Study Bekhorot folio 21A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
לימא קסבר: מטנפת אינה חוזרת ויולדת בתוך שנתה. אם תימצי לומר: מטנפת חוזרת ויולדת בתוך שנתה — יולדת ודאי אינה חוזרת ויולדת בתוך שנתה.
should we say the tanna of this baraita holds that an animal that expels a murky discharge does not return to its fertile state and give birth within its first year? The Talmud rejects this suggestion: It is possible the tanna does not hold that opinion. Even if you say an animal that expels a murky discharge returns to its fertile state and gives birth within its first year, an animal that actually gave birth to a live offspring certainly does not return to its fertile state and give birth within its first year.
אמר רבי שמעון: אני ראיתי גדייה כו׳. מאי איכא בין תנא קמא לרבי שמעון? איכא בינייהו דזעירי.
§ The baraita teaches that R' Shimon says: I saw a single kid that yielded enough offspring to be subject to the tithe within its first year of life. By contrast, the first tanna in the baraita does not add the phrase: Within its first year of life. The Talmud asks: What difference is there between the opinion of the first tanna and that of R' Shimon? The Talmud answers that there is a difference between them in a case where the second-generation goats expel a murky discharge on the 1st day of their 7th month, which is the 7th month of their year for animal tithe. And they disagree with regard to the statement of Ze’eiri, cited earlier, that the expulsion of a discharge which exempts an animal from having its future offspring counted a firstborn is one which prevents it from being impregnated for no less than 30 days.
תנא קמא אית ליה דזעירי, ורבי שמעון לית ליה דזעירי. ואיבעית אימא: דכולי עלמא אית להו דזעירי, והכא ביולדת למקוטעין קא מיפלגי. לתנא קמא אינה יולדת למקוטעין, לרבי שמעון יולדת.
The first tanna accepts the statement of Ze’eiri, and therefore he holds that in such a case the goats cannot become pregnant before the 1st day of the 8th month, which means they cannot give birth before the 1st day of the 2nd year. And R' Shimon does not accept the statement of Ze’eiri; he holds that the goats can become pregnant during the 7th month and give birth during the last month of their first year of life. And if you wish, say that everyone accepts the statement of Ze’eiri, and here they disagree with regard to whether or not an animal gives birth after incomplete months, i.e., prematurely. According to the first tanna, an animal does not give birth after incomplete months; according to R' Shimon, an animal gives birth after incomplete months.