Are bechoros still common today? How are they handled? Can a kohen be forced to accept it? How should the kohen be chosen? What is the halachah if the animal is given to a kohen just to spite him?
Are all animals today considered blemished (ba’al mum)? Is it permissible to pierce the ear to attach an identification tag? After selling a pregnant animal to a kohen, can it be fed impure terumah, assuming the animal belongs to the kohen?
These and other important questions are explored in this week’s article.
Firstborn Animals Today – Part II
This week’s parashah addresses the mitzvah of the Parah Adumah — the only method of purification from tumas meis. This type of impurity remains relevant today, and affects several practical halachic matters, one of which is the prohibition against eating terumah and kodashim while impure, or when the items themselves are impure.
Today, the most common example of kodashim is the bechor. In last week’s article, we discussed the basic principles of the bechor prohibition. This week, we will focus more specifically on how to handle a bechor born to a Jew who — for whatever reason — did not sell the fetus or part of the mother to a non-Jew.
The following are several key points mentioned in last week’s article:
A firstborn calf, lamb, or kid is considered kodesh and may qualify as a bechor if it is the first offspring of its mother, is male, and is born alive. Statistically, about 20% of calves in any given herd meet these criteria. In a Jewish-owned herd, this means that roughly one in five calves may be classified as a bechor, with all the halachic implications that follow.
Since it is currently impossible to offer a bechor as a sacrifice in the Beis HaMikdash there is a mitzvah to sell part of the mother to a non-Jew, as detailed in last week’s article. This ensures that the offspring does not have the sanctity of a bechor.
Today, the Israeli Chief Rabbinate provides the framework for selling the esophagus and windpipe (kaneh vaveshet) of pregnant animals before they calve. This sale can be completed online at: https://survey.gov.il/bchorot.
A new sale must be made every time a new pregnant cow (or even a possibly pregnant one) is purchased. Herd owners should complete the sale every six months, to ensure it includes all cows born during the year.
If the sale was not made and a bechor is born, the animal is consecrated, and eating it constitutes a double kares prohibition: eating kodshim outside the Mikdash, and consuming a bechor while impure. It is also forbidden to shear its wool or to use it for labor.
However, if the animal has a blemish (mum), it may be eaten, subject to specific limitations.
Awareness
Today, public awareness of the prohibition is quite limited, even within Torah-observant communities. Awareness among commercial farm owners in Israel is somewhat higher, primarily due to proactive efforts of various institutions, including the Chief Rabbinate and individual activists. In addition, farms that supply livestock to kosher-certified slaughterhouses require verification that the farm conducts a valid halachic sale.
This kashrus requirement has prompted even those farms with little or no religious affiliation to sign the necessary sales documents to avoid disqualification of their animals by slaughterhouses. At times, calves have even been sent back to the farm due to the absence of proper sales documentation.
Even farms with a signed sale may face issues, such as when acquiring new cows without arranging a new sale, or having the document signed by an unauthorized party. At Kibbutz Or HaNer, the secretary, not a legal signatory, signed the mechirah for seven years, prompting serious halachic debate over the status of bechoros born during that period.
This explains why, preferably, animal owners should not rely solely on the standard online form. A competent rabbi should be consulted, especially when purchasing new cows or if the signatory has changed. In some cases, it may be advisable to sell a minimal share of the farm to a non-Jew, ensuring partial non-Jewish ownership, and avoiding complications entirely.
Outside Israel, many Jewish farmers are altogether unaware of the issue. It is a mitzvah to inform them, and to point out the simple solutions described in this article. Also owners of petting zoos, animal therapy programs, or even families who raise a goat or sheep as a pet should be informed of this issue.
The following story illustrates just this point:
A G-d-fearing sofer in a small village supplements his income by running a petting zoo. When his daughter became engaged to a talmid chacham, he proudly showed his future son-in-law the twin kids just born to his goat — her first offspring.
The chassan inquired if they sold the goat to a non-Jew. His future father-in-law was shocked: “Me? Sell my beloved goat to an Arab?!”
The chassan gently explained the halachah, and the father, alarmed, sought halachic guidance. Since it was unclear which kid was born first, both were treated as safek bechor.
In a moving ceremony, he gave both to a kohen, who returned them to him as a gift since he was unable to care for them under the proper halachic restrictions. (Although only one needed to be given, the owner chose to be stringent and fulfill the mitzvah fully.)
This man now raises the twin bechoros in a special enclosure, using them to teach visitors about the mitzvah of bechor.
When a Bechor Is Born
The Tana’im are disputed (Erchin 29a) whether there is a mitzvah for the owner to verbally declare at the birth, “Harei zeh kodesh” (“Behold, this is sanctified”), or not. The Rambam (Hilchos Bechoros 1:4) rules that there is indeed a mitzvah to make this declaration, whereas the Rosh and Tur (YD §306) hold that it is not necessary. The Shulchan Aruch (YD 306:1) rules that there is a mitzvah to say “Harei zeh kodesh.” However, all agree that the animal is sanctified as a bechor even without the declaration.
If the firstborn is a lamb or kid, it must be raised by its owner for thirty days. If it is a calf, he must raise it for fifty days. During this period, the owner must take care not to use the animal in any way whatsoever: leaning on it, riding it, etc. He must certainly not shear its wool or cut its hair.
It is likewise prohibited to do anything that might cause the animal to become blemished. This includes piercing the ear to insert an ID tag. If veterinary authorities require such tagging, one must consult a competent halachic authority. Similarly, if a government-appointed veterinarian performed the piercing without the owner's permission, rabbinic guidance is necessary to determine how to proceed. In some cases, this may render the animal a ba’al mum (blemished), which affects its halachic status.
After this time, the animal must be given to a kohen.
A kohen may not offer any compensation or advantage to sway the owner's decision in his favor. He must not offer to take the animal before the prescribed time to raise it himself, as this constitutes a form of bribery to gain preference over another kohen, which is prohibited.
If the owner cannot find a kohen willing to accept the bechor, he must continue caring for it until it develops a blemish, or dies. When a bechor dies naturally, it must be buried.
Bechor with Blemishes
In many Western countries, governments routinely track livestock by assigning each animal a unique identification number, typically displayed on a tag inserted into a hole punched in the ear.
In Israel, for example, the law requires all cattle to be marked with a visual tag in the left ear and an electronic chip in the right.
This practice has prompted halachic discussion about whether such animals are considered ba’alei mumin, since they all have ear perforations. The question carries further significance regarding future korbanos: where will we find unblemished animals for korabnos when Moshiach comes and the Beis Hamikdash is rebuilt?
The discussion can be broken down into three separate questions:
- Does a pierced ear automatically render an animal a ba’al mum, or does it depend on the location of the piercing — such as whether it was made in the soft tissue of the ear, which may not qualify as a blemish? Another related question concerns the size of the hole: is any perforation considered a mum, or must it meet a minimum size to disqualify the animal?
- If a Jewish veterinarian pierced the animal as a routine procedure, with no intention of disqualifying it as a bechor, is the animal still considered blemished? If it is, may it be slaughtered for meat?
- What is the halachah if the veterinarian was a non-Jew, and the piercing was performed against the owner’s will?
There is no definitive ruling on these questions, as they involve multiple halachic considerations. Each case must be evaluated individually.
These questions are discussed at length by Rav Moshe Feinstein (Igros Moshe YD 1:197–198), and further elaborated upon in practical terms by Rabbi Mordechai Immanuel in his sefer, Bechor Kodashim (Vol. 1, p. 161 and onward).
Raising Bechoros
In the past, many families raised livestock in their backyard. As such, the birth of a bechor was a frequent occurrence — particularly when owners failed to arrange the sale to a non-Jew before calving. The halachic prohibitions against shearing wool, engaging in labor, or doing anything that might render them blemished, made caring for a bechor a burden. In many cases, both owners and kohanim preferred that the animal die on its own, and relieve them of the burden, rather than waiting indefinitely in the hope that it would one day develop a blemish and become eligible for consumption.
These bechoros were easily recognized by their long, tangled hair, and people were careful not to harm them, lest they inadvertently cause a mum, which is prohibited.
The animals could not be driven out of homes or public buildings with the typical methods -- hitting it or throwing a small stone. People had to coax it out gently, hoping it would choose to leave on its own.
A well-known incident took place in the early days of Petach Tikvah, when it was still a young settlement. The city’s rabbi, the great Gaon Rabbi Reuven Katz zt”l, was a kohen. One day, he opened his door to find a young goat tied to the entrance. Around its neck hung a silver tag engraved with the words:
“Gifts for the Kohen — Bechor — For the Honorable Chief Rabbi.”
The farmer to whom this bechor was born apparently did not know how to properly handle the situation, nor did he wish to impose directly on the rabbi. Instead, he opted to leave the animal anonymously at the rabbi’s door.
Rabbi Katz rented the yard of the Lomzha Yeshiva in Petach Tikvah and raised the goat there for several years, until it eventually died. The bechor became the yeshiva’s mascot during those early years.
This case raises key halachic questions: If the owner had delivered the bechor directly, would the rabbi be obligated to accept it? And if the owner acted out of spite—intending to burden the rabbi as revenge—must the rabbi still accept it?
Giving the Bechor to a Kohen
The Shulchan Aruch (YD §306:4) rules that when the obligated period has passed — 30 days for a lamb or kid, 50 days for a calf — the owner must bring the bechor to a kohen. The kohen is not permitted to refuse it, even if the effort involved in raising it outweighs any potential benefit from its meat should it later develop a mum. Refusing the bechor is considered a denigration of the sacred gifts assigned to the kohen.
However, the Shach (footnote 2) clarifies that Beis Din does not have the authority to compel the kohen to accept the animal. If the kohen refuses, despite transgressing a prohibition, the bechor remains in the possession of the owner.
The Aruch HaShulchan (YD 306:15-16) adds that the owner must choose a kohen who has the resources necessary for properly raising the bechor: i.e., land for grazing and a pen. A city-dwelling kohen should not be given a bechor.
The Rema (YD 306:4) also rules that the bechor must not be used to spite the kohen or to inconvenience him. The Shach (footnote 4) explains that in such a case, the kohen is not obligated to accept it. The Aruch HaShulchan clarifies that the matnos kehunah are intended to honor and elevate the kohen. Giving it as a form of mockery or retaliation is not a dignified gift. Hence, the kohen has no obligation to accept it.
The Rema notes that if the owner was negligent, such as by failing to prevent bechor status when he could have sold a share of the mother to a non-Jew, the kohen is not obligated to accept the animal. However, the Acharonim disagree whether this applies in all cases of negligence, or only when the bechor status is uncertain, or -- when negligence was intentional and meant to burden the kohen.
Blemished Bechor
Once a bechor develops a mum, it should be slaughtered as soon as possible to avoid violating prohibitions such as using it for labor or shearing its wool. In any case, the animal must be slaughtered within one year of being given to the kohen.
After slaughter, the meat may be sold, but only under specific restrictions. It cannot be sold on the open market and must be sold privately from the kohen’s home. Once sold, the meat may be eaten by anyone, including non-Jews or even animals.
Feeding Terumah to a Sold Animal
A common halachic issue in selling pregnant livestock is the risk of unintentionally creating a separate prohibition.
In Israel, terumos and ma’asros must be separated from all agricultural produce. The standard practice is to designate 1% as terumah gedolah and terumas ma’aser, usually from produce suitable for consumption but not for commercial sale.
Since Jews may not benefit from terumah, but kohanim may feed it to their animals, many farms reduce feed costs by transferring ownership of their livestock to a kohen. For example, the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo transferred its animals to a kohen by the name of Meir Ehrentreu so they could be fed impure terumah.
However, if a non-Jew owns even a partial share of an animal, it may no longer consume terumah. This becomes an issue when the esophagus and windpipe of a pregnant animal are sold to a non-Jew. In that case, the animal can no longer eat terumah along with the rest of the herd.
To avoid this issue, in a herd that is fed truma, the females should be separated from the herd until they calve for the first time, at which point they can be repurchased from the non-Jew and returned to the kohen’s ownership.
If the animal was already owned by a kohen when it became pregnant, it is the kohen’s responsibility to sell the esophagus and windpipe to a non-Jew to avoid bechor status.
The Israeli Chief Rabbinate
The Israeli Rabbinate oversees farms to ensure that sales are conducted in accordance with halachah. From a kashrus standpoint, slaughterhouses demand sale verification from a farm before accepting a shipload of calves, to ensure it includes no sanctified bechoros.
Occasionally, calves arrive from farms without valid sale documentation. In such cases, the slaughterhouse will only accept calves that, according to official records, were born from the second pregnancy or later.
The Ministry of Agriculture maintains a detailed registry for each calf by identification number, including maternal lineage and birth history. However, the registry focuses primarily on the cow's status, not on the specific firstborn status. A genetic study conducted by the Halacha and Settlement Institute revealed a 5.2% discrepancy between registry data and actual maternal lineage.
As a result, many calves are returned to farms, which suffer significant financial loss, since calves suspected of being bechoros are very difficult to market in Israel.
This also highlights the importance of buying meat only from companies with stringent kashrus supervision. Economic considerations sometimes bring slaughterhouses to accept disqualified calves. These animals — very possibly bechoros — are often purchased at a reduced price, and slipped into slaughterhouses with looser kashrus standards.
For further perusal of this topic, Rabbi Mordechai Immanuel’s two-volume work Bechor Kodashim is highly recommended. It includes dozens of fascinating cases, practical halachos, and detailed exploration of this rarely-discussed but very important mitzvah.
