1)

(a)The Mishnah rules that someone who ...

1. ... purchases the firstborn fetus of a donkey from a Nochri or who ...

2. ... sells him the firstborn fetus of his own donkey (See Tos. Yom Tov DH 'ha'Loke'ach Ubar' & DH 'Ubar Chamoro') - is Patur from the Din of Bechorah.

(b)He should not have sold it to him - because the Chachamim forbade selling a large animal to a Nochri, since he will work with it on Shabbos (See Tos. Yom Tov).

(c)The Tana discusses specifically the firstborn of a donkey - because it is the only non-Kasher animal that is subject to the Bechorah ...

(d)... and he begins the Masechta with it - because little is said about it, so he opts to deal with it first, whilst the rest of the Masechta deals with the Dinim of Kasher animals.

2)

(a)The same applies if he enters into joint partnership of a donkey with a Nochri, even if the Nochri owns only one of the legs ...

1. ... of the B'chor or of ...

2. ... of its mother.

(b)The criterion regarding the Nochri's joint ownership in the Yisrael's donkey that exempts the Yisrael from the Bechorah is that - the removal of the limb concerned will render the donkey a Ba'al-Mum (See Tos. Yom Tov).

(c)The same Din applies to the firstborn of a donkey of a Nochri which the Yisrael is 'Mekabel' - undertakes to look after in exchange for half the babies that it bears, or vice-versa.

(d)We learn all these rulings from the Pasuk in Bamidbar "Hikdashti Li Kol B'chor be'Yisrael" - implying "be'Yisrael", 've'Lo be'Nochri'.

3)

(a)The Mishnah learns that Kohanim (See Tos. Yom Tov DH 'Im Patru ... ') and Levi'im are not obligated to give their firstborn donkeys - from a 'Kal va'Chomer' ...

(b)... If, in the desert (See Tos. Yom Tov) ...

1. ... the Levi'im were able to remove the Kedushah of those who were not Levi'im, how much more so are they able to remove their own Kedushah, and ...

2. ... if they are able to remove their own Kedushah, it goes without saying that they are able to remove the Kedushas Bechorah from their firstborn donkeys.

(c)We learn it from the Pasuk in Korach "Ach Padoh Sifdeh es B'chor ha'Adam ve'es B'chor ha'Beheimah Tifdeh" - which implies that whoever is subject to B'chor Adam is subject to B'chor Beheimah Teme'ah (donkeys), and that whoever is not subject to the one is not subject to the other.

(d)However, the B'chor of a Beheimah Tehorah of a Kohen or of a Levi - which is not precluded from the Pasuk, is subject to Kedushas Bechorah.

4)

(a)From the fact that the Torah writes "Peter Chamor" twice (once in Parshas Bo and once in Parshas Ki Sisa) the Mishnah learns - that if a cow gives birth to a firstborn that resembles a donkey or to a donkey that resembles a horse, the baby is not subject to the Din of a B'chor.

(b)Had the Tana mentioned only the case of ...

1. ... a cow that gave birth to a firstborn that resembles a donkey, we would not have applied the same ruling to the case of the donkey that resembles a horse - because, unlike the former case, where a. the one has horns and b. its hooves are split, but not the other, the two animals are similar (and we might consider the horse to be a red/brown donkey).

2. ... a donkey that resembles a horse, we would not have applied the same ruling to the case of a cow that gave birth to a firstborn that resembles a donkey - since, unlike the former case, where one of the animals is subject to the Bechorah whilst the other one is not, in the latter case, both of the animals are subject to the Bechorah.

(c)The Mishnah draws a distinction between the two cases with regard to eating the baby, when it rules that - one is permitted to eat a non-Kasher baby that is born from a Kasher one, but not vice-versa (See Tos. Yom Tov) ...

(d)... based on the principle - that whatever is born from a Kasher animal is Kasher; from a non-Kasher animal is not.

(e)One may however, eat the honey of bees and hornets - since they do not come from the body of the bee or the hornet, but from the pollen that they eat.

5)

(a)The Din regarding ...

1. ... a woman's milk is that - it is permitted to drink, whereas ...

2. ... the milk of all other non-Kasher animals is forbidden (due to the principle that we quoted in the previous question).

(b)One is not however, permitted to - suckle directly from a woman's breast (See Tos. Yom-Tov).

6)

(a)The Tana finally rules that if ...

1. ... a Tamei fish swallows a Tahor one - the Tahor fish is permitted.

2. ... a Tahor fish that swallows a Tamei one - the Tamei fish is forbidden (See Tos. Yom Tov).

(b)The Din of a fish is different than that of the baby animal in the previous cases - since it is not formed from the body of its mother.

(c)Even assuming that we did not see the one fish swallow the other, we know that it did - because the majority of fish produce spawn of their own species.

7)

(a)If his donkey gives birth to a firstborn, the owner must give the Kohen - a lamb ('a Taleh, which will be discussed in the next Mishnah [See Tos. Yom Tov]).

(b)The Mishnah rules, in a case where it gives birth to twins ...

1. ... both male, and he doesn't know which is the firstborn that - he must give one Taleh to the Kohen.

2. ... one male and one female, and he doesn't know which is the firstborn - he separates one Taleh, which he retains ...

(c)... because in the first case, one of the babies is definitely a B'chor, whereas in the second case, the male is a Safek B'chor, and we have ...

(d)... a principle 'ha'Motzi me'Chavero, alav ha'Re'ayah' (and the onus lies on the Kohen to prove that the male was born first).

(e)Despite the fact that, in the latter case, he doesn't give the Taleh to the Kohen anyway, he is nevertheless obligated to separate it - in order to remove the Kedushah of Peter Chamor from the firstborn donkey (See Tos. Yom Tov DH 'Mafrish Taleh').

(f)Even though he does not give the Taleh to the Kohen, he is not forbidden to eat it on account of Kedushas Bechorah - because even to begin with, the Peter Chamor is not really Kadosh. Consequently, if one fails to give the Pidyon Peter Chamor (where there is an obligation to do so), it is only a matter of theft, but not of eating Hekdesh.

8)

(a)The Mishnah rules that, in a case where one's two donkeys give birth for the first time ...

1. ... to two male babies - he must give two Tela'im to the Kohen (See Tos. Yom Tov).

2. ... a male and a female or ...

3. ... two males and a female - he must give him one Taleh ...

(b)In the latter case, to cater for the Safek, he separates a Taleh and retains it (See Tos. Yom Tov).

(c)Should the donkeys give birth to two females and a male, the owner is not obligated to give anything to the Kohen - and the same will apply if they gave birth to two male and two female babies.

9)

(a)According to the Bartenura's Rebbes, the owner, in the latter case, must separate two Tela'im for himself, to redeem the males, should they be Bechorim. The Rambam however, maintains that this is not necessary ...

(b)... because each ruling is tied up with a number of S'feikos (See Tos. Yom Tov DH 'Ein Ka'n le'Kohen K'lum).

(c)The preferred ruling is - that of the Bartenura's Rebbes.

10)

(a)The Mishnah now discusses a case where one of the two donkeys has already given birth and one, hasn't. In the event that they now give birth ...

1. ... to two males - the owner gives one Taleh to the Kohen.

2. .... a male and female - he merely separates a Taleh and retains it ...

(b)The Tana cites the source for giving a 'Taleh' to redeem the donkey as the Pasuk in Ki Sisa "u'Peter Chamor Tifdeh be'Seh". "Seh" incorporates - a sheep and a goat.

(c)The owner is permitted to give ...

1. ... a grown-up sheep or goat, and a ...

2. ... a female one.

(d)If he subsequently purchases the 'Seh' from the Kohen, the Tana - permits him to use it again to redeem other firstborn donkeys (See Tos. Yom Tov).

11)

(a)The Mishnah permits the owner to take even ten Tela'im (See Tos. Yom Tov) that have been used to redeem ten firstborn donkeys and to place them in a pen to be Ma'asered. The case is - where the owner had ten Safek Pitrei Chamorim on which he separated ten Tela'im and retained them.

(b)The Tana concludes that should the Taleh die, he - the Kohen is permitted to benefit from it.

(c)The case is - where it died before the owner managed to give it to the Kohen ...

(d)... because the moment he separated it, it is as if it was already in the domain of the Kohen.

12)

(a)The first three items on the Tana's list of animals with which one may not redeem the Peter Chamor are a calf, a 'Chayah' - incorporating a deer and a gazelle (See Tos. Yom Tov) and a Shechted lamb.

(b)The next three are a T'reifah, Kil'ayim and a Coy. An example of a T'reifah is - an animal with its hind legs severed above the knee (See Tos. Yom Tov).

(c)'Kil'ayim' is - a cross between a he-goat and a ewe.

(d)Rebbi Elazar ...

1. ... permits redeeming a Peter Chamor with Kil'ayim - since both parents fall under the category of 'Seh'.

2. ... concedes that one cannot use a Coy however - because it is an independent species (Safek Beheimah Safek Chayah [See Tos. Yom Tov]).

13)

(a)The Mishnah rules that, if the Yisrael gave the Peter Chamor itself to the Kohen - the latter is not permitted to retain it, unless he designates a lamb to redeem it.

(b)The Tana is so strict with the Kohen - because the Kohanim were suspect of not bothering to redeem the Pitrei Chamorim that were given to them (See Tos. Yom Tov).

14)

(a)According to Rebbi Eliezer, if someone designates a Taleh as a Pidyon Peter Chamor and it dies, he is liable to replace it. The Chachamim say - that he is Patur.

(b)The Chachamim compare it to Ma'aser Sheini, which one is not Chayav to replace - because the Torah obligates the owner to take that money to Yerushalayim, and that money is not there to take.

(c)Rebbi Eliezer compares it - to the five Sela'im of Pidyon ha'Ben (for which one is liable).

(d)Rebbi Eliezer learns his ruling from the fact that the Torah, in Parshas Bo, juxtaposes the Din of Peter Chamor to that of B'chor Adam. The Chachamim, on the other hand, learn their ruling from the Pasuk in Korach "Ach Padoh Tifdeh es B'chor ha'Adam, ve'es B'chor Beheimah ha'Tmei'ah Tifdeh" - which implies that it is with regard to redemption exclusively that the Torah is comparing them, and nothing else (See Tos. Yom Tov).

15)

(a)Rebbi Yehoshua and Rebbi Tzadok attested - to the opinion of the Chachamim ...

(b)... and that is the Halachah.

16)

(a)According to Rebbi Eliezer, should the Peter Chamor die, it must be buried (See Tos. Yom Tov) and the owner is permitted to benefit from the designated Taleh. The basis of his ruling - lies in his previous ruling, that he is liable to replace the dead Taleh (in which case it is not considered as being in the Kohen's domain).

(b)The Chachamim rule - that the Peter Chamor does not need to be buried and the Taleh belongs to the Kohen ...

(c)... based on their previous ruling - exempting the owner from replacing the dead Taleh).

(d)The Halachah is - like the Chachamim.

17)

(a)The Mishnah rules that, should the owner not want to redeem his firstborn donkey (See Tos. Yom Tov) - he must break the back of his donkey's neck using a Kupitz, and then bury it.

(b)A 'Kupitz' is - a hatchet

(c)He must bury it - because, after its neck is broken, it is Asur be'Hana'ah (See Tos. Yom Tov).

(d)From the Pasuk in Bo "ve'Im Lo Sifdeh va'Arafto", the Tana learns that - the Mitzvah of redeeming it takes precedence over breaking its neck.

18)

(a)By the same token, from the Pasuk in Mishpatim "asher Lo Ye'adah ve'Hefdah", the Tana learns that - the Mitzvah of Yi'ud (marrying the Jewish maidservant) takes precedence over that of (her father) redeeming her.

(b)And by the same token again, the Mitzvah of Yibum takes precedence over that of Chalitzah. The Mishnah nevertheless rules that nowadays, Chalitzah takes precedence over Yibum - because people no longer perform it for the sake of the Mitzvah.

(c)They said that someone who performs Yibum because of beauty or wealth - contravenes the prohibition of Eishes Ach where there is no Mitzvah.

(d)This is not Halachah however - because, once her husband dies, she becomes permitted to the Yavam, irrespective of his intentions whilst performing Yibum.

19)

(a)The Mishnah finally learns from the Pasuk in Bechukosai (in connection with an object that one declares Hekdesh) "ve'Im Lo Yiga'el ve'Nimkar be'Erkecha" that - the owner has precedence over anybody else with regard to redeeming it.

(b)The reason for this is - because, as opposed to others, he pays an extra fifth to Hekdesh when redeeming it, in which case it is to the advantage of Hekdesh