Bechoros 19

Firstly, it has to be male.

Okay? So male, female, that's one factor.

Another factor is a C-section versus a natural birth.

When I say natural birth, I'm gonna use the term natural birth during sheer, I mean a birth that comes out through the birth canal to the exclusion of a C-section, a cesarean, which I'm gonna call a C-section.

Okay? And then another factor is stillbirths.

If there was a miscarriage before this birth, does that also impact things? Et cetera, et cetera.

Okay.

So the Mishnah discusses, [Hebrew].

What about a case where you have the first child born was a C-section, the second one was a natural birth with a male? May- you could question either of them could be the firstborn, right? Maybe the first one is because he's the firstborn.

Then maybe the second one is because he's the first through the birth canal.

So Rabbi Tarfon [Hebrew].

Rabbi Tarfon is not sure what makes a firstborn a firstborn, and therefore, with both of them, they are a safek, whether they're a firstborn, a doubt, and therefore you leave them to graze until they develop a blemish, and then you can eat them.

You as the owner can eat them with their blemish because you can't bring them to the Mizbeach 'cause maybe they're not a Bechor.

You don't have to give it to the Kohen because now once it develops a blemish, the Kohen's claim is only a monetary claim, and you can say to the Kohen, "Prove to me that I definitely owe it to you," and since he can't, you get to keep it and eat it.

Okay.

That is Rabbi Tarfon.

Rabbi Akiva [Hebrew] says it's definitely not a Bechor.

You can eat it straight away without waiting for it to develop a blemish.

Why? [Hebrew] The first one's not a Bechor because it was a C-section, not a natural birth.

The second one's not a Bechor because it's the second one.

And therefore, Rabbi Akiva says you need both factors to be a firstborn.

This one has-- does not have both, and therefore it's not a firstborn halakhically.

Okay, the Gemara just explains both of the reasons b- and I already explained these verbally.

[Hebrew] What is the source? [Hebrew] Rabbi Tarfon [Hebrew].

Rabbi Tarfon is not sure if you have one factor going for you, if that's sufficient or not.