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Daf prep · Bekhorot 34 · בכורות ל״ד
Before you learn Bekhorot 34
Where we left off
Daf 33b compared bloodletting a firstborn animal to safeguarding doubtful teruma. Daf 34 opens by examining the biblical verses behind these two disputes.
The question going in
How do verses govern safeguarding sanctified items, and how far do rabbinic penalties for intentional blemishes extend?
Know before you start
- הטלת מום (causing a blemish): Torah law forbids causing any defect in a consecrated offering. This applies whether the injury is inflicted directly or caused indirectly.
- שמירת תרומה (safeguarding teruma): The Torah commands priests to protect sanctified produce from ritual impurity. The Sages debate whether this rule applies to teruma of doubtful purity.
- קנס (rabbinic penalty): The Sages penalize someone who deliberately blemishes a firstborn animal to prevent transgression. Authorities debate whether this penalty is permanent or ends when another blemish appears.
- דבר שאינו מתכוין (unintended act): This refers to a permitted act that inadvertently causes a forbidden result. Rabbi Shimon permits an unintended act, while Rabbi Yehuda forbids it.
Who's who
- Rabbi Eliezer (רבי אליעזר, Tanna): He permanently forbids slaughtering an intentionally blemished firstborn and requires safeguarding doubtful teruma.
- Rabbi Yehoshua (רבי יהושע, Tanna): He holds that doubtful teruma unfit for consumption does not require safeguarding.
- Rabbi Shimon (רבי שמעון, Tanna): He permits bloodletting a sick firstborn even if it causes a permanent blemish.
- Rabbi Yirmeya (רבי ירמיה, Amora): He inquires whether the rabbinic penalty on an intentional blemisher extends to his son.