Bekhorot 9a — the Talmud in English

And

when he reached the place of the swallowing

he took

a full jug of water from the place of the swallowing,

until they had all entered the ship, Rabbi Yehoshua took with him earth from the earth of their land; and when he reached the place where the ocean swallows all the waters that fall into it and brings them to the abyss, while the abyss expels them, he took with him from the waters that were there a full jug of water]—

When they came

the sages,

he stood them

Rabbi Yehoshua

before the emperor, he saw them

the king saw the sages

that they were afflicted, he said to him

the king said to Rabbi Yehoshua, “If so,

these are not they; he took

Rabbi Yehoshua

from their earth and cast it upon them

and their stature straightened, for they thought that they were in their land; and because of this

they spoke harshly to the king; he said to him

the emperor said to Rabbi Yehoshua:

“Whatever you wish, do with them.”

When they reached the place where the emperor was, Rabbi Yehoshua brought the sages before the emperor. But when the emperor saw that they were afflicted and degraded, he claimed to Rabbi Yehoshua that these were not the sages. Rabbi Yehoshua took some of the earth that he had brought from their land and threw it over them. As a result, they thought that they were in their own land, and therefore dared to speak harshly with the king, believing—because of the smell of the earth—that they were close to their land and did not need to fear the authority of the king there. The king became angry and said to Rabbi Yehoshua: Do with them whatever you desire!

He brought

Rabbi Yehoshua

those waters that came from the place of the swallowing, he cast them into a vessel, he said to them

Rabbi Yehoshua said to the sages:

“Fill this one and go away for yourselves; fill and cast into it, the first ones it will swallow, fill until it strips their shoulders, and it will swallow them and they will go away.”

Rabbi Yehoshua did this to them so that they would perish. He took a vessel and placed in it the water that swallows all water, and instructed them to fill the vessel with other water until it became full, after which they would be released and could leave. But every quantity of water that they poured into it was swallowed, and they had to carry more and more water on their shoulders until they were exhausted and went to their destruction.

Mishna:

A she-donkey

that is pregnant

that has not yet given birth:

And

he rose early and found that it

gave birth to two males,

of whom only one is subject to the law of the firstborn of a donkey, he

gives one lamb to a priest,

for he certainly has a firstborn of a donkey.

And if it gave birth to

a male

that is sanctified with firstborn sanctity,

and a female

that is not fit to become sanctified, and it is not known which is the firstborn, he

sets aside one lamb

in order to remove from the firstborn—if indeed there is here one sanctified with firstborn sanctity—its sanctity and its prohibition, but he does not give it to a priest; rather it is

for himself,

for it is a doubt, and the one who seeks to extract from his fellow bears the proof.

One who had

two she-donkeys

that were pregnant

and had not yet given birth:

And

he rose early and found that they

had given birth to two males,

he

gives two lambs to a priest,

for we attribute that each one gave birth to one male, and if so, two firstborns were born to him.

And if they gave birth to

a male and a female, or

they gave birth to

two males and a female,

and it is found that he certainly has one firstborn, he

gives one lamb

only

to a priest,

for he certainly has one firstborn, but he does not give an additional lamb to a priest, for perhaps the second gave birth to the female first. And if they gave birth to

two females and a male, or two males and two females,

so that it is possible that there is not even one firstborn here, because the females were born first,

there is nothing here for a priest.

B. The Mishna of the King raised a difficulty [Firstborns 12:21, beginning “And the appearance”]: In the case of two females and a male, there is a double uncertainty requiring stringency. Perhaps one donkey gave birth to a male and the other to two females, in which case the male is sacred; and if you will say that the male was not born alone, say that the male was born first and the female afterward. According to the principle established by Rabbi Yosef ibn Lev that a double uncertainty enables one to take property from its presumed possessor, why should a priest not take one lamb, since the priest prevails through two uncertainties? That is, there is a double uncertainty establishing that there is at least one firstborn: perhaps there was no female whose precedence is in doubt, and even if there was a female, perhaps the male emerged first. If so, the priest should take one lamb! The same difficulty applies not only to two females and one male, but also to two males and two females: perhaps one donkey did not give birth to a female at all, and perhaps the male emerged first. See there how he considered resolving this by saying that when property has no particular claimant, a priest cannot extract money on the basis of a double uncertainty; but he raised a difficulty against this as well. See there and in the index volume.

And if he had two she-donkeys,

one

that had already

given birth, and one that

had not yet

given birth:

And they gave birth to two males,

he

gives one lamb to a priest,

for this one also, which had not yet given birth, gave birth to a firstborn.

And if they gave birth to

a male and a female,

and it is not known whether the male is from the one that had already given birth, in which case there is no firstborn, or perhaps it is from the one that had not yet given birth, in which case there is a firstborn, he

sets aside one lamb,

but he does not give it to a priest, for perhaps there is no firstborn here, and he takes it

for himself.

And from where do we know that one redeems with a lamb?

As it is stated: “

And you shall redeem the firstborn of a donkey with a lamb.”

And this lamb may be

from sheep and

may be

from goats, male or female

or female,

large or small, unblemished or blemished.

And he may redeem with it many times,

if the priest returned it to him after he had given it to him. And

it enters the pen to become numerous,

and the intent of the Mishna will be explained in the Gemara.

And if it dies

the redemption

one may benefit from it,

and the intent of the Mishna will be explained in the Gemara.

Gemara:

We learned in the Mishna: A she-donkey that has not yet given birth and gave birth to two males gives one lamb to a priest:

We learned in the Mishna below, 17a, concerning the firstborn of a pure animal: “A ewe that has not yet given birth and gave birth to two males, and their two heads emerged together, Rabbi Yosei the Galilean says: Both belong to a priest,” as it is stated: “And every first issue of an animal that you have, the males are for the Lord,” and this implies: two males; and his reason is that it is possible for two things to be exactly simultaneous, so that both emerged at once and both are firstborns, and the Torah has stated that even two firstborns are sanctified. And the Sages disagreed with him there, because it is impossible for two things to be exactly simultaneous.

The Gemara had assumed that the reason for the Mishna is that he gives only one lamb because it is impossible for two things to be exactly simultaneous, and we conclude that one emerged before the other, so there is only one firstborn; if so:

Who is the author,

who is the tanna who taught our Mishna?

Rabbi Yirmeya said: It is not in accordance with Rabbi Yosei the Galilean, for if it were Rabbi Yosei the Galilean, he said

concerning the firstborn of a pure animal, that if their two heads emerged together, both are sanctified because

it is possible for two things to be exactly simultaneous,

and if so, here too, by law both should be subject to the status of firstborn.

Abaye said: You may even say that it is Rabbi Yosei the Galilean; there it is different

concerning the firstborn of a pure animal,

for it is written [Exodus 13:12]: “And every first issue of an animal that you have,

the males

for the Lord,”

the plural expression,

for Him, and thus the Torah included two males in the law of firstborn; but concerning the firstborn of a donkey, only one is sanctified as a firstborn, and it is a doubt which one is sanctified.

for the Torah thereby included two males within the law of the firstborn. But with regard to a firstborn donkey, only one becomes sacred as a firstborn, and it is uncertain which one is sacred.

And we object:

And let us derive

the firstborn donkey

from it

[the firstborn of a clean animal], that there should be two males subject to the law of the firstborn, even in the case of the firstborn donkey!?

And we answer:

The Merciful One excluded this “

the males” [the added letter heh], to exclude the firstborn donkey.

[добавление определённого артикля], тем самым исключив первородного осла.

Some say: Let us say

the Mishna

is not in accordance with Rabbi Yosei the Galilean, for if it were Rabbi Yosei the Galilean, he says

that

it is possible to be exact.

Abaye said: You may even say that it is in accordance with Rabbi Yosei the Galilean

it is,

there it is different, for it is written “

the males are his.”

And we object:

Granted, according to Rabbi Yirmeya, who does not establish it in accordance with Rabbi Yosei the Galilean,

and we hold that the two heads did not emerge simultaneously,

this is why it does not teach “

and their two heads emerged simultaneously,”

as we learned concerning the firstborn of a clean animal.

But according to Abaye,

who explains that only one becomes consecrated even if, in fact, their two heads emerged simultaneously,

let it teach “

and their two heads emerged simultaneously,”

as we learned concerning the firstborn of a clean animal.

And furthermore,

we object to Abaye from that which

was taught: A donkey that had not yet produced a firstborn and gave birth to two males, and their two heads emerged simultaneously, Rabbi Yosei the Galilean says: Both belong to the kohen, as it is stated “

the males are his”—

Before completing the objection, the Gemara explains the wording of the beraita, “as it is stated, ‘the males are his,’” which implies: in the case of the firstborn donkey it is stated, “the males are his,

but when this

the males are his

in intrinsic sanctity”—

that is, the firstborn of a clean animal, which possesses intrinsic sanctity—

is what is written,

and not regarding the firstborn donkey!?

And we explain:

Rather,

say in the beraita: “

because it is stated, ‘the males are his,’”

meaning, since “the males are his” is stated regarding the firstborn of a clean animal, we derive from it also concerning the firstborn donkey—

In any event, it is explicitly clarified in the beraita that Rabbi Yosei disagrees with our Mishna, and

this is a teyuvta against Abaye—

And we conclude: indeed,

a teyuvta

against Abaye, and our Mishna is not in accordance with Rabbi Yosei the Galilean.