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Friday, June 21, 2019

Day Yoimie Snippets ... Bechoros Dafim 46 ,47,48,49,50 , 51 & 52

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 .... 
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 

''דף מ''ו ''פדיון הבן     
Page 46  Mesectas Bechoros  
''Redemption of the Firstborn"

This Perek in Bechorot, is the eight chapter of this tractate and  deals with the laws of Pidyon Ha'Ben, and the chapter is called "Yesh Bechor", "There Is A Firstborn."

According to one approach, it was forbidden to make use of any Firstborn Jewish child that came out of Egypt after the Exodus.

When the Jewish people came out of Egypt, Hashem instructed Moshe:
"קדש לי כל בכור" ......."Sanctify every Firstborn to Me"

Following the commentary of the Seforno, had Hashem not commanded to immediately redeem all of the bechorim, it would have been prohibited to utilize any of those people for mundane purposes because of their holy status.

Bechorim or Firstborn still possess a special status today. Although they are not sacred, it is a mitzvah to redeem the firstborn son, by giving five silver coins to the kohein.

Press "read more" right below to see rest of the dafim

''דף מ'ז ''במה אתה חפץ יותר     
Page 47  Mesectas Bechoros  
''Which Do You Want More?"

At the "Pidyan Ha'ben" ceremony, the kohein asks the father:
"Which do you want more, your bechor son, or the five silver coins?'
The father answers: "i want my son."
At that point the father hands the kohein the five silver coins as a pidyon fee, a fee for redemption.

What if the father decides to keep the money, does the kohein get to keep the child?
Not so fast ......
Certainly not!

The Rambam in his Sefer HaMitzvot, a sefer that lists all the commandments with  brief descriptions of each,  explains that we perform the Pidyan Ha'ben ceremony the way we wrote above, to emphazise and clarify that the bechor was meant to be holy and set aside for G-d!
Hence, the reason for performing the "pidyan" ritual ceremony.

'דף מ''ח ''פדין הבן של תאומים     
Page 48  Mesectas Bechoros  
''Redemption of Twin Firstborns"

How is a Pidyan Ha'Ben fulfilled in a case where twins are born?

The simple answer is that we do perform two Brit Milahs, one for each child,  but we perform only one Pidyan Ha'Ben for the firstborn twin, as only the twin who was born first is deemed the bechor!



''דף מ''ט ''פדיון הבן מוקדם     
Page 49  Mesectas Bechoros  
''Premature Redemption of the Firstborn"

In a far-flung, distant village lived a Jew who was overjoyed following the birth of his firstborn son.
In the village where he lived there were no kohanim.

So, the father decided to set out to the nearby city, to give five silver coins to the kohen in order to redeem his newborn son. When the father arrived in the city he found the location of the scholarly kohen. He promptly handed the kohen the five coins for the redemption of his son and headed home.

However, the father made this payment before the infant was 30 days old....
What is the halacha

The father should tell the kohen that he wants the pidyan to take place on the 30th day ...the money remains in the kohen's possession until the son turns 30 days, at which time, the pidyan goes into effect!

'דף נ' ''בכור שלא נפדה על ידי אביו     
Page 50  Mesectas Bechoros  
''A Firstborn Son Not Redeemed by His Father"

Many years ago, there was a boy in Jerusalem who wore a silver medallion on which it was written that he was a bechor who had not been redeemed by his father, and as such, was obligated to redeem himself once he grew up.

Rabbi Shmuel Salant instructed that the silver medallion be hung around the boy's neck and insisted that the boy's mother make sure the medallion was never removed under any circumstances ..until the boy was old enough to redeem himself.

This is one of the customs practiced in a case where a father does not redeem his son.

'דף נ''א ''להחזיר את הכסף לאבא      
Page 51  Mesectas Bechoros  
''Returning the Money To The Father"
On one occasion, a Pidyan Ha'ben took place, and the kohen involved became aware that the infant's family was poor and lacked means. 

After the pidyan, the kohen approached the father in secret and said:
"Yasher Koach! Well done, that you enabled me to fulfill this important mitzvah. however, now, I am giving this money back to you."

Is this permitted?

The answer is a resounding "Yes."

The father gave the kohen five silver coins, after which the kohen is permitted to do whatever he wishes with those coins.
Therefore, he is permitted to give them as a gift to the father of the son.

The Talmud recounts that Rabbi Chaninah, who was a kohen, always returned the money to the father of the bechor after completion of the Pidyan Ha'ben ceremony.!

''דף נ''ב ''ירושת בית הקברות     
Page 52  Mesectas Bechoros  
''Inheriting a Cemetery"
When a women dies, the husband inherits her assets. The mishnah on this daf, states that Rebbi Yochanan Ben Beroka said that a husband who inherits property from his wife should return that land to the members of her family, and they in turn should compensate him with a sum of money equal to the value of the land.

Why is a husband who inherits property required to return that property/
And if he needs to return the property, why is the deceased wife's family required to compensate the husband for the land?

Indeed! When someone inherits an inheritance, those assets belong to him!

The Talmud explains that this sugyeh, this Talmudic discussion, addresses a situation where the husband inherits a family Beit Hakvuroit a family burial site.

Chazal ruled that a husband is obligated to return a familial burial site to his wife's family, in order to allow them to continue being buried alongside their ancestors. 

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