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Mishnah 1: for Heave and First Fruits One Incurs the Penalty of Death1 Or

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Mishnah 1: for Heave and First Fruits One Incurs the Penalty of Death1 Or •>w pD πονιηπ inw^i wpini πγρο )yi»n οη^νατη npmriri :h nive (foi. 64c) ililö] π^·>η-) pyiyoi ΠΝΚ» tn^? ιτρ ·>υ?·>) in·) on-tb .nwvQ? ρ ρκψ no •ms'iii ruoi-upi tow n.D Mishnah 1: For heave and First Fruits one incurs the penalty of death1 or a fine of a fifth2; they are forbidden to lay persons, are Cohen's property3, may be lifted by one in 100, need washing of the hands4 and sundown5. This applies to heave and First Fruits but not to tithe6. 1 Eating them in impurity is a always impure in the second degree deadly sin. unless washed and watched after 2 If misappropriated, the cleansing. Since heave and First Fruits restitution must be 125% of what was can become impure in the third degree, taken; cf. Terumot 6, Note 1. touching heave or First Fruits with 3 They might be traded from one unwashed hands makes them unusable. Cohen to another and a Cohen may use 5 An impure person who cleansed them as gifts to marry a wife since, himself by immersion in a miqweh is no even if she was a lay person before, longer impure, but he becomes pure for she becomes a member of the Cohen's hallowed food only at sundown, cf. family by marriage and may eat heave Terumot 5, Note 68. and First Fruits. 6 First tithe of which heave of the 4 By rabbinic practice, hands are tithe was taken is totally profane. Γηρψ» JUS >rtro rnn i>ri3 .'^ID "inis^n·! npm^n :n mbn vty i>rp-r rupnip .m^ani nnn^n ηίηηη ^πψ /»πίηη^ 590 BIKKURIM CHAPTER TWO i!?>n n)a\j> n^irn D>TO'?ri .im^n? >? io in»! Non .-mp mron o>\?niia w .qi»» Ni\pn ^an ni?!?"! i>rp·} on^an .npi inn-! no \y> >?") .o'vy-Ti?! rro-! DJVÖ Νπη .o^vn;?? rno :i>xp ^»ψ nrpp ο^Γΐψ1) .rn^n? π» m\y o'wrpri^ N7? o>3iovy> .Γφη!?ψ rm>n .mTini nnw^n DJVÖ .N>a3n Halakhah 1: "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 Fruits7. About heave it is written8 (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.9" Maybe we should say that the verse10 refers to sacrifices? Extirpation is already written in regard to sacrifices11. Should sacrifices be subject to death and extirpation? Can somebody die and die again? As we have stated12: "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." 7 In the Babli (Sabbat 25a, 26a; autochthonous Babylonian tradition. In Yebamot 74a; and in slightly different the Yerushalmi tradition, the verse form Bekhorot 34a), the two heaves are determines the rules of First Fruits as pure and impure (or pure and quest- those of heave. ionable), respectively. That tradition is 8 The paragraph deals with the in the name of the Davidic Rabba bar prohibition of impure hallowed food. Abuha and may represent the 9 This statement is fragmentary HALAKHAH 1 591 and unintelligible in the form pre- 11 Lev. 22:3 imposes the penalty of sented. The full text is in Sifry Deut. extirpation on any Cohen coming close 63: There you shall bring your elevation to sacrifices while impure. offerings, private and public, your well- Traditionally, extirpation is considered being offerings, private and public, more of a punishment than death by your tithes; R. Aqiba said, the verse the hand of Heaven. deals with two different tithes, grain 12 A slightly extended form in tithes and animal tithes, and your Semahot 3:8. The main change is in the hand's heaves, these are First Fruits, as first clause: "if somebody dies up to age it is written: The Cohen shall take the 50." In the Babli, Mo'ed Qatan 28a, the basket from your hand. Other heaves text "at 60", is corrected to read "from do not have to be brought to the 50 to 60" and the note on life after 80 Temple. is missing. 10 Lev. 22:9 which imposes death The following paragraphs discuss by the hand of Heaven for desecrators. this statement. Tiis innpri bN .rn.3>n:a rin D'wpqb nn u?·»« jvpq np ropnbw *m onl? i\yy .im»> n!?i i>ni ort? wy dn>i 'in >i!?n riinawn τ'τ - : ν TT VT τ τ : ν τ ... - nis V^i? πίκ-ι> iNin> Ν!?Ι a>rpi .ο'γπ^η nra» iov>>y υιη ιΟψ •'Träift iwj row ο'ψρΓ) ΐ3)3ΐ a>3i?i ,ιηοι ντρρη Nil .nw cpyayj ora ι^Γΐίίψ .ion ρ rb y»\i> liano cnnirt riön ιηίΝ tin*»?} .ρπ-ρ! pvöiy ρτ ri>a ρκψ nw οηψν ιηο .rn^rn η» row D'wnrte 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): 592 BIKKURIM CHAPTER TWO "At age 50, he should retire from the work force." Rebbi Abin, the son of Rebbi Tanhum 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 extirpate13, and you will find that one who dies at up to 50 years dies in extirpation. 13 This tradition is also in the older than 20 were punished. One has Babli, Sabbat 89b. While a male to assume that until then the parents becomes a full member of the religious are not absolved from responsibility community at age 13, a female at age for their children. 12, they are treated as adults before Neither "proof" has any logical the Heavenly court only at age 20 since consistency. in the story of the spies only the men ,·>33 N3N '1*1 ,Ν>23ΓΙ ^Νψ ΓΙΓίη? Ο'ΓίψΙ mn ο>Γΐ3"ψ -α*!1» η>η> i^rlm ,η> own *τν D\y avyv) moNvy vn'i mipp nri^flm rimnvy >*p by τ - τ : τ : IT ·· : : ν τ τ : τ : ' · τ τ τ : · ν ·· : row D>\y»p Ί^ νη^Ί row o>vy»D Ν1?^ Ίϊ?^ iö^iv Τ»Ν Ν'^ΓΠ .o!?iy •pa >a-va 'pv ΙΏΝ ."rnrn ρψρη ή!?! "&Ί .ιη^ψ ο'Γίψι "At 52, the death of the prophet Saul14." Rebbi Abba the son of Rebbi Pappai in15 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 (IS. 1:22): "He shall dwell there forever.16" 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.17" But this one lived 52 years? Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun said, two years until she weaned him. HALAKHAH 1 593 14 Error for "Samuel", found haired." uncorrected in ms. and the editio 15 An Amora of the fifth Galilean princeps. The tradition is from Seder generation, usually reporting sayings of 'Olam 13 (cf. the author's edition, R. Levi. Northvale N.J. 1998, pp. 129-135) and is 16 However, this statement is not reported in the Babli Ta'anit 5b, Mo'ed part of Hannah's prayer but her argu- Qatan 28a. The material is Tannaitic in ment to her husband. Samuel was a Seder 'Olam and the Babli, a further Levite from the family of Gersom argument that Seder 'Olam is a com- (.IChr. 6:13). pilation of the Babylonian academies. 17 In verse 8:26 it is stated that the Samuel at his retirement describes retired Levite may continue as a watch- himself (IS. 12:2) as "old and white- man. i'jp ,νπν ι? >1-) ow} rpp^n .rnira rnioyin rm>p o>vyvy> on*»» trnsy rvan .'w γκπ jnri -ό^η n!wn d>\wn:i \y>N γιν-ρ dn • - : • · τ τ ν 'τ ·. - - - ν - ^ τ τ - ν ·· τ · τ -: τ nan -ΙΟΊΝ ΓΙΝ*>?? .rijoi row n>va-»N 13701 rwy tiV! row οηψ}> 13 .up νίιπ .mim miöNn rm>» nw D'vyvyi» ν »τ •· - ν τ τ - τ τ τ ττ · · s "At 60, it is the death written in the Torah18." Rebbi Hizqiah in the name of Rebbi Jacob bar Aha: 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.
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