Gemara Clarity

Bechoros 24a

בכורות כ״ד ע״א

Bekhorot 24a

Learn Bechoros 24a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Bechoros 24a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

רב's ruling to follow the unnamed משנה over a ברייתא, and whether a mother animal nurses a baby that is not her own (רבן שמעון בן גמליאל, בכורה, אותו ואת בנו, the pig following a ewe)

Overview

The גמרא asks why רב said both 'the הלכה follows רבי יוסי בן המשולם' and 'the הלכה follows the whole chapter.' It answers that the separate statement shows 'the whole chapter' backs the unnamed משנה that matches רבן שמעון בן גמליאל, and that a disagreement found only in a ברייתא is not a real dispute. It then quotes that ברייתא: a nursing animal bought from a גוי, where the first opinion worries she may be nursing a baby that is not hers, while רבן שמעון בן גמליאל says we assume she is the mother. Next the גמרא asks whether רבן שמעון בן גמליאל means only that nursing proves she gave birth, or that the baby is surely hers. That difference matters for lashes under אותו ואת בנו. Three proofs are brought and all are pushed off. Then רבי יוחנן rules that a ewe followed by a pig-like animal is exempt from בכורה, but the animal may not be eaten until אליהו comes. After several challenges, the גמרא explains that the הלכה surely follows רבן שמעון בן גמליאל, but it is unclear whether he holds that a mother animal may nurse another's baby, even one of another species. The amud ends as the גמרא begins quoting a question of רבי יוחנן that supports this, which continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

הֲלָכָה כְּרַבִּי יוֹסֵי בֶּן הַמְשׁוּלָּם

'The halakha follows Rabbi Yosei ben HaMeshullam'

לְמָה לִי?

why do I need it?

אִי אָמַר הִלְכְתָא דְּכוּלֵּיהּ פִּירְקִין,

Had he said 'the halakha follows the whole chapter,'

וְלָא אָמַר הִלְכְתָא כְּרַבִּי יוֹסֵי בֶּן הַמְשׁוּלָּם,

and not said 'the halakha follows Rabbi Yosei ben HaMeshullam,'

The steps (26)

  1. ChallengeWhy did רב need to mention רבי יוסי בן המשולם?
  2. ResolutionWithout it, we would have misread 'the whole chapter'
  3. ResolutionThe separate statement shows that a ברייתא disagreement does not count
  4. QuestionWhich ברייתא is meant?
  5. ResponseThe ברייתא of the nursing animal bought from a גוי
  6. ResponseA second case: young found nursing in the flock in the morning
  7. QuestionWhat exactly does 'the matter stays in its presumption' mean?
  8. QuestionWhy does this question matter?
  9. ResponseThe difference: lashes for slaughtering a mother and its baby
  10. ProofA proof from buying an animal from a non-Jew
  11. RejectionPushing off the proof: 'was,' not 'is'
  12. ProofProof from the nursing mothers in the flock
  13. RejectionA mother won't leave her own baby for a stranger
  14. ProofProof from the word 'and similarly'
  15. RejectionThe two clauses are different cases
  16. ResolutionWhat 'and similarly' really means
  17. StatementA pig-like animal following a ewe
  18. ChallengeThe ruling seems to follow two opposing opinions
  19. ChallengeWhy quote a פסוק about אליהו?
  20. ResolutionSuggestion: רבי יוחנן was unsure which opinion is the הלכה
  21. RejectionA doubt cannot give a full exemption
  22. Rejectionרבי יוחנן himself rules like רבן שמעון בן גמליאל
  23. ResolutionHe knew whose view to follow but not what that view says
  24. ChallengeWhy not teach the case with a lamb?
  25. ResolutionThe pig teaches mercy even toward another species
  26. ProofA teaching of רבי יוחנן that fits this explanation