Bechoros 3:4-4:1

Bechoros 3:4

(Continuing with the idea that a firstborn animal may not be shorn.) Let’s say that the hair of a firstborn animal with a blemish fell out, so the kohein put the hair in a cubby for safekeeping. Later, he slaughtered the animal. In such a case, Akavya ben Mahalel permits the hair to be used but the Sages prohibit it; this was the way Rabbi Yehuda explained it. Rabbi Yosi said this wasn’t what Akavya permitted. What he permitted that the Sages forbade was hair from a blemished firstborn that fell out and was put in a cubby, after which the animal died. Let’s say that wool is hanging loosely from a firstborn animal. Whatever appears to be part of the shorn wool is permitted (after the animal has been slaughtered), while whatever doesn’t appear to be part of the shorn wool remains prohibited.

Bechoros 4:1

A Yisroel (Israelite) must raise a firstborn of small animals for 30 days, and one from large animals for 50 days. Rabbi Yosi says that small animals must be raised for three months. If the kohein asked for it within that time, the Yisroel may not give it to him. If the animal was blemished and the kohein asked for it so that he might eat it, it is permitted. When the Temple was standing, if the animal was unblemished and the kohein asked for it so that he might offer it as a sacrifice, it was permitted. The firstborn should be eaten in its first year regardless of whether it is blemished or unblemished, as per Deuteronomy 15:20, “You shall eat it before Hashem your God year by year.”