Bekhorot 37 – בכורות ל״ז | Daf Yomi with Rashi, Tosafot, the Rambam and halacha

What Bekhorot 37 teaches

A butcher selling meat from an uninspected firstborn must refund all payments, and all remaining uneaten meat must be buried immediately.
Blemishes permitting slaughter outside the Temple must be exposed and permanent defects in cartilage, excluding reversible skin tears or hidden flaws.
An ear blemish requires a split of any size, a notch catching a fingernail, or a perforation passing a bitter vetch.

The sugyot

The Gemara clarifies who may dissolve vows—either one qualified expert or three laymen who can comprehend the halacha—excluding Rabbi Yehuda's requirement of a mixed court.
The Gemara clarifies that Rabbi Yosei’s view is rejected despite his cogent reasoning, and explains why Rav’s rulings do not constitute a redundant repetition.
The Mishnah details refunds and disposal when sold meat is discovered to be an uninspected firstborn or a tereifah.
The Gemara debates whether purchasers of unknowingly forbidden foods receive full refunds or offset deductions, explaining the seller's claims regarding firstborns, produce, and wine mixtures.
The Mishnah enumerates ear blemishes that permit slaughtering a firstborn, focusing on irreversible damage to the cartilage, splitting, perforating, or desiccation.
The Gemara derives which blemishes permit slaughtering a firstborn outside the Temple, establishing that they must be visible, non-healing, and permanent defects.
The Gemara clarifies that both splits and notches disqualify whether congenital or human-made, defining a notch as catching an examiner's fingernail.
The Gemara contrasts the size required for an ear puncture blemish with slave ear-piercing, distinguishing between slaughtering outside the Temple and disqualification from sacrificial service.
The Gemara investigates whether the measure of a bitter vetch requires room to pass freely, drawing parallels to skull deficiencies in ritual impurity.

Halachot from the daf

Qualifications of laymen who dissolve vows without a sage
Whether an individual may dissolve vows alone in post-talmudic generations
Sanctity of a firstborn animal outside the Land of Israel
Slaughtering a blemished firstborn animal without a recognized expert
Selling meat of a bekhor slaughtered without expert inspection
Selling meat subsequently discovered to be a tereifah
Reimbursement for unwitting purchase and consumption of forbidden food
Deriving benefit from a mixture containing prohibited wine
Ear blemishes in the cartilage versus the outer skin
Redemption of consecrated animals with permanent blemishes
Disqualification of offerings through permanent blemishes requiring appraisal
Minimum size and nature of an ear notch or split
Ear perforation size and desiccation standards for blemishes
Ear piercing of a Hebrew servant who is a priest
The implement and bodily site for piercing a Hebrew servant
Tent defilement from a deficient spine or skull
Aperture not made by man transmitting corpse impurity
Aperture made by man for illumination transmitting impurity

Gems from the Daf

Learn Bekhorot 37 sugya by sugya on Super Daf: the Gemara in Hebrew and English with Rashi, Tosafot, the Rishonim, the Rambam and the Shulchan Arukh woven in. Free.