Bikkurim (tractate)
 Offerings of first fruits were brought in baskets | |
| Tractateof theTalmud | |
|---|---|
| English: | First fruit |
| Seder: | Zeraim |
| Number ofMishnahs: | 39 |
| Chapters: | 3 |
| Babylonian Talmudpages: | - |
| Jerusalem Talmudpages: | 13 |
| Toseftachapters: | 2 |
Bikkurim(Hebrew:ביכורים,lit. "First-fruits" ) is the eleventh tractate ofSeder Zeraim( "Order of Seeds" ) of theMishnahand of theTalmud.All versions of the Mishnah contain the first three chapters, and some versions contain a fourth. The three chapters found in all versions primarily discuss thecommandment(found inDeuteronomy26:1–11) to bring theBikkurim(first fruits) to theTemple in Jerusalemand to make a declaration upon bringing it. As is common in the Mishnah, related matters are also discussed.
Contents
[edit]The first chapter discusses who has the responsibility to bring the first fruits and make the declaration, who needs to bring the first fruits but not make the declaration, and who can not bring the first fruits. Among those who bring the first fruits but don't make the declaration areconverts,so otherhalakharegarding differences between the obligations of converts and those born Jewish are also discussed here. This difference for converts was disagreed with byRabbi Judah bar Ilaiand laterMaimonides,and it is their position that has become the practice of the Jewish community.
In the second chapter, a comparison (as to legal classification) is made between theterumah,ma'aser(thesecond tithe,which had to be brought to Jerusalem and consumed there) andbikkurim,and makes other legal comparisons betweencitron,trees, and vegetables; between the blood of human beings and that of cattle and creeping things; and between beast, cattle, and "koy"(Hebrew: כּוֹי), an intermediate between cattle and beast.[1]The third chapter describes more fully the process of bringing the first fruits to the Temple at the festival ofShavuot.
The fourth chapter, which is only sometimes included, originates from theToseftaBikkurim.It compares the laws relating to men, women, andthose of intermediate sex,including thetumtum(one with no genitalia) and theandrogynos.
There is noGemarain theBabylonian Talmud.TheJerusalem TalmudhasGemaraonBikkurim,in which the laws of the Mishnah are discussed in the usual way, with a few digressions, noteworthy among which is that onLeviticus19:32"You shall rise before a venerable person and you shall respect the elderly," and on the value of the title "zaken"(elder) conferred on scholars in theLand of Israeland outside the Land (Yerushalmi3:3, 11a-b or 65c).[2][1]
References
[edit]- ^ab
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:J. Sr. M. F. (1901–1906)."BIKKURIM".InSinger, Isidore;et al. (eds.).The Jewish Encyclopedia.New York: Funk & Wagnalls.Retrieved11 June2013.
- ^כיצד מפרישין פרק שלישי(in Hebrew/Aramaic)
External links
[edit]- Full text of the Mishnah for tractate BikkurimonSefaria(Hebrew and English)
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