Study Bekhorot folio 34A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
אלא שלא יתן בו מום, מנין שלא יביא דבילה ובצק ויניחנה על האוזן כדי שיבא כלב ויאכלנה? תלמוד לומר ״כל מום״ — אחד מום ואחד כל מום.
only the prohibition that one may not directly cause a blemish. From where is it derived that one may not bring pressed figs or dough and place it on the animal’s ear so that a dog will come and eat it, thereby biting off part of the animal’s ear and leaving it blemished? The verse states: “There should not be any blemish in it” (Leviticus 22:21), indicating that the same prohibition applies both when the blemish is caused directly and when it is any blemish, even one caused indirectly.
הכא בקראי פליגי, דאמר רב יהודה אמר שמואל, וכן אמר ריש לקיש, וכן אמר רב נחמן אמר רבה בר אבוה: ״ואני הנה נתתי לך את משמרת תרומתי״.
After demonstrating that the tanna’im in the baraita discussing the firstborn offering disagree with regard to the exposition of certain verses, the Talmud clarifies that the tanna’im here, in the baraita discussing teruma whose status concerning impurity is uncertain, also disagree with regard to the exposition of verses. As Rav Yehuda says that Shmuel says, and Reish Lakish likewise says, and Rav Naḥman likewise says that Rabba bar Avuh says: It is stated in a verse addressed to Aaron and his sons: “And I, behold, I have given you the charge of My terumot [terumotai]” (Numbers 18:8), with “terumotai” written in plural.
רבי אליעזר סבר: בשתי תרומות הכתוב מדבר, אחת תרומה טהורה ואחת תרומה תלויה, ואמר רחמנא: עביד לה שימור. ורבי יהושע: ״תרומתי״ כתיב.
R' Eliezer, who holds that the jug of teruma must be safeguarded from ritual impurity, holds that the verse is speaking of two terumot: Both teruma that is definitely ritually pure and teruma that is in abeyance, i.e., teruma whose status with regard to impurity is uncertain. And based on the plural “My terumot,” it is understood that God states: Make a protection for it, i.e., safeguard even teruma whose status concerning impurity is uncertain. And R' Yehoshua, who holds that one may expose to ritual impurity the teruma contents in the jug, holds that the term terumotai is written so that it can be read as terumati, meaning: My teruma, in the singular. Therefore, the requirement to safeguard teruma applies only to that teruma whose status is definitely pure.