A male and a female leaves the priest empty handed. If the first birth produced a male and a female, the male is only of doubtful status, because the female may have emerged first, and nothing is taken from the owner. (5:1)
- Pasture, blemish, then eat; never the altar. Every doubtful firstborn pastures until a blemish comes upon it and is then eaten by its owner, and it is never offered as a sacrifice, lest an ordinary animal be slaughtered in the Temple Courtyard. (5:3)
- But possession settles it. If a priest has already taken the doubtful firstborn, it is not expropriated from him; he too may eat it only once it is blemished. (5:3)
- Bought with tithe money, bought with Sabbatical produce. Offspring of an animal purchased with second tithe money in Jerusalem are obligated in the firstborn laws, while offspring of an animal purchased with Sabbatical year produce are exempt, since no commerce may be conducted with that produce. (5:9)
RememberThe burden of proof protects whoever is holding the animal, and that can be either side.
Ch 6What the tithe of animals is, and who owes it
- One in ten, cattle and sheep only. It is a positive commandment to separate one of every ten kosher animals born each year, and the mitzvah applies only to cattle and sheep; priests, Levites and Israelites are all obligated. (6:1, 6:3)
- Suspended in our era by decree. The obligation holds in the Land and outside it, with or without the Temple, yet the Sages forbade tithing animals today lest a consecrated animal be eaten unblemished and one incur karet; if one tithed anyway it is a tithe offering and is eaten after it becomes blemished. (6:2)
- Eaten by the owner, and it cannot be sold. It is slaughtered in the Courtyard, its blood cast in one heave at the Altar's base, and the meat belongs entirely to the owner in Jerusalem with no portion for the priests; selling it unblemished is forbidden and, the Rambam writes, the sale is of no consequence and the buyer acquires nothing. (6:4, 6:5)
- Only what is born in your domain. Lambs that were purchased or received as a gift carry no obligation, and merged or inherited flocks count as sold and are exempt; offspring born to the partnership afterward are obligated. (6:10)
- Some animals never enter the corral. The whole herd is brought in, blemished and unblemished alike, except hybrids, tereifah, those born by Caesarian section, those lacking in age, and one whose mother died or was slaughtered at its birth. (6:14)
RememberThe tithe is owed on what was born under your roof, not on anything you acquired.
Ch 7The corral, the count, and the three deadlines
- Handing over one in ten is not tithing. The animals are gathered into a corral with an entrance too narrow for two to leave together, the mothers are placed outside so the lambs come out on their own, and the owner counts to nine with a staff and marks the tenth with red paint, saying this is the tithe. (7:1)
- The count is essential, the props are not. If he used no red paint, used no staff, or counted them lying down or standing, the tithing still takes effect, since he counted ten by ten and consecrated the tenth. (7:1)
- Sixteen mil, and a herd in the middle binds them. Each herd is reckoned alone, but herds within sixteen mil combine; nine on one side, nine on the other and one in the center brings all three into a single corral. (7:2, 7:3)
- Three threshing floors, and the meat stays permitted. The last day of Adar, the thirty fifth day of the Omer and the last day of Elul each fall fifteen days before a festival, and from those dates one may not sell or slaughter offspring until he tithes, so that animals are available to the pilgrims; if he slaughtered anyway, the meat is permitted. (7:8)
RememberNobody selects the tithe. Whichever animal walks out tenth is the one that becomes holy.