The masechet so far, chapter by chapter

Masechet Bekhorot addresses the laws of firstborn male donkeys, kosher animals, and the obligations owed to priests from these births. The tractate currently examines Chapter 5, focusing on how blemished firstborns and disqualified offerings may be sold, slaughtered, and consumed.

Chapter 1 – הלוקח עובר חמורו: Redemption of the Firstborn Donkey

This chapter details the obligation to redeem a firstborn donkey with a sheep or goat given to a priest. Any partnership or partial ownership with a gentile completely exempts the donkey from firstborn status. If the owner chooses not to redeem the donkey, its neck must be broken and the carcass buried.

Donkeys owned in partnership with a gentile are exempt from firstborn sanctity and do not require redemption.
A firstborn donkey must be redeemed with a lamb, or its neck is broken and it is buried.
If an owner designates a lamb for redemption and it dies, the owner bears no financial liability.

Chapter 2 – הלוקח עובר פרתו: Firstborn Kosher Animals and Birth Doubts

This chapter covers the firstborn status of kosher animals like cattle, sheep, and goats, which possess innate bodily sanctity. Gentile partnerships or pre-existing permanent blemishes remove this innate sanctity, while cases of multiple or mixed births require division or valuation between the owner and the priest. Animals born through caesarean section and those following them are excluded from firstborn status.

Offspring of kosher animals owned in partnership with a gentile are completely exempt from firstborn sanctity.
When male twin lambs emerge together, Rabbi Tarfon awards the priest the better lamb; Rabbi Akiva gives the leaner.
Neither an animal delivered via caesarean section nor the sibling that follows it attains firstborn status.

Chapter 3 – הלוקח בהמה: Signs of Prior Birth and Wool

This chapter provides rules for determining whether an animal purchased from a gentile has previously given birth, using signs such as uterine discharge or active nursing. It also prohibits shearing a firstborn animal or deriving benefit from its wool. Exceptions allow clearing neck wool with a cleaver before slaughter and define when shed fleece remains forbidden.

A murky uterine discharge indicates a prior expelled fetus, exempting subsequent births from firstborn sanctity.
A nursing mother animal is presumed to have given birth previously, exempting future offspring from firstborn status.
One may pluck wool from a firstborn's neck with a cleaver before slaughter if the hair remains in place.
Wool naturally shed from a blemished firstborn remains forbidden unless it stays compressed within the attached fleece.

Chapter 4 – עד כמה: Holding Periods, Experts, and Suspect Vendors

This chapter outlines the required timeframe an owner must raise a firstborn animal before presenting it to a priest. It specifies qualifications and payment rules for court-authorized experts who inspect animal blemishes or judge disputes without bias. It also restricts commercial dealings with merchants suspected of improperly selling firstborns, priestly gifts like teruma (sanctified produce), or Sabbatical-year produce.

An owner must care for a firstborn sheep for thirty days and cattle for fifty days before delivery.
A court-authorized expert who inspects blemishes or judges cases is exempt from paying restitution for erroneous rulings.
Judges cannot take wages to judge, but animal inspectors may take fixed fees regardless of the outcome.
One may not buy unprocessed goods from vendors suspected of illicitly selling firstborns, tithes, or Sabbatical produce.

Chapter 5 – כל פסולי המוקדשין: Disqualified Consecrated Animals and Firstborn Consumption

This chapter contrasts general disqualified offerings with blemished firstborns and animal tithes (ma'aser behemah). Disqualified sacrifices are sold in commercial markets to maximize Temple funds, whereas blemished firstborns must be sold at home by estimate. The chapter also examines whether non-priests may consume a blemished firstborn and the restrictions on letting blood from congested animals.

Blemished firstborns and animal tithes must be sold privately at home by estimate, not weighed in the butcher's market.
Beit Hillel permit non-priests and even gentiles to partake of a blemished firstborn alongside a priest.
Bloodletting a congested firstborn is permitted if done carefully, but causing a blemish invalidates slaughter for that blemish.

Learn Bekhorot 32 on Super Daf