Super Daf › Bekhorot 31 › Gems from the Daf
Daf prep · Bekhorot 31 · בכורות ל״א
Before you learn Bekhorot 31
Where we left off
The previous daf discussed the rules for accepting חבר (chaver, associate) status. A sugya continues directly onto our daf regarding whether a lapsed חבר can ever be readmitted.
The question going in
If an observant associate lapses or becomes a royal tax collector, can he ever regain trust? Furthermore, may a qualified expert inspect his own consecrated animals for disqualifying blemishes?
Know before you start
- חבר (Chaver (Associate in Purity)): A חבר accepts strict standards of ritual purity and tithes. If he lapses, the Sages debate whether repentance allows him to regain trusted status.
- גבאי (Gabbai (Tax Collector)): Tax collectors were appointed by the king to collect taxes from Jews. They were suspected of extortion and consequently stripped of their reliable status.
- העמדה והערכה (Ha'amada Veha'arakha (Standing and Valuation)): Redeeming a consecrated animal requires presenting it alive before a priest for appraisal. Therefore, a sanctified animal usually cannot be redeemed after it has been slaughtered.
- מעשר בהמה (Ma'asar Behema (Animal Tithe)): The Torah states that an animal tithe offering cannot be redeemed. The Sages derive from this verse that selling its meat is strictly forbidden.
Who's who
- Rabbi Meir (רבי מאיר, Tanna): He rules that a lapsed associate who retracted is never accepted back.
- Rabba (רבה, Amora): He accepts a repentant tax collector based on the updated baraita.
- Rav Yosef (רב יוסף, Amora): He refuses to reaccept a former tax collector, upholding the initial baraita.
- Rav Sheshet (רב ששת, Amora): He resolves a contradiction by restricting the sale of animal tithe to orphans.