Zichru Daf Simanim
Bechoros - Daf 27
  1. טובת הנאה: receiving money from a Yisroel to give terumah to a specific Kohen

The earlier Baraisa concludes that regarding terumah and maaser, יש להן טובת הנאה לבעלים – the Yisroel owners have the pleasure of benefit. For example, if a Yisroel separated terumah from his produce, and another Yisroel gave him money and said תנהו לבן בתי כהן – give [your terumah] to my daughter’s son, who is a Kohen,” the owner may accept the money and give the terumah to the grandson. However, he may not accept money from a Kohen to give his terumah to another specific Kohen, because it appears like כהן המסייע בבית הגרנות (since the terumah could be given to this Kohen himself). One may only accept money to give terumah to a specific Kohen. Since terumah has קדושת הגוף, and cannot become chullin through redemption, the recipient will not mistakenly treat it like chullin. Other מתנות כהונה, however (e.g., bechor, and זרוע לחיים וקיבה), have only קדושת דמים (i.e., a Kohen may sell them to a non-Kohen to eat as chullin), so the recipient may mistakenly think they became chullin when “exchanged” for the sela of payment, and he will treat them as chullin (i.e., without eating them in the manner of royalty required for מתנות כהונה).

  1. Various leniencies of תרומת חוצה לארץ (e.g., ביטול ברוב, separating after eating)

The Gemara relates numerous leniencies regarding terumah of חוצה לארץ – outside Eretz Yisroel, since it is מדרבנן.

  1. There is no prohibition of כהן המסייע בבית הגרנות – [giving terumah to] a Kohen who assists in the granary.
  2. בטילה ברוב – it is nullified in a simple majority (whereas regular terumah is only nullified in one hundred parts chullin). Rabbah would nullify his terumah in רוב and eat it when he was tamei.
  3. אוכל והולך ואח"כ מפריש – one may eat from the produce and afterward separate the terumah (whereas טבל דאורייתא may not be eaten until terumah is removed).
  4. תרומת חוצה לארץ is only forbidden to a tamei person whose tumah is יוצאה עליו מגופו – issues from his body (e.g., a בעל קרי or נדה)
  5. Although a tamei person cannot eat תרומת חוצה לארץ, there is no prohibition against נגיעה – touching it and making it tamei. Therefore, a נדה may separate חלה (of חוצה לארץ) and a כהן קטן (i.e., less than nine years old, and not a בעל קרי) may eat it. If there is no קטן, she burns the חלה, and separates additional חלה so the halachah of חלה is not forgotten; this second חלה is eaten by an adult Kohen.
  6. A bechor’s first year is counted from its birth, not תשרי

The Mishnah taught that a bechor must be eaten within a year of its birth, or within a year of developing a מום. The Mishnah’s expression בתוך "שנתו" – within “its” first year indicates דלשנה דידיה מנינן – that we count according to its year, i.e., from the date of the animal’s birth, not from תשרי. Rav darshens this from the phrase "תאכלנו שנה בשנה" – you shall eat it year by year, which literally means “a year in a year.” איזוהי שנה שנכנסת בחברתה – Which is the “year” which enters its counterpart? This is the year of the bechor itself, whose year finishes in the next calendar year. A Baraisa of Rav’s yeshiva derives this law from כבש בן שנתו – a lamb within its year, שנתו שלו – “its year” meaning its own year, ולא שנה של מנין עולם – and not the year of the world’s count.


Siman – Kazoo (Toy instrument children blow into that makes a buzzing sound). The Yisroel who gave away his kazoo to get his friend to give terumah to his grandson the Kohen, which can be eaten by someone who is טמא בשרץ because it is תרומת חוץ לארץ, had no kazoo to play happy birthday for his bechor whose year is counted from birth and not from Tishrei.

Rabbi Avraham Goldhar

Rabbi Avraham Goldhar has been designing and teaching Jewish literacy courses for over thirty years. His knowledge frameworks for Biblical mastery, Jewish History, Talmudic Law & Jewish Holidays enable students of all backgrounds to better integrate Jewish concepts and learn systematically. After serving as the Educational Director of Aish HaTorah New York, Avraham launched GoldharSchool.com, Home of Big Picture Jewish Education, featuring Jewish literacy content for schools and individuals. He is the developer of the Goldhar Method, a revolutionary learning system that integrates memory into the learning process and has trained over 80,000 students, teachers and professionals. He lectures internationally on the topic of academic mastery and the solutions required to raise the bar in education. Avraham learned in Aish HaTorah, Mir, and Chaim Berlin and received his ordination under the tutelage of Rabbi Yitzchok Berkovits in Jerusalem.