Bechoros 20a

בכורות כ׳ ע״א

Bekhorot 20a

Learn Bechoros 20a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Bechoros 20a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

An animal bought from a non-Jew: when is its next baby a sure בכור, and how do רבי ישמעאל, רבי יהושע and רבי עקיבא disagree about an unseen discharge (טינוף)?

Overview

The גמרא first settles, in the words of רבא, that רבי ישמעאל holds like רבי מאיר, who worries about the minority (מיעוטא). רבינא offers another way: even the רבנן, who usually follow the majority, would not rely on a majority that depends on an action, like an animal becoming pregnant. Then a ברייתא lays out רבי ישמעאל's age rules for an animal bought from a non-Jew. Below a set age its next male baby is surely a בכור, and above that age it is a ספק. רבי יהושע says רבי ישמעאל erred, because a small sign like a murky discharge (טינוף) or an afterbirth also exempts an animal. רבי עקיבא rejects age rules altogether and goes only by what is known. The גמרא then explains that רבי ישמעאל and רבי יהושע argue about worrying over a discharge nobody saw. It gives two ways to fit this with רבי ישמעאל worrying about the minority. Finally, it asks how רבי יהושע's received tradition differs from his own view, and answers either with זעירי's thirty-day rule or with whether an animal can give birth early.

Opening lines

The steps (15)

1. ConclusionIt is clear: רבי ישמעאל worries about the minority
2. Resolutionרבינא: even the רבנן agree when the majority depends on an action
3. StatementA ברייתא lists the ages for goat, ewe, cow, and donkey
4. Challengeרבי יהושע: you erred, because small signs of a birth also exempt
5. Statementרבי יהושע gives his own age rule
6. Statementרבי עקיבא goes only by what we know
7. QuestionWhat do רבי ישמעאל and רבי יהושע argue about?
8. RejectionThe argument is about worrying over an unseen discharge
9. ChallengeBut רבא said רבי ישמעאל worries about the minority
10. ResolutionHe worries only when it leads to a stricter result
11. ResolutionSecond answer: the argument is whether an animal can give birth within its year after a discharge
12. Statementרבי יהושע's own view on when an animal can give birth after a discharge
13. QuestionHow does רבי יהושע's tradition differ from his own view?
14. ResponseThe difference: a goat that discharged at the end of six months, and זעירי's thirty-day rule
15. ResponseAnother answer: both accept זעירי, but they argue about early births