Bekhorot 58b — the Talmud in English

Behold, this one

he gathers them

all

into the pen to tithe them, ![](pamud.bmp "

exact page location")

and he takes

for the animal tithe

one of the lambs of Elul,

and the rest are exempt.

And because

in either event

all of them are exempt:

If the first of Elul

is

the New Year,

then the animals

of Elul and Tishrei combine,

and he took one from among them as the tenth,

and

these animals

of Av—

were exempt,

and they do not need to be tithed at all, since they have no combination.

And if the first of Tishrei

is

the New Year,

then

Av and Elul combine,

and he took the tenth from among them, whereas

those of Tishrei are exempt.

That is, they too are exempt because of the doubt, for perhaps the first of Tishrei is not the New Year, as he proceeds to explain.

What do you say?

To combine it with another flock,

you might say: Why are these of Tishrei exempt? Perhaps they belong to a new year and were not combined with the tithe he performed, so he should wait with them until he has another five born in this year and tithe them. We do not say this; rather, once he brought them into the pen to be tithed together with the lambs of Elul, they were already exempt. This is because, through this, he can no longer combine them with five others that will be born to him, for

“the tenth”

the Merciful One said, certainly, and not

“the tenth”

of uncertainty,

and perhaps one of those born in Tishrei will come out as the tenth, and it is a doubtful tenth, since perhaps it was already tithed in the first combination, because the first of Elul is the New Year, and it follows that bringing all fifteen into the pen exempted them all: those of Av are exempt in either event, and those of Tishrei, since he brought them into the domain of doubt, are also exempt.

And we challenge this:

Is it obvious!?

And we answer:

Lest you say that we decree lest he come to take from those [

that perhaps he will take as the tenth from those not born in Elul], and in this manner it is possible that he brings unconsecrated animals into the Temple courtyard. For if he takes in the first combination from those of Av, perhaps the first of Elul is the New Year for the animal tithe, and those of Av are exempt because they have no combination from the same year, while the tenth that he took from among them is unconsecrated in the Temple courtyard. And likewise, if in the second combination he takes from those born in Tishrei, there is concern that the first of Tishrei is the New Year for the animal tithe, and the lambs of Elul do not combine, and they have already been tithed in the first combination, while those five born in Tishrei have not yet become obligated in the tithe; and when he takes one of them for the tithe, it is unconsecrated in the Temple courtyard—

But now, when he takes one of the lambs of Elul in the first combination and takes that very one in the second combination, in either event there is no unconsecrated animal in the Temple courtyard here.

It teaches us

that we do not decree.

Mishna:

How does one tithe

the animal tithe?

He gathers them—

all the animals obligated in the tithe—

into the pen, and he makes a small opening for them, so that two should not be able to go out at once,

and he brings them out through the opening,

and counts them with a staff: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine.

And the one that comes out tenth he marks

it

with red paint [

a staff colored red, and he strikes it with it so that the color will be recognizable on the animal],

and says: “

This is the tithe.”

And if he

did not mark

the tenth

with red paint, and did not [

or did not]

count

the animals

with a staff, or counted them

when they were

lying down or standing

without bringing them out through the opening,

behold, these are tithed.

If he had one hundred

animals,

and took

from them

ten—

or if he had

ten, and took

from them

one, this is not the tithe.

Rabbi Yosei son of Rabbi Judah says:

Even so, this is

the tithe.

One of those already counted jumped into them [

into those animals that had not been counted], that is, one of those that had already been tithed, into those that had not been tithed, and it is not known which one it is;

all of them are exempt,

because when he brings those in the pen out to tithe, there is a doubt whether the tenth that came out is the one that had already been exempted, and since it is doubtful, we say: A certain tenth, and not a doubtful tenth; therefore all of them are exempt.

And if one jumped

of the tithed animals—

that is, of those designated as the tithe—

into them,

then all of them are exempt. But since we have a doubt which one among them is sacred with the sanctity of the sacrifice of the animal tithe,

all of them shall graze until they become blemished [

a blemish develops in them],

and they shall be eaten by their owners with their blemish.

Gemara:

The Sages taught: [

In what manner] [

How]

does one tithe? He gathers them into the pen, and he makes a small opening for them so that two should not be able to go out at once, and he places their mothers outside

and they are inside, and their mothers bleat

to them,

and

they

go out toward their mothers.

And we challenge: Why does he place their mothers outside, so that their sons will come out,

but let him bring them out himself [

bring them out with his hands]!?

And we answer: “Everyone that

passes”

is written,

and it implies:

and not that he transfers it.

We still challenge:

Why not throw vegetables to them [

throw vegetables to them beyond the opening]

so that they will go out and come [

and go out and come]!?

Rabbi Huna

said

and answered:

For this reason the Sages instituted that he should do so through their mothers,

as a decree because of purchased animals and orphaned animals,

so that he should not bring out a purchased animal that has no mother with it, or an orphaned animal that has no mother, for these are exempt from the animal tithe, as above, on 55b and 57a; and if he brings them out together with others obligated in the tithe, it follows that he exempts those obligated in the tithe unlawfully, and also brings unconsecrated animals into the Temple courtyard.

The Sages taught:

It is written: “And every tithe of cattle and flock, everything that passes beneath the staff, the tenth shall be sacred to the Lord.” And we expound: “

Everything that passes”

excludes an animal with a fatal condition that does not pass,

for one of the eighteen fatal conditions is that its legs were severed above the knee, and this one does not walk; and from it we learn regarding all the fatal conditions.

Under the staff"

to teach us that

it is a mitzva to count them with a staff.

And if

he did not count them with a staff, or counted them while they were lying down or standing

and did not bring them out through an opening,

from where [do we derive this]?

The verse says: "

the tenth"

shall be

holy"

in any event.

And I have [derived] only [the case] where he called its name “tenth”;

but if

he did not

call its name “tenth,” from where [do we derive this]?

The verse says: "

it shall be holy"

in any event.

One might [have thought]

that if

he had one hundred, and took

from them

ten

for the tithe, or if he had

ten and took

from them

one

for the tithe,

might they be considered tithed?

The verse says: "

tenth"

and this is not a tenth,

for “tenth” means only [a case] where he counted one, two, three, up to the tenth.

Rabbi Yosei bar Rabbi Yehuda says:

this is

the tithe,

even though he did not count them.

The Gemara asks:

What is the reason of Rabbi Yosei bar Rabbi Yehuda?

And we explain:

He holds like Abba Elazar ben Gomel! For it was taught: Abba Elazar ben Gomel says:

It is written concerning the tithe-offering [Numbers 18]: “And you shall raise from it the offering of the Lord, a tithe from the tithe.

And your offering shall be reckoned

as grain from the threshing floor and as the fullness from the winepress.” That is, like the great offering of the threshing floor and the winepress—

It follows that

the verse speaks of two offerings, one being the great offering ["

as grain from the threshing floor..."],

and one being the tithe-offering ["

your offering"]. And we learned:

Just as the great offering is taken by estimation,

where he estimates in his mind how many seahs there are and gives the offering according to his estimation,

and by intention

where he does not immediately separate the offering, but directs his eye to take the offering on this side and eats on the other side — and all this is learned from “and shall be reckoned,”