Bekhorot 119

Chapter 119

א לא יאמר אברור עשרה ואטול מהן אחד והשאר פטורים אלא כונסן לדיר ומוציא עשרה ונוטל מהן אחד והשאר מצטרפין לגורן אחר

1 he cannot say: 'I will select ten [meagre ones], take one from them [as tithe] and the rest will be exempt'. But he must bring them [all]1 into the shed, bring out ten, take one from them [as tithe], and the rest combine with those of a later tithing period.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' We are therefore taught here two things. First, that he cannot select the meagre ones alone to be tithed, and again, that, although only five lambs remain, he cannot say that they are altogether exempt but must combine them with those born at a later tithing period.');">2

ב והתניא תשעה עשר טלאים לא יאמר אברור עשרה ואטול מהן אחד והשאר פטורין אלא כונסן לדיר ומוציא עשרה ונוטל מהן אחד והשאר פטורין

2 But has it not been taught: If he had nineteen lambs he cannot say: 'I wil select ten, take one from them [as tithe] and the rest will be exempt'. But he must bring them [all] into the shed, bring out ten, take one from them [as tithe] and the rest are exempt?3 - R'Huna B'Sehorah explained this before Rab on [the Sabbath preceding] a Festival:4 We are dealing here with a shed which has two doors.

ג תרגמה רב הונא בר סחורה קמיה דרבא בריגלא בדיר שיש לו שני פתחים עסקינן ויצאו ט' בפתח זה וט' בפתח זה דהאיך חד חזי להכא ולהכא

3 Nine lambs passed through one door and nine through the other, thus [the remaining lamb] is fit [to combine either with those] here or there.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Either with the nine which passed through this door or the nine which passed through the other door, the reason why it exempts the rest being that a counting properly begun redeems. The lamb itself is holy, however, on its own account whether it remains in the shed or passes through the door.');">5 But why not explain6

ד ולישני ליה כגון שמנה תשעה וכי מטא עשרה קרי חד מרישא קסבר עשירי מאליו קדוש

4 [the Baraitha] as dealing with a case where he counted nine and when he reached [the number] ten, he called it One, [as] from the beginning?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' He did not say ten but proceeded to count, two etc. thus calling the tenth, One. Therefore the nineteenth was the tenth according to the second counting of the animals, the last ten being thus exempt through the nineteenth which is the tithe. And the first nine already counted are exempted on the grounds of a counting properly begun.');">7 - He holds that the tenth is holy on its own account.8 And why not explain [the Baraitha]9 as dealing with a case where e.g. , he counted [the nineteen lambs] in pairs?10

ה ולישני ליה בגורן ומנאן זוגות זוגות קסבר עשירי למנין בהמות הוא קדוש

5 - R'Huna holds: The tenth is rendered holy by the actual number of the animals.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' And it is not how one counts them, viz., one, two etc. which matters. Therefore as soon as he counted five pairs, one of the lambs becomes the tithe and the remaining nine are not exempt since the counting of them was not properly begun.');">11 R'Nahman B'Isaac said: The mother of R'Huna B'Sehorah was privileged to have a son who explained [Raba's ruling] on [the Sabbath previous to] a Festival12 in line with Raba's teaching.13

ו אר"נ בר יצחק זכאי אימיה דרב הונא בר סחורה דשני ליה שמעתא בריגלא כשמעתיה:

6 <big>MISHNAH: </big>IF TWO [LAMBS] CAME FORTH AT THE SAME TIME,14 HE COUNTS THEM IN PAIRS.15

ז <big>מתני׳</big> יצאו שנים כאחת מונה אותם שנים שנים מנאן אחד תשיעי ועשירי מקולקלין

7 IF HE COUNTED [THE TWO]16 AS ONE, THE NINTH AND THE TENTH ARE SPOILT.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' As regards offering up on the altar, for the ninth, according to his counting, is really the tenth and the tenth is really the eleventh. There is therefore (according to R. Gershom) a mixture here of tithe and a peace-offering. Consequently, the animals are condemned to pasture until blemished. The case here also is unlike the case of one who called the tenth the ninth and the eleventh the tenth, when the tenth is the tithe and the eleventh is offered up as a peace-offering, because since he counted the animals one by one it is clear that the animal he called the ninth was really the tenth, the mistake being on his part. The tenth is holy therefore without the slightest doubt, and the eleventh is also holy as the result of a Divine decree, as mentioned below. But where a pair came out in the beginning simultaneously, and instead of counting them in pairs, he counted them singly, it was not absolutely clear that the animal which he counted the ninth would be the tenth (Rashi) .');">17

ח קרא לתשיעי עשירי ולעשירי תשיעי ולאחד עשר עשירי שלשתן מקודשין התשיעי נאכל במומו והעשירי מעשר ואחד עשר קרב שלמים ועושה תמורה דברי ר' מאיר

8 [IF THE NINTH AND THE TENTH CAME OUT AT THE SAME TIME, THE NINTH AND THE TENTH ARE SPOILT.]<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' As regards being offered up as tithe, for it is impossible to ascertain which came forth first and is consequently the tithe. Hence since we are in doubt which passed through, first both must pasture and are eaten when blemished.');">18 IF HE CALLED THE NINTH THE TENTH, THE TENTH THE NINTH AND THE ELEVENTH THE TENTH, THE THREE ARE HOLY.

ט א"ר יהודה וכי יש תמורה עושה תמורה אמרו משום ר"מ אילו היה תמורה לא היה קרב קרא לתשיעי עשירי ולעשירי עשירי ולאחד עשר עשירי אין אחד עשר מקודש זה הכלל כל שלא נעקר שם עשירי ממנו אין אחד עשר מקודש:

9 THE NINTH IS EATEN WHILE BLEMISHED, THE TENTH IS THE TITHE AND THE ELEVENTH IS SACRIFICED AS A PEACE-OFFERING, AND IT CAN EFFECT A SUBSTITUTE.19 THESE ARE THE WORDS OF R'MEIR'SAID R'JUDAH: CAN THAT ONE SUBSTITUTE EFFECT ANOTHER SUBSTITUTE?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Because he maintains that the holiness of the eleventh animal is due to the fact that it is a substitute. For when he called the eleventh the tenth, it is as if he had said: 'Let this be holy instead of the tenth' and that which is already a substitute etc.');">20 THEY SAID IN THE NAME OF R'MEIR: IF IT21 WERE A SUBSTITUTE, IT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN SACRIFICED.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The eleventh is not the substitute for the tenth, for had it been a substitute it would not have been offered up, for Scripture says: Thou shalt not redeem, they are holy (Num. XVIII, 17) . And we deduce thus: They (themselves) are holy but not their substitutes. And although the text refers to the first-born, we derive the case of tithe therefrom (Rashi) . The fact that the eleventh is offered up as a peace-offering proves therefore that it cannot be a substitute and that its holiness is in its own right.');">22 IF HE CALLED THE NINTH THE TENTH, THE TENTH THE TENTH AND THE ELEVENTH THE TENTH, THE ELEVENTH IS NOT CONSECRATED.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Since sometimes the eleventh can receive the comparatively stringent holiness of a peace-offering, when, for example, he made a mistake and called the tenth the ninth, then in this case when he called the tenth the tenth, the eleventh receives no holiness at all. The ninth, however, will retain the minor holiness of not being eaten unless blemished, even where he called the tenth the tenth.');">23 THE FOLLOWING IS THE RULE: WHEREVER THE NAME OF THE TENTH [ANIMAL] HAS NOT BEEN ELIMINATED THEREFROM,24 THE ELEVENTH IS NOT CONSECRATED.25

י <big>גמ׳</big> אמר ר' יוחנן מנאן זוגות זוגות קינטרן קינטרן עשירי למנינו הוא קדוש

10 <big>GEMARA: </big>Said R'Johanan: If he counted [the lambs] in pairs or in hundreds; the tenth in his counting becomes holy. In what counting? - R'Mari says: The holiness of the tenth is determined by his counting,26

יא למנינו מאי רב מארי אמר למנין שלו הוא קדוש רב כהנא אמר למנין בהמות הוא קדוש

11 whereas R'Kahana says: The holiness of the tenth is determined by the actual number of animals.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' We are not concerned with his counting, and therefore in the case of pairs, the tenth animal becomes holy as tithe of itself and every tenth animal of the hundred becomes holy, making ten animals as tithes in every hundred. If, therefore, the tithes can be recognized it is well, and if not, they are all condemned until they are blemished (Rashi) .');">27 We have learnt: IF TWO CAME OUT AT THE SAME TIME, HE COUNTS THEM IN PAIRS. IF HE COUNTED [THE TWO] AS ONE, THE NINTH AND THE TENTH ARE SPOILT. Now there is no difficulty according to him who holds: The holiness of the tenth is determined by his counting; for this reason the ninth and the tenth are spoilt, and he calls the tenth the ninth and the eleventh the tenth.28 But according to him who holds that the holiness of the tenth is determined by the actual number of the animals, it is as if he called the [certain] ninth the ninth and the [certain] tenth the tenth!<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' For the fact that he called the tenth the ninth and the eleventh the tenth makes no difference, and therefore why should not the tenth be the tithe and the eleventh a peace-offering?');">29

יב תנן יצאו שנים כאחת מונה אותן שנים שנים מנאן אחד תשיעי ועשירי מקולקלין

12 R'Johanan can reply thus:30 I only say [that the holiness of the tenth is determined by the counting of the animals] where he planned to bring them out in pairs, but where [as in the Mishnah] they came out [of the shed] of themselves,31

יג בשלמא למאן דאמר למנין שלו הוא קדוש משום הכי הוו תשיעי ועשירי מקולקלין ולעשירי קא קרי ליה תשיעי ולאחד עשר עשירי אלא למאן דאמר למנין בהמות הוא קדוש לתשיעי תשיעי קא קרי ליה ולעשירי עשירי קא קרי ליה

13 it is not so.32 Come and hear: If he counted them backwards,33 the tenth of the counting is holy. Now I grant that according to him who holds that the holiness of the tenth is determined by the actual number of the animals, there would be no difficulty.

יד אמר לך רבי יוחנן כי אמינא אנא היכי דאיכוין לאפוקי זוגות זוגות היכא דנפק ממילא לא

14 But according to him who holds that the holiness of the tenth is determined by his counting, then he calls the tenth the first!<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' He then calls the tenth animal the first, and if therefore we are guided by what he says why should the last animal be sacred, since he actually calls it the first?');">34 - Said Raba: The reason is because it so happens that in the Persian system of counting that they call ten One.35

טו תא שמע מנאן למפרע עשירי שבמנין הוא קדוש בשלמא למאן דאמר למנין בהמות הוא קדוש שפיר אלא למ"ד למנין שלו הוא קדוש עשירי חד קרי ליה

טז אמר רבא הואיל ואיתיה במנינא פרסאה דקרו לעשרה חד:

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