## Bekhorot Daf 55b

###### Bekhorot 55b:1
[Bekhorot 55b:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bekhorot/r/55b:1)

עֵינָתָא דְּמִידַּלְּיָין! אָמַר רַב מְשַׁרְשְׁיָא: הָנְהוּ סוּלָּמֵי דִּפְרָת נִינְהוּ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**springs that are higher** in the mountains than the Euphrates; how can their water come from the Euphrates? **Rav Mesharshiyya said: These are ladders of the Euphrates,** i.e., the waters of the Euphrates seep through the ground and are drawn upward to emerge from these springs.


###### Bekhorot 55b:2
[Bekhorot 55b:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bekhorot/r/55b:2)

וְהָא כְּתִיב: ״וְהַנָּהָר הָרְבִיעִי הוּא פְרָת״!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks: **But isn’t it written:** “And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it was separated, and became four heads…And the name of the third river is Tigris; that is the one that goes toward the east of Ashur. **And the fourth river is the Euphrates”** (Genesis 2:10, 14)? This indicates that the Euphrates, which is mentioned last, is the least of the four rivers, not the source of the other three.


###### Bekhorot 55b:3
[Bekhorot 55b:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bekhorot/r/55b:3)

אָמַר רַב נַחְמָן בַּר יִצְחָק, וְאִיתֵּימָא רַב אַחָא בַּר יַעֲקֹב: הוּא פְּרָת דְּמֵעִיקָּרָא.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said, and some say** it was **Rav Aḥa bar Ya’akov** who said: **It is the Euphrates that** the verse mentions **initially** as the river that went out of Eden, which divided into all the other rivers. After the other three branched out from it, the Euphrates continued to flow.


###### Bekhorot 55b:4
[Bekhorot 55b:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bekhorot/r/55b:4)

תַּנְיָא, רַבִּי מֵאִיר אוֹמֵר: ״יוּבַל״ שְׁמוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְהָיָה כְּעֵץ שָׁתוּל עַל מַיִם וְעַל יוּבַל יְשַׁלַּח שׇׁרָשָׁיו״, וְלָמָּה נִקְרָא שְׁמוֹ ״פְּרָת״? שֶׁמֵּימָיו פָּרִים וְרָבִים.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
It **is taught** in a *baraita* that **Rabbi Meir says: Yuval is the name of** the Euphrates River where it emerges from Eden, **as it is stated: “For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreads out its roots by the river [*yuval*],** and shall not see when heat comes, but its foliage shall be luxuriant; and shall not be anxious in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit” (Jeremiah 17:8). **And why is it named Euphrates [*perat*]? Because its waters are fruitful [*parim*] and multiply** without the need for rainfall.


###### Bekhorot 55b:5
[Bekhorot 55b:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bekhorot/r/55b:5)

מְסַיַּיע לֵיהּ לִשְׁמוּאֵל, דְּאָמַר שְׁמוּאֵל: נַהְרָא מִכֵּיפֵיהּ מִיבְּרִיךְ. וּפְלִיגָא דְּרַב, דְּאָמַר רַב אַמֵּי אָמַר רַב: מִיטְרָא בְּמַעְרְבָא סָהֲדָא רַבָּה פְּרָת.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara adds that this **supports** the opinion **of Shmuel, as Shmuel says: The river is blessed from its riverbed;** the additional water in the river is not from rainfall but rather from subterranean sources. **And** this statement **disagrees** with the opinion **of Rav, as Rav Ami says** that **Rav says:** When **rain** falls **in the West,** Eretz Yisrael, **the great witness** attesting to that fact is **the Euphrates,** as the water flow in the Euphrates increases after the rainy season.


###### Bekhorot 55b:6
[Bekhorot 55b:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bekhorot/r/55b:6)

אֲבוּהּ דִּשְׁמוּאֵל עָבֵיד לְהוּ לִבְנָאתֵיהּ מִקְוֶה בְּיוֹמֵי נִיסָן, וּמַפָּצֵי בְּיוֹמֵי תִשְׁרֵי. מִקְוֶה בְּיוֹמֵי נִיסָן — סָבַר לַהּ כְּרַב, דְּאָמַר רַב אַמֵּי אָמַר רַב: מִיטְרָא בְּמַעְרְבָא סָהֲדָא רַבָּה פְּרָת, שֶׁמָּא יִרְבּוּ נוֹטְפִין עַל הַזּוֹחֲלִין, וְהָווּ לְהוּ מֵי גְשָׁמִים רוּבָּא.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara relates that **Shmuel’s father fashioned a ritual bath for his daughters during the days of Nisan, and** placed **mats** in the Euphrates River **during the days of Tishrei** when his daughters immersed in the river. He fashioned **a ritual bath during the days of Nisan,** because **he holds in accordance with** the opinion of **Rav, as Rav Ami says** that **Rav says:** When **rain** falls **in the West, the great witness** attesting to that fact is **the Euphrates.** Shmuel’s father was concerned that **perhaps** the rainwater and snow water **that fell** and accumulated in the river **would exceed** the amount of naturally **flowing** spring water that originated in the river’s sources, **and the** flowing **rainwater would be the majority.** Rainwater purifies only when it is collected; it does not purify when it is flowing. Therefore, Shmuel’s father fashioned ritual baths of standing water for his daughters.


###### Bekhorot 55b:7
[Bekhorot 55b:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bekhorot/r/55b:7)

וּמַפָּצֵי בְּיוֹמֵי תִשְׁרֵי.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**And** he placed **mats during the days of Tishrei,** when his daughters immersed in the river itself, to give them privacy. During Tishrei the waters of the Euphrates do not come from rainwater; rather, the waters are from the river itself, and therefore immersion is valid even when that water is flowing.


###### Bekhorot 55b:8
[Bekhorot 55b:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bekhorot/r/55b:8)

וּפְלִיגָא דִּידֵיהּ אַדִּידֵיהּ, דְּאָמַר שְׁמוּאֵל: אֵין הַמַּיִם נִטְהָרִים בְּזוֹחֲלִין אֶלָּא פְּרָת בְּיוֹמֵי תִשְׁרֵי.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara notes: **And** this statement **of** Shmuel’s, that the additional water in the Euphrates is not from rainfall but from subterranean sources, **disagrees** with another ruling that he **himself** issued. **As Shmuel says: Waters purify when flowing,** i.e., when they are not collected into a ritual bath, **only** in the **Euphrates during the days of Tishrei.** Since rain does not fall in the summer, only after the summer, in Tishrei, is it clear that the water one is immersing in is in fact river water.


###### Bekhorot 55b:9
[Bekhorot 55b:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bekhorot/r/55b:9)

**מַתְנִי׳** הַלּוֹקֵחַ, אוֹ שֶׁנִּיתַּן לוֹ בְּמַתָּנָה — פָּטוּר מִמַּעְשַׂר בְּהֵמָה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**MISHNA:** **One who purchases** an animal **or** has an animal **that was given to him as a gift** is **exempt from** separating **animal tithe.**


###### Bekhorot 55b:10
[Bekhorot 55b:10](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Bekhorot/r/55b:10)

**גְּמָ׳** מְנָא הָנֵי מִילֵּי? אָמַר רַב כָּהֲנָא: דְּאָמַר קְרָא ״בְּכוֹר בָּנֶיךָ תִּתֶּן לִּי כֵּן תַּעֲשֶׂה לְשֹׁרְךָ לְצֹאנֶךָ״,

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**GEMARA:** The Gemara asks: **From where is this matter** derived? **Rav Kahana says that the verse states:** “You shall not delay to offer of the fullness of your harvest, and of the outflow of your presses. **The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. So you shall do with your oxen, and with your sheep:** Seven days it shall be with its mother; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me” (Exodus 22:28–29).