Daily Talk
A ewe gives birth for the first time and nobody saw which twin came out first, and the Rambam refuses to guess. Then he builds a corral with a doorway so narrow that only one lamb can pass at a time, and whichever animal walks out tenth becomes holy. What kind of law decides sanctity with a doorway and a stick?
Counted, Not Chosen
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About This Talk
Bechorot 5 works through the firstborn nobody can identify: twins from a mother who never gave birth before, a firstborn and an ordinary animal left with the same shepherd, an animal of doubtful status that pastures until a blemish comes and is then eaten by its owner because no one can prove otherwise. Chapters 6 and 7 turn to the tithe of animals, one in every ten, owed only on what is born in your own domain, and then describe the corral, the narrow gate, the mothers bleating outside and the staff counting to ten. Two studies of one question: what becomes of holiness when a person is not permitted to choose it.