The masechet so far, chapter by chapter

Masechet Bekhorot details the laws of firstborn humans and livestock, covering the redemption of donkeys, the consecration of kosher animals, and disqualifying bodily defects. Having completed the catalog of blemishes that permit slaughtering a firstborn animal outside the Temple, the tractate now examines blemishes that disqualify priests (kohanim) from Temple service.

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

A male firstborn donkey possesses sanctity and must be redeemed with a lamb or kid given to a priest (kohen). If the owner chooses not to redeem the donkey, he must break its neck from behind. Any ownership partnership with a gentile or a priest completely exempts the animal from firstborn status.

Gentile partnership in a mother donkey or its fetus exempts the offspring from firstborn sanctity.
A firstborn donkey is redeemed with a live sheep or goat of either gender.
If the owner refuses to redeem the firstborn donkey, he must break its neck and bury it.

Chapter 2 – הלוקח עובר פרתו: Firstborn Kosher Animals and Doubtful Births

Male firstborn kosher animals are sanctified from birth and must be sacrificed or given to a priest. When twin births or caesarean deliveries obscure which offspring opened the womb, strict rules of legal uncertainty apply. Consecrated animals with pre-existing blemishes only possess monetary value and may be redeemed.

Pre-existing permanent blemishes limit consecration to monetary value, allowing redemption and common use.
If twin male lambs emerge together, the priest receives the leaner one unless he proves precedence.
A caesarean-born animal and its subsequent sibling are both exempt from firstborn status.

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

Purchased animals with unknown birthing histories are evaluated for signs of prior delivery, such as uterine discharge or an afterbirth. Mother animals found nursing are presumed to have given birth previously to their own biological young. Shearing a firstborn animal is forbidden, but plucking small amounts of hair to inspect blemishes or facilitate slaughter is permitted.

Murky uterine discharge or afterbirth proves prior pregnancy, exempting future births from firstborn status.
A nursing mother animal is presumed to nurse only her own biological offspring.
Plucking hair to reveal a blemish or clear the neck for slaughter is permitted.

Chapter 4 – עד כמה: Caring for Firstborns and Expert Inspectors

An owner must care for a firstborn animal for thirty or fifty days before transferring it to a priest. The animal must be eaten within its first year, though late-developing blemishes grant an extension. Blemishes must be examined by authorized experts, who may accept fixed inspection fees but not wages for issuing favorable rulings.

Owners tend small firstborns for thirty days and large cattle for fifty days before delivery.
Court-authorized expert judges are exempt from paying restitution for mistaken rulings that cause loss.
Inspectors may receive fixed fees, but judges may only accept compensation for lost wages.

Chapter 5 – כל פסולי המוקדשין: Selling and Intentionally Blemishing Firstborns

Disqualified consecrated offerings are sold in public markets, but blemished firstborns may only be sold modestly at home. Intentionally causing a blemish on a firstborn offering is strictly forbidden and penalizes the owner from slaughtering it. Credibility to testify about accidental injuries depends on financial interest, allowing ordinary Israelites but restricting interested priests.

Disqualified Temple sacrifices are sold in public markets, but blemished firstborns are sold only at home.
Intentionally causing a blemish prohibits slaughter until a second, natural blemish develops on the animal.
Three laymen may permit slaughtering an animal with obvious defects only when no expert is present.

Chapter 6 – על אלו מומין: Disqualifying Physical Blemishes in Animals

The tractate catalogues permanent, exposed physical blemishes on an animal's ears, eyes, mouth, genitals, and limbs that allow slaughter outside the Temple. Transitory conditions, internal defects, and minor cosmetic variations do not permit slaughter. Animals of indeterminate sex (tumtum) or those associated with capital sins cannot be slaughtered as firstborns.

Only permanent, exposed defects in cartilage or bone permit slaughtering a firstborn outside the Temple.
A white eye cataract disqualifies only when floating, while a black cataract disqualifies when sunken.
Animals with hidden organs or those that committed manslaughter are disqualified from slaughter as firstborns.

Chapter 7 – מומין אלו: Blemishes Disqualifying Priests from Temple Service

All permanent and transient blemishes that disqualify animals also disqualify priests (kohanim) from performing the Temple service. In addition, priests are disqualified by unique human bodily deformities, including irregular head shapes, missing eyebrows, and flat noses. Bodily defects profane the service by Torah law, whereas unsightly conditions are banned by rabbinic decree.

Any permanent or transient animal blemish also disqualifies a priest from performing Temple service.
Abnormal head shapes, missing eyebrows, and a sunken nose disqualify a priest from service.
Full bodily blemishes profane Temple service, whereas unsightly traits carry rabbinic bans.

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