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Machloket · Bekhorot 53 · בכורות נ״ג
Suspending Animal Tithes in the Post-Temple Era
The Mishnah applies animal tithes across all eras and locations. The Gemara explains why the Rabbis nonetheless suspended the practice to avert severe transgressions.
The Torah's Expansive Scope
The Mishnah opens the ninth chapter of Bekhorot with a sweeping rule. The mitzvah of מעשר בהמה (animal tithe) applies both inside Eretz Yisrael and in the diaspora. It also applies both during the Temple era and after its destruction,.
The Gemara questions this universal scope against a baraita from Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Akiva derives that animal tithes cannot be brought from abroad, just as grain tithes are not brought from the diaspora. The Gemara reconciles the sources by distinguishing between sacrificing and sanctifying: diaspora animals cannot be sacrificed on the altar, but their inherent sanctity still takes effect,.
The Rabbinic Ban Due to Mishap
If the biblical obligation continues without the Temple, the Gemara challenges why Jews do not separate animal tithes today. Rav Huna initially suggests a decree regarding orphaned animals, but the Gemara rejects this because a public announcement could avert mistakes.
Rabba concludes that the Sages suspended the practice entirely due to a potential mishap (משום תקלה). Without an altar, a consecrated animal cannot be offered and must be left to graze until it develops a blemish,. The Sages feared owners would shear or work the sacred beast, or eat an unblemished animal outside Jerusalem, which incurs כרת (spiritual excision),.
אֶלָּא אָמַר רַבָּה: מִשּׁוּם תַּקָּלָה, וּמְנָא תֵּימְרָא דְּחָיְישִׁינַן לְתַקָּלָה?Rather, Rabba says: The reason is due to concern for a mishap. And from where do you say that we are concerned for a mishap? (Bekhorot 53a:9)
Tithe Compared to the Firstborn
The Gemara asks: if the Rabbis feared spiritual mishaps, why did they not abolish the sanctity of a בכור (firstborn)? A firstborn becomes sacred automatically from the womb without human agency, whereas animal tithe requires deliberate human counting,.
Furthermore, one can prevent a mishap with a firstborn by inflicting a blemish before birth. In animal tithes, one cannot know in advance which animal will emerge as the tenth beast. One cannot intentionally lead a pre-blemished animal tenth because the Torah forbids inspecting between good and bad. Nor may one blemish the entire herd, lest the Temple be rebuilt immediately and leave no unblemished animals for offerings.
מִי יָדַע הֵי נָפֵיק? וְכִי תֵּימָא דְּמַפֵּיק לֵיהּ בְּרֵישׁ עַשְׂרָה — ״לֹא יְבַקֵּר בֵּין טוֹב לָרַע״ אָמַר רַחֲמָנָא.How can one know which animal will emerge? And if you say that he should bring it out at the head of the ten, the Merciful One states: 'He shall not inquire whether it be good or bad.' (Bekhorot 53b:2)
The Halakhic Status Post Facto
The Rambam codifies that the Rabbinic ban against tithing animals applies throughout the present era. Even so, the underlying Torah commandment remains perpetually intact.
Consequently, if an owner violates the rabbinic enactment and tithes his flock today, the consecration takes effect and the tenth animal must be eaten in its blemish,. A parallel rule applies if one tithes across separate years: while forbidden ab initio, the tithe takes effect בדיעבד (after the fact) due to חומרת הקדשים (the strictness of holy offerings).
Although animal tithe remains fundamentally binding even without the Temple, the Sages suspended active tithing to prevent severe transgressions with unoffered holy animals.