Bekhorot

Bekhorot (Hebrew: בכורות, “First-born”) refers to the first-born human, or animal according to the Hebrew Bible in which God commanded Moses in the Book of Exodus to “consecrate to Me every first-born; man and beast, the first issue of every womb among the Israelites is Mine.” It is from this commandment that Judaism forms the foundation of its many traditions and rituals concerning the redemption of the first-born son and ritual slaughter.

In addition to several references found in the Hebrew bible, Bekhorot is considered a Seder Kodashim (Hebrew קדשים), or “Holy Thing” hence it is found under the fifth order of the Mishnah titled Kodashim, tractate four, Bekhorot. The primary focus of the tractate relates to the ritual sacrifice, or slaughter, of the first-born of both human and animal. An exemption is made for the first-born son through the “ritual of redemption” in which the son is redeemed from the Kohen for the traditional sum of five shekels of silver (ch.vii). Donkeys must also be redeemed from the Kohen, or killed (ch. i). However, according to the Kodashim, all other first-born animals (calf, lamb, or kid), pending priestly inspection of purity, must be sacrificed to God or presented as a gift to the Kohen (ch. ii-vi). Priests were required to inspect the first-born for blemishes prior to consecration. These blemishes are enumerated in both the Mishnah and Tosefta. The Tosefta, very similar in function and chapter placement to the Mishnah, differs in its “enumeration of the blemishes and their names.” In addition to names of blemishes, the Tosefta expands on different scenarios in which a Kohen may find himself when determining the status of a first-born, for example when a creature gives birth to an animal resembling another species.