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Bechoros 32b

בכורות ל״ב ע״ב

Bekhorot 32b

Learn Bechoros 32b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Bechoros 32b in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Why מעשר בהמה may not be sold (רב אשי's reading of 'לא יגאל'), and who may eat a blemished בכור

Overview

The amud opens by looking for the source that a מעשר בהמה animal may not be sold. The first approach takes the extra words 'it shall not be redeemed' from חרמים and applies them to מעשר rather than to בכור, because מעשר also has the word 'redeem.' רב אשי offers a different source: 'לֹא יִגָּאֵל' written by מעשר itself really means 'it shall not be sold.' He proves this because the words sit next to תמורה, which only works while the animal is alive, and an animal cannot be unredeemable alive but redeemable after שחיטה. The גמרא defends this proof against a challenge from the opinion that קדשי מזבח need no העמדה והערכה, and against the idea that weaker holiness makes redemption easier. It then explains why the תורה said 'redeemed' and not 'sold': the word teaches that both selling and redeeming are forbidden. A new משנה follows, where בית שמאי forbid a ישראל from eating a בכור with a כהן, and בית הלל allow it, even for a גוי. The גמרא shows that this משנה follows רבי עקיבא, and that בית שמאי learn their view from the comparison of the בכור to the חזה ושוק.

Opening lines

יִגָּאֵל״ דִּכְתַב רַחֲמָנָא

'Be redeemed,' which the Merciful One wrote

לְמָה לִי?

why do I need it?

אִם אֵינוֹ עִנְיָן לַחֲרָמִים —

If it is not needed for the topic of dedications,

תְּנֵהוּ עִנְיָן לְמַעֲשֵׂר.

apply it to the topic of the animal tithe.

The steps (20)

  1. QuestionWhy does the תורה need the words 'it shall not be redeemed'?
  2. ResponseApply the extra words to מעשר
  3. ChallengeWhy not apply the words to בכור instead?
  4. Resolutionמעשר has the word 'redeem' just like חרמים
  5. Statementרב אשי: 'Not redeemed' by מעשר means 'not sold'
  6. Proofרב אשי brings his source פסוק
  7. ProofReal redemption after slaughter makes no sense
  8. ConclusionSo 'not redeemed' means 'not sold'
  9. ChallengeThe proof only works for one opinion
  10. ResolutionThe real point: no animal is redeemable only after slaughter
  11. ChallengeMaybe weaker holiness makes redemption possible
  12. RejectionA קל וחומר shows the opposite
  13. ConclusionSo 'it shall not be redeemed' means 'it shall not be sold'
  14. ChallengeWhy not just write 'it shall not be sold'?
  15. Resolution'Redeemed' teaches both selling and redeeming are forbidden
  16. StatementThe משנה: may a non-priest join a priest in eating a firstborn?
  17. QuestionWhose view is this משנה?
  18. ResponseIt is רבי עקיבא, as shown by a ברייתא
  19. QuestionWhat is the reason of בית שמאי?
  20. ResponseThe firstborn is compared to the breast and thigh