Bechoros 48a

בכורות מ״ח ע״א

Bekhorot 48a

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Topic

ספק בכור in twins, and the גמרא's explanations of רבי מאיר's ruling when the father dies: רבי ירמיה's joint-ownership rule and רבא's five-סלעים case

Overview

The משנה deals with twins born to a woman who never gave birth before, when no one knows which baby came out first. If both are boys, one is surely the בכור, so the father gives the כהן five סלעים. If one twin dies within thirty days, the father is exempt. If the twins are a boy and a girl, the כהן gets nothing. If the father dies, רבי מאיר says payment depends on whether the sons divided the estate, and רבי יהודה says the property is already obligated. The גמרא asks when the father died in רבי מאיר's case. It first tries 'within thirty days,' with each son pushing the כהן to his brother. רבי ירמיה learns from this that a creditor can collect from a field jointly owned by two men named יוסף בן שמעון. רבא rejects this approach, because property is only a guarantor and cannot owe more than its owner. Instead he says the father died after thirty days and left only five סלעים. He begins explaining this with רב אסי's rule that divided brothers are half heirs and half buyers, together with a rule about a מלוה הכתובה בתורה, and the explanation continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (14)

1. StatementTwin boys: the father pays five סלעים
2. StatementIf one twin dies within thirty days, the father is exempt
3. Statementרבי מאיר: if the father dies, it depends on whether the sons divided the estate
4. Statementרבי יהודה: the obligation already rests on the property
5. StatementA boy and a girl: the כהן gets nothing
6. QuestionWhen did the father die?
7. ChallengeIt cannot mean the father died after thirty days
8. ResolutionThe father died within thirty days, so each son can push the כהן away
9. ChallengeEach son could push the כהן away even before division
10. StatementA creditor can collect from a field owned by two men with the same name
11. ChallengeProperty cannot be liable when the owner himself is not
12. ProofA משנה shows you cannot go to the guarantor first
13. ResolutionNew explanation: the father died after thirty days, leaving only five סלעים
14. ResolutionBackground rules: רב אסי's half heirs, half buyers, and a Torah loan