Rites of the Firstborn
Rabbi Kaganoff
Since many of the halachos of bechor are taught at the end of Parshas Bechukosai...
The Rites of the Firstborn
By Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff
Question #1: Firstborn Pachyderm
How does one redeem a firstborn elephant?
Question #2: The ten commandments
How many times does the Torah mention the mitzvos of bechor?
Question #3: Petter Chamor
“What are the laws of petter chamor?”
Question #4: Firstborn of the Levi
Is a levi required to redeem his firstborn donkey?
Foreword:
Parshas Bechukosai teaches that “No one may declare the firstborn among the animals that are to Hashem with a different status of holiness -- whether it is a calf or a seh, it belongs to Hashem” (Vayikra 27:26).
The word seh has no accurate translation in English since it means both a lamb (a baby sheep) and a kid (a baby goat) (see Parshas Re’eih, Devarim 14:4). To minimize confusion, I will be using the word seh when referring to both lambs and kids.
To explain the halachic ramifications of the pasuk I just quoted, we need to define the word “firstborn.” In halacha, there are two different sets of laws that result from being firstborn, and the definition of firstborn is not the same for these two sets:
(I) Sanctity of the firstborn
From the time that the male firstborn in Egypt were eliminated in the last of the ten makkos, firstborn people, kosher beheimah animals and donkeys all have sanctity. This sanctity exists only when a mother produces a petter rechem, literally, the opener of the womb; i.e., she gives birth naturally to a male firstborn, as opposed to a c-section.
(II) Financial rights of the firstborn
The rights of a bechor to a double portion in his father’s estate is only the father’s firstborn son and does not depend on whether he is a petter rechem (Mishnah, Bechoros 46a).
In other words, someone can be a bechor regarding the laws of receiving a double portion in his father’s estate, yet not have the sanctity of a bechor for pidyon haben purposes, and vice versa, one can be a bechor for pidyon haben purposes and not have any claim to a double portion in his father’s estate (Mishnah, Bechoros 46a).
The rest of this article will discuss the first category of firstborn, one who has sanctity -- whether human, kosher beheimah or donkey -- because he is a petter rechem.
The three types of sanctified petter rechem: humans, kosher animals and donkeys; have different rules. Allow me to explain this briefly.
1. Pidyon haben
Petter rechem boys born from parents, neither of whom is of a kohein or levi family (see Bechoros 4a) are “redeemed” by having the baby’s father pay the value of five silver sela’im to a kohein. In today’s currency, we follow the opinion of the Chazon Ish who considers five silver sela’im to be the equivalent of 100 grams of pure silver. (Silver coins are not pure silver, which can be bent and filed relatively easily, but are usually an alloy of 75% silver and 25% copper, which produces a harder coin.)
There is no prohibition to use the firstborn child even if he is not redeemed, nor does the kohein take the baby home if his father refuses to pay. Notwithstanding that the Torah and the Mishnah refer to this procedure as a “redemption,” it seems more accurate to describe this as a gift to the kohein (see Bamidbar 18:15-16).
2. Bechor beheimah tehorah
Petter rechem kosher animals have the sanctity of korbanos and are the property of the kohein. Should their sanctity be damaged by their becoming blemished, they remain the property of a kohein, and they are shechted and eaten. They may not be used for work, nor may they be sheared (Devarim 15:19). In other words, there is never any redemption of these petter rechem animals, as the Torah expresses in this week’s parsha, in the pasuk that I quoted above.
3. Petter chamor
Petter rechem donkeys have sanctity that must be removed by redemption. This mitzvah is called pidyon petter chamor. Should the owner not want to redeem his donkey, he is required to destroy it in a procedure called arifah, which is a specialized form of decapitation. It is prohibited min haTorah to derive any benefit from the remains of the beheaded donkey.
The redemption can be performed with either a sheep or a goat of any age, gender or value, or by paying the kohein the market value of the donkey at the time of its redemption with virtually anything of marketable value. (There are a few exceptions; for example, the donkey cannot be redeemed by giving the kohein a loan document or real estate.)
I mentioned above that the term seh of the Torah means either baby sheep or baby goat; the halacha is that redeeming the donkey may be performed with any sheep or goat – it is not limited to the young of either species (Mishnah, Bechoros 9a). The option of using a seh is to make the redemption less expensive for the owner of the petter chamor.
Firstborn pachyderm
The firstborn of kosher chayos, such as deer, antelope and giraffe, are not sanctified, nor are the firstborn of non-kosher animals sanctified, with the exception of donkeys (see Bechoros 5b). Therefore, we do not need be concerned about the difficulty or danger in performing arifah on a newborn elephant by decapitating him with a cleaver. This is exceptionally useful information since newborn male African elephants may weigh over 360 pounds and they are protected heavily both by mom and many aunts and cousins. Therefore, the answer to our opening question, “How does one redeem an elephant that is a bechor?” is, very simply, that one doesn’t.
The ten commandments
Now that we understand the basic laws of bechor, we should note how often the Torah mentions the mitzvos of sanctifying the bechor (the second of our opening questions). In all, I enumerate here ten times!!
1. Parshas Bo: “Make every bechor that opens any womb among the Benei Yisrael, whether it is human or animal, holy to Me; it is Mine” (Shemos 13:2). The importance of this pasuk is emphasized in that it is included in our tefillin, both of the arm and of the head. We should also note that this pasuk implies that the petter rechem of any animal, whether kosher or not, has sanctity. It also implies that the petter rechem of any non-kosher animal must be treated with sanctity, not exclusively donkeys. As I mentioned above, this is not the halacha, and we will mention at the end of this article why not.
2. Again in Parshas Bo: “When Hashem brings you to the land of the Canaanites that He swore to you and your forefathers and gives it to you, you shall hand over to Hashem every [human] male opener of the womb and every opener of the womb pushed out by your animal to Hashem. Furthermore, every donkey that opened the womb shall be redeemed with a seh, and, if you do not redeem it, you must decapitate it. Every firstborn human among your sons you shall redeem. In the future, when your child will ask you, ‘What is this (service)?’ you shall tell him that we perform these mitzvos because Hashem extracted us from the Land of Egypt… when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to release us, Hashem killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn human to the firstborn animal. For this reason, I offer to Hashem every male (kosher animal) who opens the womb and I redeem the firstborn of my sons” (Shemos 13:10-15). This passage is also included in our tefillin. We should note that here it mentions specifically redeeming donkeys and no other non-kosher animals. Bear in mind, that, at the time of the Torah, camels and horses, both of which are non-kosher, were commonly owned by the Benei Yisrael. Therefore, it seems that when donkeys are mentioned in the Torah, it is to the exclusion of camels and horses.
3. Parshas Mishpatim: “The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me -- so shall you do to your ox and to your flock. For seven days it shall be with its mother, and on the eighth day you shall give it to Me” (Shemos 22:28-29).
4. Parshas Ki Sissa: “Every [human] opener of the womb is Mine, and all the males of your livestock, the openers of the bovines and flock. In addition, petter chamor shall be redeemed with a seh, but if you fail to redeem it, you must decapitate it. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem” (Shemos 34:19-20). Again, note here that, among the non-kosher animals, only donkeys are mentioned.
5. Parshas Bechukosai: “However, no one may declare the firstborn among the animals that are to Hashem with a different status of holiness -- whether it is a calf or a seh, it belongs to Hashem” (Vayikra 27:26).
6. Parshas Bamidbar: “And behold, I have taken the levi’im from among the Benei Yisrael in lieu of each firstborn who opened the womb from the Benei Yisrael; the levi’im will be Mine. For every firstborn is Mine. On the day that I struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt I made holy to Me every firstborn in Israel, from man to animal. They are Mine, for I am Hashem” (Bamidbar 3:12-13).
7. Again in Parshas Bamidbar: “And Hashem spoke to Moshe saying: Take the levi’im in lieu of all the firstborn among the Benei Yisrael, and each animal of the levi’im in lieu of all their animals... and the redemptions of the 273 firstborn that there are more than there are levi’im, each should take five shekalim... and give it to Aharon and his sons as a redemption...” (Bamidbar 3:44-51).
8. Parshas Korach: “Every opener of the womb, among all flesh that is offered to Hashem, whether it is human or animal, shall be yours (i.e., to Aharon and his descendants). The firstborn among the humans should be redeemed, as well as the firstborn of the non-kosher animals. The redemption: from when he is a month old, you should redeem his value at five shekalim of silver, using the shekel of holy items – it is valued at twenty geirah. However, the firstborn calf or the firstborn lamb or the firstborn kid shall not be redeemed because it is holy; you shall throw its blood onto the altar and you shall burn its fat as a fire offering as a pleasant fragrance for Hashem” (Bamidbar 18:15-17). Note that this pasuk states, “firstborn of the non-kosher animals,” implying all non-kosher animals, not just donkeys.
9. Parshas Re’eih: “Every male firstborn that will be born to your cattle and your flock you shall sanctify to Hashem, your G-d. Do not work your firstborn ox and do not shear your firstborn flock. You shall eat it, you and your family, before Hashem, your G-d, each year in its year, in that very place that Hashem will choose. But should it have a blemish, such as it is lame or blind, any bad blemish – you shall not offer it to Hashem, your G-d. Instead, you shall eat it in your cities, whether you are tamei or tahor, just as [you eat] the antelope and the deer (Devarim 15:19-22).
10. Parshas Ki Seitzei: “He cannot provide the son of his beloved wife with the share of the firstborn instead of the firstborn son of the wife he loves less. He must recognize the firstborn son of the less loved wife who is the firstborn” (Devarim 21:16-17).
Other sources
In addition to these halachic sources, the Torah mentions the special status of the firstborn in many other places. For example, it emphasizes that Yishmael placed Yitzchak ahead of himself at Avraham’s funeral, notwithstanding that he, Yishmael, was firstborn (Bereishis 25:9). Chazal explain that this demonstrates that Yishmael had done teshuvah and recognized that Yitzchak was the more spiritually accomplished of the two.
Yaakov purchased from Esav his rights as firstborn (Bereishis 25:31-34); although they were twins born in the same childbirth, Eisav was the petter rechem.
Yosef assumed that his father will convey the greater intensity of his beracha on Menashe, his firstborn (Bereishis 48:13-19).
Petter chamor
At this point, let us examine the third of our opening questions: “What are the laws of pidyon petter chamor?”
There are two stages in performing the mitzvah of pidyon petter chamor, although they can be performed simultaneously. The two steps are (a) the redeeming and (b) the giving. In the redeeming step, the owner takes a lamb or kid (or other item worth as much as the donkey) and states that he is redeeming the donkey in exchange for the lamb, kid, or other item of value. Prior to making this statement, the owner recites a bracha, Asher ki’de’shanu bemitz’vosav vetzivanu al pidyon petter chamor (Tosafos, Bechoros 11a; Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 321:6). The owner has the right to decide to which kohein he gives the seh (see Rambam, Hilchos Bechoros 1:15). He then states that he is exchanging the seh or the other item for the kedusha of the donkey.
As soon as he performs this exchange, the sanctity is removed from the petter chamor and he may use the donkey (Mishnah, Bechoros 12b).
In the second step, the owner gives the seh (or the item exchanged for the donkey) to the kohein. No bracha is recited on this step of the mitzvah, and there is much discussion among halachic authorities why not (Taz, Yoreh Deah 321:7).
The two parts of this mitzvah are usually performed simultaneously by giving the seh to the kohein and telling him that this is redemption for the donkey.
Firstborn of the Levi
At this point, let us examine the last of our opening questions: Is a levi required to redeem his firstborn donkey?
The Mishnah teaches that the firstborn donkey of a kohein or of a levi is exempt from the mitzvah of pidyon petter chamor (Mishnah, Bechoros 3b). The Gemara (Bechoros 4a) derives this law from a hekeish, one of the hermeneutical rules whereby the laws of the Torah shebe’al peh, the Oral Torah, are included in the Torah shebiksav, the Written Torah. In this instance, the laws of pidyon haben are compared to those of pidyon petter chamor. There is no requirement to redeem a firstborn kohein or levi; similarly, there is no requirement to redeem a firstborn donkey that is owned by a kohein or a levi.
Non-Jewish ownership
The tanna’im dispute whether partial ownership by a non-Jew of the mother or the child of a kosher animal or donkey exempts the offspring from the status of bechor and petter chamor (Bechoros 2b-3a). The anonymous author of the Mishnah (Bechoros 2a, 13a, 16a) exempts these situations from the rule of bechor, whereas Rabbi Yehudah rules that the rule of bechor applies even when the Jew owns only a small part. The halachic conclusion follows the Mishnah that these animals are exempt (Tosafos, Bechoros 3b).
An additional dispute among the early amora’im (Bechoros 3a) concerns how much of the mother must be possessed by the non-Jew to create this exemption. Rav Chisda and Rava rule that the non-Jew must own enough that, were his part to be removed, the animal would be unable to live. Rav Huna disagrees, exempting the animal even if the non-Jew’s portion is as small as the animal’s ear. This is true, in his opinion, whenever removing the part owned by the non-Jew would render the animal into a ba’al mum, a blemished animal inappropriate as a korban. The halacha follows the lenient opinion (Tosafos 3b s. v. Deka). This is perhaps the most important aspect of the laws of bechor in today’s world, particularly for those who own livestock: performing a proper kinyan whereby a non-Jew owns part of the mother of any potential firstborn male lamb, kid or calf.
Why donkeys?
Why is there a special law requiring the redemption of petter rechem donkeys? Why is there no sanctity of firstborn camels, colts or elephant calves and no obligation to redeem them?
As I noted above, the Torah seems to contradict itself, in some places stating only that firstborn donkeys must be redeemed, whereas in others implying that this mitzvah applies to all firstborn non-kosher animals!
One answer provided to this question is that since all the firstborn animals owned by the Egyptians died, hundreds of thousands of firstborn camels, horses, dogs and cats also died. The Torah required redemption only for firstborn donkeys, making them the representative species for all the other non-kosher animals.
The Gemara (Bechoros 5b) states that this is to demonstrate our appreciation to the donkeys for assisting the Benei Yisrael upon our exiting Egypt. We left Egypt with massive amounts of booty, which were all packed on donkeys.
Appreciation of a donkey?
This is a bit strange. Does anyone think that a donkey appreciates that he has sanctity and therefore undergoes a redemption ceremony? He certainly does not appreciate it if someone refuses to redeem a donkey and beheads it instead. So, how does this demonstrate our hakaras hatov?
The answer is that our emphasizing the sanctity of donkeys in reward for the service they performed makes us realize the extent that we are required to have hakaras hatov. We owe this even to donkeys, notwithstanding that the chesed performed for us was so many thousands of years ago and that this particular donkey was certainly not involved! And we should certainly have hakaras hatov to Hashem, to our parents, teachers and all others who have helped us over the years.