The masechet so far, chapter by chapter

Masechet Bekhorot (Firstborns) details the sanctity, redemption, and physical fitness of animal and human firstborns. After examining the laws and blemishes of donkey and livestock firstborns and Temple priests, the tractate currently addresses the redemption and inheritance rights of firstborn sons.

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

A male firstborn donkey must be redeemed with a lamb given to a priest [kohen] or have its neck broken. Any partnership with a gentile or a physical mismatch in species exempts the donkey from firstborn sanctity. The owner may redeem it with any sheep or goat, regardless of gender or blemish.

A donkey owned even partially by a gentile is exempt from firstborn sanctity.
A firstborn donkey is redeemed by giving a lamb or kid to a priest [kohen].
If the owner refuses to redeem the donkey, he must break its neck from behind.

Chapter 2 – הלוקח עובר פרתו: Sanctity of Kosher Animal Firstborns

Male firstborn kosher livestock possess inherent sanctity and are given directly to a priest without redemption. Gentile partnership or caesarean delivery removes the status of a firstborn. In ambiguous twin births, Rabbi Akiva rules that the priest receives only the leaner animal.

Gentile partnership in a cow or its fetus exempts the calf from firstborn sanctity.
Animals with permanent blemishes before consecration hold only monetary value, exempting their offspring.
When twin males emerge simultaneously, Rabbi Akiva awards the priest the leaner lamb.

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

Buyers check physical signs such as a murky discharge or afterbirth to know if an animal gave birth previously. An animal seen nursing is legally presumed to have calved, exempting future offspring from firstborn sanctity. It is strictly forbidden to shear a firstborn, though plucking hair to check blemishes is permitted.

A murky discharge confirms a prior expelled fetus, exempting subsequent births from firstborn sanctity.
A purchased female animal seen nursing is presumed to have already given birth.
One may pluck neck wool to inspect a blemish or make room for slaughtering.

Chapter 4 – עד כמה: Holding Periods, Expert Inspection, and Credibility

An owner must raise a firstborn sheep for thirty days and cattle for fifty days before delivery to a priest. A blemished firstborn may be slaughtered outside the Temple only after confirmation by an authorized expert. Taking payment to judge or testify completely invalidates rulings, and untrustworthy individuals face strict commercial restrictions.

Owners must care for a firstborn sheep for thirty days and cattle for fifty days.
An authorized court expert who makes a mistaken ruling causing loss is exempt from restitution.
Taking wages to judge or testify invalidates the ruling or testimony.

Chapter 5 – כל פסולי המוקדשין: Slaughtering Blemished Animals and Prohibited Blemishing

Blemished firstborn animals must be sold and slaughtered privately at home rather than weighed publicly in butcher markets. Deliberately inflicting a blemish on a firstborn is strictly forbidden and penalizes the perpetrator. Lay Israelites are believed to testify that an injury occurred accidentally, but priests are not believed regarding their own animals.

Blemished firstborns are slaughtered and sold privately at home, not in open butcher markets.
Deliberately causing a blemish prohibits slaughtering the firstborn until an unrelated natural blemish develops.
A priest is not believed to testify that a blemish on his own firstborn occurred naturally.

Chapter 6 – על אלו מומין: Permanent Blemishes in Sacrificial Animals

This chapter catalogues permanent, exposed physical blemishes that permit slaughtering a firstborn animal outside the Temple. Disqualifying defects include severed ear cartilage, visible eye cataracts, pierced lips, damaged genitalia, missing testicles, and broken limb bones. Temporary conditions like transient weeping eyes or moist boils do not permit slaughter.

An ear split through cartilage or perforated to bitter-vetch size permits slaughtering outside the Temple.
A permanent white cataract floating over the black pupil is a valid blemish.
Animals with ambiguous or concealed sex organs [tumtum and hermaphrodite] cannot be slaughtered as firstborns.

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

All physical blemishes that disqualify sacrificial animals also disqualify a priest [kohen] from performing the Temple service. Additional human blemishes include misshapen heads, lack of eyebrows, sunken noses, mismatched limb sizes, and extra fingers or toes. Priests who violate marital bans or contract corpse impurity are also barred until they rectify the violation.

Any blemish that disqualifies an animal also bars a priest from Temple service.
Priests with misshapen heads, lack of eyebrows, or sunken noses are disqualified from service.
Amputating an extra digit containing bone leaves the priest permanently disqualified as missing a limb.

Chapter 8 – יש בכור: Firstborn Sons: Redemption and Inheritance Rights

Chapter 8 distinguishes between the maternal firstborn requiring redemption [pidyon haben] and the paternal firstborn entitled to a double inheritance. A father redeems his firstborn son after thirty days with five silver sela coins of Tyrian standard or equivalent movable property. A firstborn son receives a double inheritance share only in tangible assets the father possessed at death.

A son who opens the womb requires redemption, while the father's first offspring receives double inheritance.
Redemption of a firstborn son requires five silver sela coins of Tyrian standard or equivalent value.
A firstborn son receives a double portion only in tangible assets the father possessed at death.

Learn Bekhorot 51 on Super Daf