Rabbinic JudaismJerusalem Talmud Bikkurim 2.1HOLYMAP · SACRED TEXTS
The Jerusalem TalmudJerusalem Talmud Bikkurim 2.1

The Jerusalem Talmud

Jerusalem Talmud Bikkurim 2.1

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English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

MISHNAH: For heave and First Fruits one incurs the penalty of death or a fine of a fifth; they are forbidden to lay persons, are Cohen’s property, may be lifted by one in 100, need washing of the hands and sundown. This applies to heave and First Fruits but not to tithe.

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English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

HALAKHAH: “For heave and First Fruits,” etc. It is written (Num.18.8): “Behold, I gave to you the watch over My heaves.” Two heaves, heave and First Fruits. About heave it is written (Lev. 22:9): “They should not carry sin because of it and die if they desecrate it.” First fruits as it is written (Deut. 12:6): “There you shall bring your elevation offerings,” these are First Fruits, as it is written (Deut. 26:4): “The Cohen shall take the basket from your hand.” Maybe we should say that the verse refers to sacrifices? Extirpation is already written in regard to sacrifices.

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English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

Should sacrifices be subject to death and extirpation? Can somebody die and die again? As we have stated: “If somebody dies at age 50, he dies of extirpation. At 52, the death of the prophet Samuel. At 60, it is the death written in the Torah. At 70, a death of love. At 80, death of old age. After that, a life of suffering.”

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English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

From where do you understand that if somebody dies at age 50, he dies of extirpation? It is written (Num. 4:18–19): “Do not extirpate the tribe of the families of (Levi), etc. Do the following for them that they should live and not die.” Organize them that they should not enjoy seeing the holiest of holies. And it is written (Num. 4:20): “They should not come to look, when the holies are wrapped, and die.” And it is written (Num. 8:25): “At age 50, he should retire from the work force.” Rebbi Abin, the son of Rebbi Tanḥum ben Rebbi Tryphon, understood it from here (Ps. 90:10): “The days of our lives here are 70 years.” Subtract from these 20 years during which the Heavenly Court does neither punish not extirpate, and you will find that one who dies at up to 50 years dies in extirpation.

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English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

“At 52, the death of the prophet Saul.” Rebbi Abba the son of Rebbi Pappai in the name of Rebbi Levi; Rebbi Joshua from Sikhnin in the name of Rebbi Joshua ben Levi (Prov. 14:23): “From all toil there will be gain but from talk of lips only want.” Hannah, because she prayed too much, shortened Samuel’s life, since she said (1S. 1:22): “He shall dwell there forever.” But the “forever” of a Levite is only 50 years, as it is written (Num. 8:25): “At the age of 50 years he shall retire from the workforce.” But this one lived 52 years? Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun said, two years until she weaned him.

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English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

“At 60, it is the death written in the Torah.” Rebbi Ḥizqiah in the name of Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa: It is written (Deut. 1:35): “If any male among these people, this evil generation, should see.” Think of it, if anybody left Egypt at age 20 and then was in the desert for 40 years when he died, you find that the death written in the Torah is at age 60. And it is written (Job. 5:26): “You shall come into your grave bklḥ.”

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English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

At 70, a death of love. (Ps. 90:10): “The days of our lives are then 70 years.” At 80, death of old age, as it is said: “At most, 80 years.” Also thus Barzilai said to David (2S. 19:36): “I am today 80 years of age, do I still know good from bad?”

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English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

If he had passed the age of 50 and did something punishable by extirpation, is he truly very happy? If he had passed the age of 60 and did something punishable by death, can he truly be happy? It was stated: Rebbi Ḥanina ben Antigonos said, if an old man ate fat, who will show us that he is subject to extirpation? As we have stated, or if he desecrated the Sabbath he dies by extirpation. But it must be the following: He who dies in one day dies by rage, in two by urgency, in three by plague. Rebbi Ḥalafta ben Shaul stated: He who dies in one, two, three [days], dies by extirpation. Four or five is a hurried death, six a usual death, seven a death of love, longer he dies in pain.

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English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

What did you see to assert that he who dies in three days dies from the plague? Hilfai the grandson of Rebbi Abbahu said, I heard the voice of my grandfather who preached (1S. 25:38): “It was like the ten days that the Eternal smote Nabal and he died.” The Holy One, praise to Him, suspended His judgment during the seven days of mourning for Samuel, that mourning for him and for the just person should not overlap; then he lingered another three days and died. Rebbi Ḥaggai in the name of Rebbi Samuel bar Naḥman: It is not written “after ten days” but “like the ten days”; The Holy One, praise to Him, suspended His judgment for ten days, like the Ten Days between New Year’s Day and the Day of Atonement, that he should repent, but he did not.

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English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

Cahana asked Rebbi Zeïra: A layman who ate heave? He said to him, it is a deadly sin. After he had prayed, he said to him (Lev. 22:3): “I am the Eternal” closed the statement. Rebbi Ḥiyya in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan: A layman who ate heave committed a deadly sin. A baraita supports Rebbi Joḥanan: “Those who eat heave intentionally, whether pure [person] eating pure [heave], or impure eating impure, or pure eating impure, or impure eating pure, have commited a deadly sin. Cohanim eating heave, pure [person] eating pure [heave] fulfills its commandment; pure eating impure [has violated] a positive commandment; impure eating pure or impure eating impure [has violated] a prohibition. What did you see to say that a pure [person] eating impure [heave has violated] a positive commandment? Rebbi Abba bar Mamal said, (Lev. 22:7) “Afterwards he shall eat of the hallowed [food]”, of what is pure but not of what is impure. Any prohibition which is implied by a positive commandment has the status of a positive commandment.

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English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

Rebbi Avina said: Would one not understand that, since it is said (Lev. 11:9): “Any [creature in the water] having fins and scales you shall eat” we know that any creature having no fins and scales you shall not eat. To give both positive commandment and prohibition on the impure. Because it is written. If it were not written, it would be a positive commandment. Therefore, any prohibition which is implied by a positive commandment has the status of a positive commandment.

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English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

Rebbi Assi understood it from the following (Deut. 12:22): “The impure and the pure shall eat it together.” Here, the impure and the pure shall eat it from the same platter, but heave the impure and the pure may not eat from the same platter. About sacrifices? Rebbi Joḥanan ben Marius said, if about sacrifices it is already written (Lev. 7:19): “Meat touching anything impure may not be eaten.”

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English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

The Mishnah disagrees with Rav: “For heave and First Fruits one is liable to penalty of death.” He explains it, for Cohanim. But did we not state: “fifth”? Is there a fifth for Cohanim? He explains that the Mishnah is case by case. The first clause for Cohanim, the last for Israel. Does the Mishnah support Rebbi Joḥanan: “They are forbidden to lay persons”? He explains it, less than a legal quantity.

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English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

“They are the Cohen’s property.” Rebbi Abba, Rebbi Ḥiyya in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan (Num. 18: 8): “To you I gave it as mošḥâ.” As mošḥâ, for importance. As mošḥâ, for anointing. As mošḥâ, as fuel. I would say, both for impure and pure. Rebbi Abbahu in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan, (Deut. 26:14) “I did not burn any of it,” but one liquidates heave in impurity. Rebbi Zeïra in the name of Rebbi Eleazar: From where for Second Tithe proper which became impure that one may not use it as fuel? The verse says, “I did not burn any of it in impurity”. One may redeem it and you are saying this? One may only interpret it as referring to what was bought with Second Tithe money. Rebbi Jehudah said, but for First Fruits which became impure it is the opinion of everybody.

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English · Heinrich W. Guggenheimer

“This applies to heave and First Fruits but not to tithe.” There, we have stated: “One washes his hands for profane, tithe, and heave; but for sacrifices one immerses.” There, you say that tithe does not need washing and here you say, tithe needs washing! Those who say, tithe needs washing, the rabbis; he who says, tithe does not need washing, Rebbi Meїr. There, we have stated: “Anything needing immersion in water by rabbinic decree makes sacrifices impure and heave unusable but is permitted for profane food and tithe. But the Sages forbid for tithe.” Is that not explained by what Rebbi Samuel says in the name of Rebbi Zeïra, what means the Sages forbid for tithe? His body is disqualified from eating tithe. What is that? May you say tithe needs washing, if he wants to eat; may you say tithe does not need washing, if he wants to touch? No, wanting to touch is the same as wanting to eat. So it must be washing as discipline. But we have stated: “heave”! Is there washing as discipline for heave? But it is about profane food prepared by the rules of sacrifices. Is profane food prepared by the rules of sacrifices not profane? Explain it either following Rebbi Simeon ben Eleazar or following Rebbi Eleazar ben Rebbi Ẓadog. Either following Rebbi Simeon ben Eleazar as it was stated: Rebbi Simeon ben Eleazar says in the name of Rebbi Meїr: Hands are [impure] in the first degree for profane food, in the second for heave. Or following Rebbi Eleazar ben Rebbi Ẓadog as it was stated there: “Profane food prepared by the rules of sacrifices is profane. Rebbi Eleazar ben Rebbi Ẓadog says it is like heave, it may be impure in two degrees and invalidates a third.”

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Jerusalem Talmud Bikkurim 2.1English
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Jerusalem Talmud Bikkurim 2.10%

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The Jerusalem Talmud, edition, translation and commentary by Heinrich W. Guggenheimer (Berlin: De Gruyter, 1999–2015). CC BY. Text from Sefaria (sefaria.org); commentary notes omitted. · Source ↗

Hebrew/Aramaic text: The Jerusalem Talmud, edition by Heinrich W. Guggenheimer (Berlin: De Gruyter, 1999–2015), via Sefaria (sefaria.org). Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Changes: footnotes and HTML formatting removed.

The Jerusalem Talmud, edition, translation and commentary by Heinrich W. Guggenheimer (Berlin: De Gruyter, 1999–2015). CC BY. Text from Sefaria (sefaria.org); commentary notes omitted. · Source ↗

English translation: The Jerusalem Talmud, translation and commentary by Heinrich W. Guggenheimer (Berlin: De Gruyter, 1999–2015); commentary notes omitted, via Sefaria (sefaria.org). Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Changes: footnotes and HTML formatting removed.

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