Chapter 177 : The Firstborn of Clean Animals

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§1

If a Jew's clean [kosher] animal gives birth to a firstborn, it is a mitzvah (for the owner) to sanctify it and say "This is holy;" for it is said, "You shall sanctify it to Adonoy, your God." If he did not sanctify it, it is holy on its own accord from the womb, and it must be given to the Kohein regardless if it is perfect, or if it received a defect after its birth, or even if it was born with a defect. However, it should not be given to the Kohein when it is very young, because this does not do honor to the Kohein. The owner should raise it until it is somewhat grown up, that is thirty days for a small animal (sheep or goat), and fifty days for a large animal (cow). If a Kohein cannot be found, the owner must care for it until a Kohein comes along.

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§2

If, within this time the Kohein said to the owner: "Give it to me and I will raise it," if it does not have a defect, he is not permitted to give it to him, because this would appear as if the Kohein is doing the Yisroel (owner) a favor (that he is tending it for him) in consideration of his giving the animal to him. And this is forbidden, for it is tantamount to robbing the other kohanim. However, if the animal was blemished during this time, and the Kohein said to the owner, "Give it to me so that I may eat it," it is permitted to give it to him since he may slaughter it immediately.

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§3

At present if the Kohein does not want to accept the animal, because it is too bothersome to raise it until it is blemished, he is not allowed to refuse it because it looks as though he is showing contempt for the priestly gifts. Nevertheless, the Yisroel is forbidden to give it to the Kohein in order to vex him or to take revenge on him. If he does so with this intention, the Kohein need not accept it. Similarly, if the Yisroel was negligent in that he was able to sell the animal to a Gentile before it gave birth and he did not sell it, the Kohein need not accept that firstborn; rather the owner himself must raise it until it becomes blemished, and then give it to the Kohein.

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§4

In our times, the firstborn must be kept until it is blemished, and upon receiving the blemish, it must be shown to three Torah scholars one of whom must be an expert, to know if it is a permanent blemish, and, if it is, they permit its use. Afterwards it is slaughtered and if found to be kosher, it may be eaten even by a Yisroel ([and certainly by a Kohein]). However, it should not be sold in the meat market, or weighed out by the pound and no part of it may be given to the dogs, and you may not sell, or give, any part of it to a Gentile.

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§5

When a firstborn sustains a blemish, and there are men in the area who are competent to rule that it is permitted, it should be shown to them immediately. Once it has been permitted, it should not be kept a long time. If it was permitted during its first year, it may be kept until it is a year old. If it was permitted near the end of its first year, or after its first year, it should not be kept for longer than thirty days. If the owner transgressed and kept it longer, it is not disqualified because of this.

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§6

The Kohein must raise the firstborn until it sustains a blemish. He may sell it to a Yisroel whether it has a blemish or whether it does not have a blemish, providing the Yisroel treats it in a manner befitting the holiness of a firstborn, and is also not buying it for commercial purposes.

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§7

It is not permitted to be margil the firstborn. This means it must not be skinned in one piece, from its feet upward, for it would appear disgraceful to skin the sacred [animal], with the intention of making bellows of it (the skin).

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§8

If the firstborn is slaughtered and found to be a treifa, it is forbidden to benefit from its hide and its meat, and it must be buried. Similarly, if it dies a natural death it must be buried. It is customary to wrap it in a sheet, and bury it deep in the ground of the cemetery.

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§9

It is forbidden to fleece or to do work with the first born regardless if it is blemished or not. Even if some wool came off by itself, no benefit may ever be derived from that wool. However, the wool that is on its body, when slaughtered after receiving a blemish, is permitted for the slaughtering permits the wool for use just as it permits the use of the meat and the hide.

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§10

The firstborn is not permitted to be eaten unless it sustains a blemish. It is forbidden to close it up in a vault so that it should die of its own, for this would be destroying a sacred thing.

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§11

It is forbidden to make a blemish in a firstborn, or even to cause a blemish indirectly; for example, to put dough on its ear, in order for a dog to grab it and bite off its ear with it; or to cause a blemish in some similar way. It is forbidden to tell a Gentile to make a blemish in a firstborn, but it is permitted to give it to a Gentile to raise it or watch it.

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§12

If an animal is purchased from a Gentile, and it is not known if it has given birth before or not, and now it has given birth while in the possession of the Jew, its status as a firstborn is doubtful, and even if the Gentile innocently volunteers the information that it had previously given birth, it is of no avail. Even the characteristic signs in the cracks of its horns are of no avail. And even if she was being milked, it is of no avail, unless we see her nursing a calf. If she is being milked, and the Gentile innocently volunteers, (not for the purpose of promoting the sale,) and states that she has previously given birth, these two things together are proof with regards to cows, but not with regards to goats.

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§13

Kohanim and Levites are also subject to the laws regarding the firstborn of clean animals, except that the Kohein sets it aside, and keeps it for himself and maintains it in the state of holiness that is due a firstborn.

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§14

If a Gentile and a Jew are partners in an animal, or a Jew agrees to raise an animal of a Gentile, and share equally in the offspring, they are exempt from the laws of the firstborn for it is said: "Whatever opens the womb among the Children of Yisrael," meaning, all of it must belong to a Jew. If a Gentile agrees to raise an animal of a Jew, and share equally in the offspring, according to many Poskim it is of no avail, but the Jew must sell the mother to the Gentile.

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§15

It is a mitzvah to sell to a Gentile the clean animal (before it gives birth), or to form a partnership with him before it gives birth, in order to exempt it from the laws of the firstborn.8 And although (by doing this), it circumvents the holiness of the firstborn, it is, nevertheless, preferable so that no violations will be committed with regard to its wool and its use for work. Transferring the title (of the calf) to the Gentile when the calf is yet unborn is of no avail, since it is something that has not come into existence; but the title of the mother must be transferred as well. The transfer of the title should be done in this manner: the owner should come to terms with the Gentile regarding the price of the cow, and also rent him the place that the cow now occupies; the Gentile should give him a perutah, and the Jew should say to him, "With this perutah you shall acquire the place that the cow now occupies, and this place will acquire the title of the cow for you." It can also be done in this manner: after they come to terms about the price of the cow, the Gentile should give him a perutah, and then lead the cow into his own premises, or into an alleyway, whereby he acquires title both by meshicha (actual transfer) and with money. Even if he returns the cow afterwards to the premises of the Jew it does not matter.