## Bekhorot Daf 20b

###### Bekhorot 20b:1
[Bekhorot 20b:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bekhorot/r/20b:1)

לִגְמָרֵיהּ — לָא אָמְרִינַן יוֹלֶדֶת לִמְקוּטָּעִין, לִסְבָרֵיהּ — אָמְרִינַן יוֹלֶדֶת לִמְקוּטָּעִין.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**According to** Rabbi Yehoshua’s **tradition** of the opinion of the Rabbis, **we do not say** that an animal **gives birth after incomplete** months, and therefore if it gave birth within its first year it must have become pregnant within thirty days of the discharge, which means the discharge was not indicative of a fetus and does not exempt the next offspring from being counted a firstborn. **According to** Rabbi Yehoshua’s own **reasoning, we say** an animal **gives birth after incomplete** months, and consequently it is possible the animal became pregnant later than thirty days after the discharge and its term of pregnancy was shorter than normal. If so, the discharge does exempt the next offspring from firstborn status.


###### Bekhorot 20b:2
[Bekhorot 20b:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bekhorot/r/20b:2)

וְאִיבָּעֵית אֵימָא: לָא אָמְרִינַן יוֹלֶדֶת, וְהָכָא בְּמִקְצָת הַיּוֹם כְּכוּלּוֹ קָמִיפַּלְגִי. לִסְבָרֵיהּ — אָמְרִינַן מִקְצָת הַיּוֹם כְּכוּלּוֹ, לִגְמָרֵיהּ — לָא אָמְרִינַן מִקְצָת הַיּוֹם כְּכוּלּוֹ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**And if you wish, say** that everyone accepts Ze’eiri’s statement and **we do not say** that an animal **gives birth** prematurely, **and here, they disagree** with regard to whether or not the halakhic status of **part of the day is like an entire** day: According **to** Rabbi Yehoshua’s **reasoning we say part of the day is like an entire** day, and therefore it is possible for the goat to have become pregnant on the thirtieth day after experiencing the discharge and to give birth precisely five months later, just before the year ends. According **to** his **tradition** of the opinion of the Rabbis, **we do not say part of the day is like an entire** day, which means that the earliest possible birth is on the first day of the second year.


###### Bekhorot 20b:3
[Bekhorot 20b:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bekhorot/r/20b:3)

אָמַר רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא: אֲנִי לֹא בָּאתִי לִידֵי מִדָּה זוֹ, אֶלָּא כֹּל שֶׁיָּדוּעַ כּוּ׳. מַאי אִיכָּא בֵּין רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא לְרַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ?

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The *baraita* taught that **Rabbi Akiva says: I have not arrived at this method** of determining firstborn status. **Rather,** in **any** case **where it is known** the animal had previously given birth, the priest has nothing here. And in any case where it is known the animal had not previously given birth, its firstborn is given to the priest. And if it is uncertain, it may be eaten in its blemished state by the owner. The Gemara asks: **What** difference **is there** in practice **between** the opinions of **Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Yehoshua?**


###### Bekhorot 20b:4
[Bekhorot 20b:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bekhorot/r/20b:4)

אָמַר רַבִּי חֲנִינָא מִסּוּרָא: חָלָב פּוֹטֵר אִיכָּא בֵּינַיְיהוּ, רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא סָבַר: חָלָב פּוֹטֵר, הַלֵּךְ אַחַר רוֹב בְּהֵמוֹת, וְרוֹב בְּהֵמוֹת אֵין חוֹלְבוֹת אֶלָּא אִם כֵּן יוֹלְדוֹת, וְרַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ סָבַר: הָא אִיכָּא מִיעוּטָא דְּחוֹלְבוֹת אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁאֵין יוֹלְדוֹת.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rabbi Ḥanina of Sura says:** There is a difference **between them** in a case where the animal came into the Jew’s possession after it had already started to produce milk. They differ as to whether or not the production of **milk is** sufficient to **exempt** an animal from having its next offspring counted a firstborn. **Rabbi Akiva holds: Milk exempts** it, as we **follow the majority of animals, and the majority of animals do not produce milk unless they** have **given birth. And Rabbi Yehoshua holds:** Since **there is a minority** of animals **that** do **produce milk even though they** have **not given birth,** the animal that is born later is an uncertain firstborn.


###### Bekhorot 20b:5
[Bekhorot 20b:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bekhorot/r/20b:5)

וּמִי חָיֵישׁ רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ לְמִיעוּט? וְהָתְנַן: הָיְתָה לָהּ חֲמוֹת — אֵינָהּ חוֹשֶׁשֶׁת, יָצְאָה מְלֵיאָה — חוֹשֶׁשֶׁת. רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אוֹמֵר: אֵינָהּ חוֹשֶׁשֶׁת.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks: **And is Rabbi Yehoshua concerned for a minority? Didn’t we learn** in a mishna (*Yevamot* 119a): If a woman’s husband passed away before she had given birth to any children and the husband had no known brothers who could perform levirate marriage, even though **she has a mother-in-law** who traveled overseas and may have conceivably given birth to a male who could later perform levirate marriage, **she does not** need **to be concerned** for that possibility and may marry another man without finding out if a male child had been born. But if the mother-in-law **left** while she was **full,** i.e., pregnant, the daughter-in-law must **be concerned** that a male might have been born. **Rabbi Yehoshua says: She does not** need **to be concerned.**


###### Bekhorot 20b:6
[Bekhorot 20b:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bekhorot/r/20b:6)

וְאָמְרִינַן: מַאי טַעְמָא דְּרַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ? קָסָבַר: רוֹב מְעוּבָּרוֹת יוֹלְדוֹת, וּמִיעוּט מַפִּילוֹת, וְכׇל הַיּוֹלְדוֹת — מֶחֱצָה זְכָרִים וּמֶחֱצָה נְקֵבוֹת. סְמוֹךְ מִיעוּטָא דְּמַפִּילוֹת לְמֶחֱצָה דִּנְקֵבוֹת, וְהָווּ לְהוּ זְכָרִים מִיעוּטָא, וּלְמִיעוּטָא לָא חָיְישִׁינַן!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**And we say: What is the reasoning of Rabbi Yehoshua? He holds the majority of pregnant women give birth** to a child **and a minority miscarry. And** of **all** those **who give birth, half** bear **males and half** bear **females. Combine the minority of those who miscarry with the half** that give birth **to females, and** conclude that the **males are** in fact **a minority, and we are not concerned for a minority.** Evidently, Rabbi Yehoshua holds there is no need to be concerned for a minority.


###### Bekhorot 20b:7
[Bekhorot 20b:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bekhorot/r/20b:7)

אֶלָּא אֵיפוֹךְ, וְהָתַנְיָא: חָלָב פּוֹטֵר, דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ. רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא אוֹמֵר: חָלָב אֵינוֹ פּוֹטֵר.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rather, reverse** the two opinions in the mishna. **And** in fact **it is taught** in that manner in a *baraita*: The production of **milk exempts** an animal from having its offspring counted a firstborn; this is **the statement of Rabbi Yehoshua. Rabbi Akiva says:** The production of **milk does not exempt** an animal from having its offspring counted a firstborn.


###### Bekhorot 20b:8
[Bekhorot 20b:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bekhorot/r/20b:8)

תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: גְּדִיָּיה שֶׁיָּלְדָה שָׁלֹשׁ בָּנוֹת, וְכׇל בְּנוֹתֶיהָ יָלְדוּ שָׁלֹשׁ שָׁלֹשׁ — כּוּלָּן נִכְנָסוֹת לַדִּיר לְהִתְעַשֵּׂר. אָמַר רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן: אֲנִי רָאִיתִי שֶׁעִישְּׂרָה בְּתוֹךְ שְׁנָתָהּ. לְמָה לִי לְמִיתְנֵי שָׁלֹשׁ שָׁלֹשׁ? תּוֹלֵיד חַד מִינַּיְיהוּ תְּלָת, וְאִינָךְ תַּרְתֵּי תַּרְתֵּי!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ **The Sages taught** in a *baraita*: In the case of **a kid that gave birth to female triplets and all her offspring each gave birth to female triplets, all of them,** i.e., the offspring and their offspring, **enter the pen to be tithed.** The animal tithe applies only if one owns at least ten or more animals born in the same year that are not male firstborns. **Rabbi Shimon says: I saw** a single kid **that** yielded enough offspring to be subject to the **tithe within its first year** of life. The Gemara asks: **Why do I** need the *baraita* **to teach** that **each** offspring gave birth to **three** other offspring? Let **one of them give birth to three, and** let **the other** two give birth to **two each,** so that there are a total of ten goats born within a single year, which are therefore subject to the tithe.


###### Bekhorot 20b:9
[Bekhorot 20b:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bekhorot/r/20b:9)

אַיְּידֵי דְּאִיכָּא חֲדָא דְּלָא סַגִּיא בְּלָא שָׁלֹשׁ, תְּנָא כּוּלְּהוּ דְּיָלְדוּ שָׁלֹשׁ שָׁלֹשׁ. וּלְמָה לִי לְמִיתְנֵי שָׁלֹשׁ כְּלָל? לֵילְדוּ כּוּלְּהוּ תַּרְתֵּי, וְתִיהְדַּר אִיהִי וְתוֹלֵיד בַּהֲדַיְהִי!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara answers: **Since there is one** goat in this case **that would not** produce **a sufficient** number of offspring **without** giving birth to **three,** the *baraita* **taught** a case where **all** three goats **gave birth to three** offspring **each,** for the sake of consistency. The Gemara asks: **But why do I** need **to teach** that any goat gave birth to **three** at once **at all? Let all** the second-generation goats **give birth to two** offspring, **and let her,** the mother of the three second-generation goats, **give birth again** to another goat **together with them.** The fact that the *baraita* did not teach this case indicates that a goat cannot give birth again within the same year.