A great opportunity for the entire family, to share some thoughts on the daf ... the family feels united by discussing what the head of the house is studying.
I try to break it down so that everyone can understand it ....
I try to break it down so that everyone can understand it ....
You can copy and print this without my consent, since Torah belongs to all of us.....
See previous Daf Yoimie Snippets
This week's "Daf Yoimie Snippets Sponsored For the Refuah Shliemah of
צארטל בת אסתר מלכה
יעקב דוד שילו בן שיינדל שרה דאבריש
''דף ב' ''מסכת בכורות
Page 2 Mesectas Bechoros
''Mesachtas Bechoros"
With this daf, we begin a new Tractate, Mesechteh, called Bechoros!
This mesechta, deals with "kodshim" ... karbonot.. sacrifices.
However, this mesechta is unique and different than other mesechtas dealing with "kodshim" since it deals with "kodshim" that is halachicly relevant even in our days.
The previous mesechtas that we learned, Zevachim and Menachos dealt in Korbonos and the Avoideh of the kohanim, but unfortunately with the destruction of both Temples, we can no longer bring sacrifices, so the halachos of these mesachtos do not apply in our days.
Our mesacteh deals with first borns, and those laws are applicable in the here and now!
We learn about three different "first-borns":
Bechor Adam: The first born of a Jewish mother must redeemed by a kohein for 5 Selaim or Shekalim on the 30th day!
Petar Chamor: The first born of a donkey must be redeemed for a sheep and that sheep is given to a kohein.
Bechor BehimahTahor: The first born of any kosher animal is given to a kohein and has the holiness of a korban.
Press "read more" to continue to the rest of the dafim
Page 3 Mesectas Bechoros
''What We Do With Bechorim Today"
We learned above that the first born of any kosher animal is given to a kohein and it retains "holiness of a korban," so today that we do not have a Bais Hamikdash and we cannot bring a korban to be sacrificed, what do we do with all those first-born animals?
A possible answer could be that the owner of the animal refrain from making the first born "holy" thereby avoiding the entire issue .... its not holy period.
However, this approach doesn't work halachically because the first born animal becomes "holy" as its born, it doesn't need an outside force such as an owner to declare or make it "holy. It is "holy" intrinsically!
So what do we do? We cannot slaughter it, we cannot shear its wool, we cannot work with it?
The answer is that if a gentile owns the animal or if a gentile is in partnership with a Jew with this animal, then the halacha is that the first- born is not holy and doesn't need to be redeemed or sacrificed ....therefore, the custom is to sell part of this animal to a gentile and the first-born is no longer in the parsha, so to speak, of holiness!
''דף ד' ''נקודות בספר תורה
Page 4 Mesectas Bechoros
''Dots Above Certain Words In The Sefer Torah "
The talmud on this daf discusses the "dots" in the Sefer Torah on top of the word "אהרון" found in Sefer Bamidbar!
There are 10 other places in the Torah that you will find "dots" on top of the letters of certain words.
Mesactas Avos De'Reb Nasan, lists all the places and words that have "dots" and the reasons why.
Ezra HaSofer decreed that these "dots" be placed on those words to indicate that there are many Oral halachos that we can deduce from those words.
Ezra HaSofer was such a great scholar that if he had lived before Moshe Rabbeinu, the Torah could have been given thru him!
''דף ה' ''פטר חמור
Page 5 Mesectas Bechoros
''Redeeming the First Born Donkey"
Reb Chaninah asked Rebbe Eliezer in the "Great Bais Ha'Midrash" .....
"Why did our Torah command that only donkeys be redeemed and not horses and camels?
Why are the donkey different?
The Torah teaches us with this commandment the characteristic of having "Hakaras Ha'toiv" to be "grateful!"
When the Jews left Egypt during the exodus, they left with donkeys laden with all the silver and gold that they "borrowed" from Egyptians!
''דף ו' ''פדיון הבן הראשון
Page 6 Mesectas Bechoros
''Redeeming the First Born Child"
First born boys born to their mothers must have a "Pidyan Haben" ...
When the child turns 30 days old, the father hands the kohein 5 selaim or shkalim and redeems him from the kohein.
The Talmud on the following dafim discusses how the Jews when they travelled 40 years in the desert, redeemed their first born.
The very first Pidyans done in the midbar were not done with money and not with the kohanim .......
The Torah describes in Bamidbar Chapter 3 verses 40-51, the process through which the redemptions were made.
The Levites were the first kohanim and the Levites themselves took the place of an Israelite firstborn.
The levite and the firstborn stood before Moshe Rabbeinu and he declared " This Levite has redeemed this firstborn"
But there were 273 more Israelite firstborn than Levites ....
So these excess Israelites were redeemed for 5 shekels each.
Now... how were the original Israelites firstborn chosen ...?
In other words ... how did the firstborn know whether he is going to be exchanged for a Levite or for the money...the 5 shekalim?
Moshe wrote on 22,000 pieces of paper the words "Ben Levi" and wrote "5 shekel" on 273 pieces of paper....
As the Israelite firstborn passed him, Moshe stuck his hand in the box where the pieces of paper were ...and for each firstborn he removed one paper.... if it read "Ben Levi" then Moshe told him he already had his Pidyan Haben, if it read "5 Shkalim" he would tell him to redeem himself with 5 shkalim!
It was basically by lottery!
''דף ז' ''דבש דבורים
Page 7 Mesectas Bechoros
''Honey From Bees"
How is Bee Honey permitted for consumption? The bee itself is a "sheretz" and one is prohibited to eat a "sheretz"? So how can we eat the secretions of something that is prohibited?
The Talmud explains that bees ingest pollen and secrete honey..... but the honey does not come from the bees body itself...
the Rambam explains further that the bee only collects the pollen and doesn't really ingest it ... it then turns into honey which it secretes in the hive.
''דף ח' ''הקיסר ורבי יהושע בן חנניה
Page 8 Mesectas Bechoros
''The Caesar & Rebbe Yehoshua ben Chananyeh"
The Talmud on this daf relates a debate pitting a Tanna against a school of Greek philosophers.
The Caesar challenged Rebbe Yehoshua ben Chananyeh to debate the Athenian sages and to bring them back to him.
The talmud relates that the voyage to those sages was extremely dangerous and anyone who would offer directions to the place where the sages congregated was executed.
R' Yehoshua found a butcher who knew the location but was frightened to reveal to R' Yehoshua where they were .... he wasn't in the mood of getting killed.
R' Yehoshua devised a plan to get him there without getting the butcher killed.
R' Yehoshua told the butcher to carry a bundle of reeds as though he was a laborer going about his business and when he got to the location, he should stand the bundle upright as if to take a break and rest. The plan worked.
The talmud continues the story at length.
''דף ט' ''שני חמורים זכרים תאומים
Page 9 Mesectas Bechoros
''Two Donkey Twins"
What do we do in reference to "petar chamor" in a case where the donkey gave birth to twins? Is the owner required to give the kohein 2 sheep? Will the owner have to redeem both twins? Are the twins considered bechorim first borns?
The talmud on this daf establishes that the owner is only required to give the kohein one sheep, because only one can be a bechor.
''דף י' ''קידושין בפטר חמור
Page 10 Mesectas Bechoros
''Can One Use A Donkey to Marry A Woman"
One can marry a woman with anything he owns even with an animal, with the condition that the woman has no problem with it.
What if the groom, instead of a ring, uses a donkey and says"
"With this donkey you will betrothed to me according to the law of Moses and Israel" is this a valid "kiddushin" ...is the marriage valid?
Surprisingly the answer is a resounding ...YES!
Provided that the donkey was properly redeemed , because if the donkey was not redeemed then the "kiddushin" isn't valid, because one cannot benefit from a donkey until it's redeemed!
No comments:
Post a Comment