Bekhorot 27b (כז:) — the Talmud in English

And is it so

at the present time

the sprinkling

of the water of the red heifer

is available to us? And if so, the same law would apply: he does not require sunset.

And if so, the same law applies: he does not require sunset.

Rami bar Ḥama said to him: Should the Master not be concerned for the elder?

Should we not be concerned for the honor of Rabbi Amram, who is not here, and issue a ruling in his presence?

Meanwhile, Rav Amram arrived. He said to them: This is what Rav said: One rendered impure through contact with a corpse immerses and eats teruma from outside Eretz Yisrael.

And he understood that immersion is required, but waiting until sunset is not required.

And the halakha does not follow him.

Rather, one rendered impure through contact with a corpse does not require immersion.

Mar Zutra said in the name of Rav Sheshet: One rendered impure through contact with a creeping creature —

immerses and eats teruma from outside Eretz Yisrael.

For he holds that immersion is required.

And the halakha does not follow him.

He does not require immersion.

We learned in the Mishna:

The firstborn is eaten year by year:

And we infer:

Since it says

in the Mishna

“If a blemish developed in it within its year

he may keep it for the entire twelve months,”

Does this mean —

that we count according to its own year?

That is, the year counted for it begins from the time of its birth and not from Tishrei to Tishrei. Therefore, the tanna wrote: “If a blemish developed in it within its year.”

And we raise a difficulty:

From where are these matters derived?

And we explain:

As Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: The verse states: “Before the Lord your God you shall eat it year by year.” Which year enters into the year following it?

For this is the implication of the wording “year by year.”

You must say that it is the year of the firstborn.

For the year of the firstborn enters into the calendar year.

The school of Rabbi taught

that we derive another matter from this verse, and this is how they expound it:

“Year by year” —

one day in this year and one day in that year.

This teaches that the firstborn is eaten for two days and one night.

If one slaughters the firstborn on the final day of its year [from the day on which it was born], he may eat it for one day in this year, namely, the final day of its first year, and for one day in the second year, on the first day of the second year. This is the period during which the firstborn may be eaten: two days and one night.

And we raise a difficulty:

And from where does the school of Rabbi derive

that the year of the firstborn is counted according to its own years?

And we answer: The school of Rabbi

derives it from sacrificial animals.

For all sacrificial animals are reckoned according to their own years. [For example, when a lamb that is one year old is required, we follow its own year].

And we further challenge this:

And with regard to sacrificial animals themselves, from where do we know

that they are reckoned according to their own years?

Rav Aḥa bar Yaakov said: The verse states: “One lamb, in its year.”

And this indicates:

“Its year” —

its own year, and not the calendar year.

And we again challenge this:

But Rav,

who derives from the verse “Before the Lord your God you shall eat it year by year” that the firstborn is counted according to its own year, with regard to the fact that the firstborn

is eaten for two days and one night —

from where does he derive it?

And we answer:

He derives it

from this verse stated with regard to the firstborn:

“And their flesh shall be yours, like the breast of the waving and the right thigh;

it shall be yours.”

The verse juxtaposes

the firstborn

to the breast and thigh of peace-offerings. Just as there

the period during which they may be eaten is

two days and one night, so too here,

with regard to the firstborn, the period during which it may be eaten is

two days and one night.