Bekhorot 60a (ס.) — the Talmud in English

He should not say “

;

I will select ten

and bring them into the pen,

and I will take one of them, while the rest are exempt.”

Rather, he gathers

all of them

into the pen, takes out ten, and takes one of them; while the rest join another group.

And we raise an objection:

But it was taught in a beraita:

If one had

nineteen lambs, he should not say: “

I will not bring all of them into the pen; rather,

I will select

first

ten

and bring those into the pen,

and I will take one of them, while the rest are exempt.”

Rather, he gathers

all of them

into the pen, takes out ten, and takes one of them, while the rest are exempt.”

Here we have learned that if he brings all of them into the pen, the rest are indeed exempt, and not as we learned in the beraita and in Rava’s statement, that he brings all of them into the pen, and the rest join another group!?

Rav Huna bar Seḥora explained it before Rava at the ragla, Rav Huna explained the beraita before Rava on that Shabbat when the laws of the Festival are discussed, which is thirty days before the Festival]:

when Rav Huna explained the beraita before Rava at the time when the laws of the festival are studied, which is thirty days before the festival:

The first clause of the beraita teaches us the ruling stated by Rava, that the remaining animals are not exempt. And what we learned in the latter clause, that the remaining animals are exempt, is not because they were brought into the pen that they became exempt. Rather, it is referring to a case where he brought them

into a pen that has two entrances, and

nine exited through this entrance and nine through that entrance.

In that case, they all became exempt, because even those that were not tithed by means of the tenth animal became exempt on account of the appropriate count, since at the time they exited there was one animal capable of completing the count—

And although this is an uncertain case of an appropriate count, nevertheless it grants exemption,

because that one

that remained in the pen when the nine exited through each entrance

was fit for this and for that that remaining animal was fit to exit through either entrance and complete the count].

—that remaining animal was fit to exit through either entrance and complete the count.

And we raise an objection: Why did Rav Huna bar Seḥora have to explain the exemption in the latter clause as referring to a pen with two entrances?

Let him answer him Rav Huna bar Seḥora should explain the latter clause of the beraita]: What are we dealing with here? With

—Rav Huna bar Seḥora should explain the latter clause of the beraita as follows: What are we dealing with here?

a case where he counted nine, and when he reached ten, he began again with one when he came to count the tenth, he did not call it “tenth”; rather, he began counting one, two, three again], until he reached the nineteenth lamb and called it “tenth.” Thus, the last ten were exempt because he separated the tithe from them, while the nine whose count he had not completed were exempt by virtue of the appropriate count!?

And we answer:

He holds

Rav Huna bar Seḥora

that the tenth becomes sacred automatically,

so that even though he called the tenth “one,” it nevertheless became sacred and exempted the nine before it, whereas there is nothing to exempt the nine that remained.

We still raise an objection:

Let him answer him:

What are we dealing with here in the latter clause? With

a group in which he counted them in pairs,

that is, two exited one after the other through the entrance and he called them “one,” and so on through the ninth pair; then the last animal [the nineteenth in number] exited and he called it “tenth.” In this case, they all became exempt, because we regard the count of each pair as two separate counts of individual animals. When he reached the nineteenth lamb and counted it as “tenth,” it was the tenth in this count or in that count, and since it is uncertain which animals were tithed, they all became exempt, for the Torah states: “the definite tenth,” and not “the uncertain tenth.” Any animal about which it is uncertain whether it was tithed is exempt, since the tenth will not be definite.

And we answer:

He holds

Rav Huna bar Seḥora follows the opinion of Rav Kahana below [on this page, after the Mishna], that if he counts them in pairs,

the tenth by the count of the animals becomes sacred.

That is, the animal he called “tenth” after the nine pairs did not become sacred; rather, when the number of lambs reached ten, the tenth animal became sacred. If so, all those that came after it did not become exempt.

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said:

Fortunate is the mother of Rav Huna bar Seḥora, for he resolved Rava’s teaching for Rava according to his own teaching

at the ragla, [that is, his mother merited having a son as wise as he, who reconciled his teacher’s statements on the basis of his teacher’s own words at the Festival], for Rav Huna resolved Rava’s teaching on the basis of another teaching of Rava: “An appropriate count grants exemption.”

for his mother merited having such a wise son, who reconciled his teacher’s words according to another statement of that same teacher during the festival season. Rav Huna resolved Rava’s teaching on the basis of another teaching of Rava: “A count fit to be completed exempts the animals.”

Mishna:

If two exited

from the pen

simultaneously,

because the entrance was wide, he

counts them as two,

as though they had exited one after the other. And if he

counted them as one

rather than as two, as the law requires, then his

ninth,

which is the tenth according to the law,

and his

his

tenth,

which is the eleventh according to the law, are

defective. That is, they are sacred, but he may not offer them; rather, they must graze until they become unfit. The reason for this law will be explained in the Gemara.

That is, they are sacred, but he does not offer them. Rather, they graze until they develop a disqualifying blemish. The reason for this law will be explained in the Gemara.

If they exited one by one, and he

called the ninth

“tenth,”

and the tenth

called it

“ninth,”

and the eleventh

called it

“tenth,”

all three become sacred, as we derive in the Gemara from the verses, and their law is as follows:

The ninth

may not be offered; rather, it is

eaten in its disqualified state

by the owners,

the tenth is tithe, and the eleventh is offered as a shelamim.

And

that eleventh animal that became a shelamim

effects temura

like other shelamim offerings—

the words of Rabbi Meir.

Rabbi Yehuda said

about this:

But can a temura effect temura? The eleventh animal itself is a temura of the tithe, and we have an established principle: A temura cannot effect temura.

They said

about this

in the name of Rabbi Meir: If

the eleventh animal

were a temura

of the tithe,

it could not be offered,

for animal tithe cannot effect temura, as we derive in Temura, page 21.

But if

he called the ninth “tenth,”

and the tenth

he called

“tenth”

according to its number,

and the eleventh

he called

“tenth,”

since he did not remove the designation “tenth” from the tenth animal,

the eleventh does not become sacred.

This is the rule: Whenever the designation “tenth” has not been removed from it from the tenth animal—that is, he called it “tenth,” or even remained silent and said nothing—

[from the tenth animal]—that is, he called it “tenth,” or even remained silent and said nothing—

the eleventh

that follows it

does not become sacred,

until he calls the tenth “ninth” and the eleventh “tenth”.

Gemara:

Rabbi Yoḥanan said:

If he counted

the lambs exiting through the entrance

in pairs

or

in groups of hundreds hundreds], that is, if he brought them out one after another and did not count each lamb individually, but counted groups of two or of one hundred lambs, calling the first group “one,” the second “two,” and so on:

[that is, hundreds at a time]—if he brought them out one after another but did not count each lamb individually, rather he counted groups of two or groups of one hundred lambs, calling the first group “one,” the second “two,” and so on—

The

tenth by the count

is

sacred,

and the Gemara proceeds to explain this.

The Gemara asks:

By which count does the tenth become sacred? The amoraim disagree concerning this:

[According to which count does the tenth become sacred?] The amoraim disagree about this:

Rav Mari said: It becomes sacred by his count the count of the person counting, who counted groups rather than individual lambs]

[the count of the person counting, who counted groups rather than individual lambs];

. That is, the tenth group becomes sacred, and exempts the nine groups before it. The reason is that the count he is making is not one count of ten lambs; rather, he is making two or more counts of ten, and the tenth animal in each count he makes becomes sacred.

That is, the tenth group became sacred and exempted the nine groups before it. The reason is that the count he is making is not one count of ten lambs; rather, he is simultaneously making two or more counts of ten, and the tenth animal of every count he makes becomes sacred.

Rav Kahana said: It becomes sacred by the count of the animals,

that is, we pay no attention at all to his count, but to the count of the lambs individually; the animal that exited tenth through the entrance is the sacred one.

And we challenge Rav Kahana from what

we learned

in our Mishna:

If two exited simultaneously,

then he

counts them as two,

and if he

counted them as one

contrary to the law, then the

ninth

and the

the

tenth are defective.

But:

Granted, according to the one who says that it becomes sacred by his count, this is why the ninth and tenth are defective: For the tenth

according to the law,

he calls

it

“ninth,”

and the eleventh

according to the law, he calls it

“tenth.”

But according to the one who says: It becomes sacred according to the count of the animals,

then

with regard to the ninth,

according to the law,

he calls it “ninth” [

he too called it “ninth” ],

and

also

with regard to the tenth,

according to the law, “

tenth”

he calls it;

so why are they disqualified from one another!?

Rabbi Yoḥanan could say to you:

When I said this, it was in a case where he intended to bring them out in pairs [

I said this only in a case where he intended to bring them out in pairs ],

but where it emerged automatically [

but when a pair emerged on its own as one, as our Mishna discusses ],

I did not

say so.

Come and hear

to raise an objection to Rav Mari from what was taught in a beraita:

If he counted them in reverse order—

that is, he counted ten, nine, eight—

the tenth in the count becomes sacred.

And

granted, according to the one who says that it becomes sacred according to the count of the animals, this is well,

for it is understandable that the tenth becomes sacred contrary to its own count.

But according to the one who says that it becomes sacred according to its own count,

yet with regard to the

tenth, “

one”

he calls it;

so how does it become sacred as the tenth!?

Rava

answered:

Therefore sanctity takes effect when he counted them in reverse order,

because

it exists in the Persian counting, in which they call ten “one” [

in Persian counting, they call ten “one” ].