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Nov 12, 2026 · 19:17
If the animals are grazing on different sides of the Jordan River, they cannot be combined for the purpose of tithing. Which leads the Gemara to a long detour of reflection on…
Nov 11, 2026 · 21:44
More on not combining most species for tithing -- with the explicit exception of sheep and goats. The biblical source for this brings us back to terumah (and ma'aser) on…
Nov 10, 2026 · 15:21
Chapter 9! On tithing animals... and the verses from the Torah that prescribe this fairly broad mitzvah, throughout the world and regardless of whether the Temple stands.…
Nov 9, 2026 · 14:43
2 mishnayot: 1 - A first-born son receives a double-inheritance from his father's property, though not his mother's property. (Note: The potential modern will complications…
Nov 8, 2026 · 13:16
2 mishnayot! 1 - Redemption of the first-born son has to be done via the 5 silver coins (not via objects or land or promissory notes). Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi says - Anything but…
Nov 7, 2026 · 16:03
On the 5 silver coins for the redemption of the first-born son, and how they were valuated in other currencies. Which meant getting the math exactly right -- as the example of…
Nov 6, 2026 · 20:45
More mishnayot! 1 - If the first-born son dies within 30 days of birth, there's no redemption to pay and the kohen would return any payment that was already made. After 30 days,…
Nov 5, 2026 · 17:08
Two mishnayot! 1 - A woman gives birth to male twins, and it's not known which of them is the first born, the father gives the coins to the kohen, because one of them needs to be…
Nov 4, 2026 · 13:09
More on the human first-borns -- who is exempt from the need to redeem the first born. The son of a woman from the Tribe of Levi -- but if her husband a kohen or a levi, the…
Nov 3, 2026 · 21:21
Finishing out the 7th chapter, about the blemishes among human beings: kohanim need to commit to not making themselves come in contact with a dead body. How is that different…
Nov 2, 2026 · 19:51
More blemishes, but some of them are the kind of things that, nowadays, we correct fairly easily (bowleggedness, for example). Or a kohen with an extra digit -- which is not…
Nov 1, 2026 · 23:32
Cases of disqualification of kohanim from doing the Temple service for all kinds of eye blemishes, from blindness to pale spots on the eyes or excess tears -- and how they are…
Oct 31, 2026 · 16:59
Blemishes that disqualify kohanim from doing the Temple service -- derived from the verses in Leviticus. There are 3 categories of blemishes -- 1. appear in kohanim and animals;…
Oct 30, 2026 · 22:35
With regard to an animal that is an androgynos, with both male and female sexual organs, is not considered for a first-born status, because it's not uniquely male. With editorial…
Oct 29, 2026 · 18:33
Beginning with a couple of mishnayot -- on a calf whose tail doesn't reach down to the upper leg joint, which is considered to be a blemish. Imagine a camel to help picture the…
Oct 28, 2026 · 18:09
There are 7 mishnayot on this daf! (though we'll save the last one for tomorrow). 1 - On testicles and the nature of testicular blemishes. 2 - On the fact that blemishes are not…
Oct 27, 2026 · 18:59
3 mishnayot! Rabbi Hanina bar Antignos on various blemish, specifically the pale spots that constitute a blemish. Note the requirement of an even amount of time between checking…
Oct 26, 2026 · 21:35
Determining the capacity of an earthenware vessel to become impure on both its inside and outside -- as long as it's a receptacle, with a "middle," such as it was, with sides…
Oct 25, 2026 · 14:45
Finishing chapter 5 and starting chapter 6, with a mishnah in each chapter, and attention to the requirement of an experts to sign off on a first-born animal's status as…
Oct 24, 2026 · 19:10
The case of hearsay testimony - and when it's acceptable (not often!). Also, the opinion of Rabbi Tzadok on a first-born that split its lip while eating. But does that smack of…
Oct 23, 2026 · 19:08
3 mishnayot! 1 - Beginning with a story about a Roman soldier intentionally blemishing a first-born ram, and how the sages approved that case as a blemish, but not when others…
Oct 22, 2026 · 16:53
For a case of certainly pure terumah vs. uncertain terumah (whether it's pure or not) - in light of the plural of the word "terumotai" in the Torah. Or is it "terumati"?! Also,…
Oct 21, 2026 · 17:39
The Gemara picks up on Beit Hillel's leniency from the previous day's mishnah, and Rabbi Akiva's opinion on "the gazelle and the hart" - which are permitted to a non-Jew to eat.…
Oct 21, 2026 · 16:19
A discussion here compares the first-born with tithed animals. For a firstborn, it cannot be redeemed, but it can be sold. And tithed animals are the reverse. What's the source?…
Oct 19, 2026 · 22:35
Finishing the 4th chapter - with the series of baraitot about the "chaver" - with a focus here on the last one. That is, specifically, a kohen can examine first-borns for…
Oct 18, 2026 · 16:58
A new mishnah! A person who is suspected or known to not be careful about the laws of the shemitah year may or may not be careful about tithing, and likewise with regard to the…
Oct 17, 2026 · 16:21
Another day of mishnayot: 1 - One who takes wages to be a judge or give testimony or a kohen who does so to facilitate a red heifer -- all of those efforts would be void. Note…
Oct 16, 2026 · 14:28
4 mishnayot! 1 - On determining that an animal has a blemish - after slaughtering, and the tension of having non-experts involved in determining whether the animal has a blemish.…
Oct 15, 2026 · 15:30
If the kohen demands the first-born before the prescribed time, the owner does not need to provide it, because it seems that such a kohen would look too close to an employee of…
Oct 14, 2026 · 15:13
To close the 3rd chapter: What if wool were plucked from an unblemished burnt-offering? What would the halakhah be regarding benefiting from that detached wool? The sacrifice…
Oct 13, 2026 · 18:44
If you're slaughtering the first-born, you can part the hair and even pluck a hair for the sake of smoother slaughtering. That is, plucking is not considered to be shearing. This…
Oct 12, 2026 · 15:43
One who purchases a nursing female animal from a non-Jew - and the question is whether that animal can conclusively be said to have born progeny before, or perhaps the animal was…
Oct 11, 2026 · 11:54
Coming in the middle of a long discussion with a focus on a mix of sacred and regular ashes -- where impurity would be nullified via the mixture. Also, a new mishnah! If one…
Oct 10, 2026 · 15:59
NOTE: This daf talks about animal miscarriage and extends the conversation to human miscarriage. Please be forewarned. A new mishnah! With various status questions regarding the…
Oct 9, 2026 · 16:16
More on the female triplet goats who each have triplets to lead into a discussion of Rabbi Shimon's position, as compared to the tanna kama. Specifically about whether a goat…
Oct 8, 2026 · 17:50
More on buying an animal from a non-Jew, with the question of whether the animal has given birth before. A goat that has offspring during its first year - those must be the first…
Oct 7, 2026 · 21:19
2 mishnayot to close out chapter 2! Two ewes bear 2 male lambs -- both are first-born. One male, one female - the kohen gets the male. But with twins, what goes to the kohen?…
Oct 6, 2026 · 19:38
More on the case of the male twins whose heads emerged simultaneously -- where Rabbi Tarfon and Rabbi Akiva disagree. Also, delving in deeper, in terms of assessing the lambs,…
Oct 5, 2026 · 16:33
If a ewe gives birth to animal that looks like a goat, or vice versa, but also looks a little like its mother... Rabbi Meir says it is subject to the laws of first-born, but the…
Oct 4, 2026 · 12:17
The 5 sin-offerings that are left to die that are left to die (if they cannot be offered on the altar). How we know this, and how it works -- including the verse that teaches…
Oct 3, 2026 · 18:30
More on the consecration vs. blemish and their implications for practice, in terms of order: where is all this derived? From the different animals mentioned in the Torah, and how…
Oct 2, 2026 · 11:19
A new mishnah! Consecrated animals that acquire a blemish -- so they cannot be used for a regular sacrifice, what happens when they're then used for other things -- which doesn't…
Oct 1, 2026 · 19:55
Summary/description to follow after shabbat/chag, with apologies.
Sep 30, 2026 · 15:52
Two mishnayot! First - How you cannot redeem the first-born donkey (a list of the animals that don't work for this redemption). Who's opinion is represented in the mishnah? Ben…
Sep 29, 2026 · 14:55
Our first story in the tractate! Meaning, an actual case and discussion between the sages. On how much a person pays to redeem an animal from the kohanim, whether generous or…
Sep 28, 2026 · 19:57
A debate between Rabbi Shimon and Rabbi Meir, as to whether a first-born donkey is permitted for benefit. Whether the animal is decapitated is a relevant element to the…
Sep 27, 2026 · 19:22
A new mishnah! When two donkeys are born at the same time, and it's not clear which one should be offered as a first-born (or a male and female and not clear which was born…
Sep 26, 2026 · 20:37
Non-kosher fish "spawn" their offspring and nurse, where kosher fish lay eggs - with the exception of a bat, which lays eggs and also nurses, with many more factors to…
Sep 25, 2026 · 15:53
When an impure animal appears to be born to a pure animal, the animal can be consumed if and only if its head and more resembles the kosher mother. But can a kosher animal and a…
Sep 24, 2026 · 16:09
When the progeny of an animal doesn't quite resemble the mother animal, but has some similar traits, will it require the first-born status? Note the complicating factors of a…
Sep 23, 2026 · 17:25
Rabbi Yochanan came to Rabbi Elazar in a dream, and it was a harbinger for a good day. And the sanctification of the first-borns would not end, because of his own learning. Also,…
Sep 22, 2026 · 20:01
A new mishnah! Establishing additional exemptions for the first-born donkey offerings. The initial exemptions took place in the wilderness, and exempted the Levites, because the…
Sep 20, 2026 · 18:36
If one sold a first-born, and had to buy it back, the question is whether that's buying it back for 10x the value of the animal specifically, or just some random large amount. Or…
Sep 19, 2026 · 12:01
A new tractate, taking the first-born animals as its major focus: including human first-born sons, first male domesticated animals, and first-born donkeys, commemorating the…
Sep 18, 2026 · 15:56
A new mishnah! The last one, to be sure. Taking the mother bird for the fledglings or eggs -- you take the mother bird for the sake of the purification of the person recovering…
Sep 18, 2026 · 16:21
New mishnayot! 1 - If you send away the mother bird, and she comes back (even several times), you still have to send her away, if you want the eggs. Plus, when a positive…
Sep 17, 2026 · 16:49
More on the mitzvah of sending away the mother bird from sitting on her eggs or fledgling birds. If someone approached the nest with a knife, and began slaughtering the birds, or…
Sep 16, 2026 · 21:42
Consecrated birds are exempt from the mitzvah of sending away the mother bird -- what is the case? Well, what if a person consecrated the baby birds in the nest? Returning them…
Sep 15, 2026 · 18:12
Finishing the 11th chapter and beginning the 12th chapter. First, how much wool must one give in terms of worth? And how must it be presented? And how do we know how much wool…
Sep 14, 2026 · 17:15
The "first fleece" mishnah applies only to sheep - and the question is how is that known (from the Torah). Along the way, other first-born rules are raised, like the first-born…
Sep 13, 2026 · 12:29
3 universally accepted lenient halakhot at that time: 1. The first shearing of the wool applied only in the land of Israel (a reduction of obligation, as compared to the…
Sep 11, 2026 · 20:22
A new chapter! A new mishnah! The first shearing of your sheep's wool goes to the kohanim. But only from non-consecrated animals. And only when you have "numerous" sheep -- which…
Sep 11, 2026 · 18:22
A new mishnah! A convert who had a cow -- and it was slaughtered before the conversion, no gifts to the kohen; if after the conversion, then the convert is obligated in the…
Sep 10, 2026 · 14:46
Rav Yosef tested Rava and Abaye, regarding the gifts that are supposed to go to the kohen - when the kohen grabs the goods, he presents himself with the defense of obtaining the…
Sep 9, 2026 · 25:04
Do the gifts to the kohen include the daughter of the kohen as a recipient, or is she considered like a yisrael for this purpose, and the gifts are only to male kohanim? Also,…
Sep 8, 2026 · 16:38
A particular levi would grab the gifts going to the kohanim, before they reached the kohanim. The people complained to Rav... which raises the question of the gifts that are not…
Sep 7, 2026 · 14:53
A new chapter, and a new mishnah! The mitzvah of gifts from slaughtered animals that went to the kohanim - leg, jaw, and maw (the 4th stomach of the cow). Even not during the…
Sep 6, 2026 · 13:17
When something that is made of food is not being used for the purposes of food -- and then is not subject to the rules that pertain to food, such as those of impurity, for…
Sep 5, 2026 · 19:17
When a dangling limb might become susceptible to impurity. Plus, cases that conclude "Teiku" -- the conclusion is not known with surety. Does the whole body function as a…
Sep 4, 2026 · 13:59
A list of the creeping-crawlies... which diverts us to the fire that a salamander can generate, and the glory of God's creations, including animals that grow on land vs. those…
Sep 3, 2026 · 14:38
The question of impure marrow from bone - if closed, it doesn't matter, but if punctured, it will impart impurity. Thus, bones become a whole discussion unto themselves, as…
Sep 2, 2026 · 19:17
The marrow of a bone - in a sacrificial offering, that was then leftover - leads to impurity, as do the bones themselves. But that can depend on whether they are opened or…
Sep 1, 2026 · 13:10
A new mishnah! But first, procedure about how that which is rendered impure becomes pure again by virtue of an action, though that action is not necessarily needed. Plus, when is…
Aug 31, 2026 · 12:03
A new mishnah! More on the hide, and how, without flesh, it doesn't transmit impurity. But in the process of flaying the hide, there is a short time when convey impurity is…
Aug 30, 2026 · 13:07
A new mishnah! But a difficult one. Specifically about skin and when it conveys impurity -- with specific reference to creepie-crawlies, but there is also discussion about the…
Aug 29, 2026 · 12:23
More on items that join with meat to achieve a volume of food that would lead to the imparting of impurity. Including "allal" - which this daf defines (nuchal ligaments?). With a…
Aug 28, 2026 · 15:55
When do spices join together with the meat to yield an amount that can impart impurity of food -- even though the spices alone wouldn't get that impurity to begin with, because…
Aug 27, 2026 · 14:58
A pod that has beans that come in contact with a creepy-crawly will not impart impurity (the beans are protected well enough on their own). In contrast to a pod with smaller…
Aug 26, 2026 · 13:34
How handling impure food can become its own issue, and using a handle or an item of protection for the food will have different implications for the impurity and transfer…
Aug 25, 2026 · 11:41
A new mishnah! Both blood and forbidden fats are prohibited by Torah law, but there are ways in which each is more stringent than the other, and also more lenient than the other.…
Aug 24, 2026 · 14:27
The distinction between Rabbi Akiva's leniencies regarding cooking undomesticated animals and fowl in milk vs. those of Rabbi Yossi HaGelili's permission and stringency in that…
Aug 23, 2026 · 15:20
More on the abominable products that are the result of actions that are prohibited -- for example, food that was cooked on shabbat, which violates shabbat and then is itself…
Aug 22, 2026 · 16:07
How literal is the Torah's phrasing of "mother's milk"? Does it really mean the milk of the mother of the given animal, or all milk? Clearly, all milk - and the Gemara provides…
Aug 21, 2026 · 19:28
Beginning with a mnemonic to help remember the cases that are exceptions -- for example, the way salting (and rinsing, depending on the order and location) renders some meat…
Aug 20, 2026 · 13:33
Can you put a jug of salt alongside a jug of kutch - milk and grain reality....? The Gemara seems to say other substances would not be allowed - and that the kutach would not…
Aug 19, 2026 · 17:15
What if you roast a liver with other meat? Over a fire is acceptable, because the blood would be burned out, but an udder is not, because of the milk being absorbed. Except that…
Aug 18, 2026 · 18:20
More on the udder. And the different practices with regard to eating udder, as per different places. Plus, the story of Rami bar Dekuli, who went to Sura from Pompedita (where…
Aug 17, 2026 · 19:30
When milk flavor is imparted to a plate of meat -- it's prohibited even if the milk flavor would be squeezed out of it. With a 3-way machloket, on the efficacy of squeezing out…
Aug 16, 2026 · 16:51
A new mishnah! A drop of milk falls on a piece of meat that is cooking in a pot -- is there enough milk to give over some flavor? Note the Torah-level of prohibition regarding…
Aug 15, 2026 · 20:38
More on the laws pertaining to the ritual washing of hands: What if you hold the bread via a cloth or gloves or some such and don't wash? What if the reason you don't touch the…
Aug 14, 2026 · 14:01
Rav Dimi tells the story of how not washing before the meal in the ceremonial washing that precedes a meal led to a Jew eating pork. Likewise, a story of a woman who ended up…
Aug 13, 2026 · 18:51
On using bread as a napkin, to wipe your mouth from a given flavor. Also, how long to wait between milk (cheese) and meat -- perhaps no time at all, as it turns out. Though some…
Aug 12, 2026 · 17:12
Chapter 8! And the 3 verses that repeat not to cook a kid in its mother's milk. Also 2 mishnayot. 1 - No meat and milk together, not even on the same table, where "meat" refers…
Aug 11, 2026 · 19:12
Finishing chapter 7! But first, a case of several sins in one period of time, including non-kosher meat, and in which it seems that 2 sets of lashes would be sufficient. Or…
Aug 10, 2026 · 16:04
More on the prohibition of eating a limb from a live animal - which applies to everyone, and regardless of whether the animal itself is kosher or non-kosher (though for Jewish,…
Aug 9, 2026 · 19:17
On the sciatic nerve of the carcass of a kosher animal -- is there a way out of the punishment for the forbidden food? What happens when there's more than one prohibition, but…
Aug 8, 2026 · 21:41
More on nullifying non-kosher food in a larger amount of kosher food. First, remove the non-kosher food, but what happens if the remnants are giving flavor to the kosher food?…
Aug 7, 2026 · 14:57
More on nullification of a non-kosher food in the greater quantity of a kosher food. In accord with the view that said 100x more than the non-kosher food was necessary, but the…
Aug 6, 2026 · 19:15
The question of 1 in 60 vs. 1 in 61, and the conundrum of eggs -- where they are all counted, and including in the same food -- depending on the ratio of non-kosher to kosher.…
Aug 5, 2026 · 17:34
When foods get mingled, and you need to determine whether you can eat the kosher food, or whether the contamination of the non-kosher with the kosher. Plus, how to pull away the…
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