11. Fulfilling the Mitzva Today
In Eretz Yisrael today there is no practical opportunity to fulfill this mitzva. Israeli sheep produce simple, coarse wool suitable only for thick thread, from which a kohen gains nothing. Moreover,...
View Article10. The First Shearing
The first shearing is one of the twenty-four gifts we are commanded to give the kohanim, so they will have wool for their clothing, as it is stated: “The first of your grain, your wine, your oil, and...
View Article09. The Animal Tithe
Just as we were commanded to separate ma’aser sheni from produce in the first, second, fourth, and fifth years of the shemita cycle and eat it in sanctity in Jerusalem, so too we were commanded to...
View Article08. The Firstborn Donkey
Having commanded the sanctification of the firstborn son and the firstborn kosher domesticated animal, the Torah added the mitzva of the firstborn donkey — the donkey that is the first issue of its...
View Article07. Partnership with a Non-Jew Prevents the Firstborn from Becoming Sacred
A firstborn becomes sacred when born to an animal belonging to a Jew. Even jointly owned animals produce a sacred firstborn, as long as all the owners are Jewish. If the animal belongs to a non-Jew, or...
View Article06. The Problem of Caring for a Firstborn Today
With the Temple destroyed, an unblemished firstborn cannot be offered. When one is born today, one must wait until it develops a disqualifying blemish; only then may the kohen slaughter it. Though...
View Article05. Further Laws of the Firstborn Animal
The mitzva of the firstborn animal has two dimensions. One is its sanctity: it must be brought as an offering to God. The other is that it is one of the twenty-four gifts the Torah commands us to give...
View Article04. The Mitzva and Meaning of the Firstborn Animal
Just as the Torah commands us to sanctify the firstborn son, it commands us to sanctify the firstborn animal. Any domesticated animal whose first birth is a male is sacred, as it is stated: “Sanctify...
View Article03. Giving the Gifts in Practice
In earlier times, when a private individual slaughtered an animal for his family, he would give the gifts to his kohen neighbor. Today, slaughter takes place in slaughterhouses where vast quantities of...
View Article02. How the Gifts Are Given, and the Status of an Animal from Which They Were...
The obligation to give the gifts rests on the animal’s owner. If he gave the animal to a shoḥet to slaughter on his behalf, the shoḥet takes responsibility for distributing the gifts to a kohen and...
View Article15. Raising Small Livestock in Our Times
During the period when the Land was desolate, without Jewish orchards or fields, the prohibition against raising small livestock lapsed (SA ḤM 409:1). After we merited returning to the Land of our...
View Article14. The Rabbinic Enactment Not to Raise Small Livestock in Eretz Yisrael
During the Second Temple period, the Sages saw that goats and sheep sent out to pasture were causing widespread damage to trees and fields, threatening Jewish farmers’ ability to make a living and...
View Article13. Non-Fruit-Bearing Trees
In general, the prohibition of bal tashḥit applies to things that are useful. A non-fruit-bearing tree, however, was not considered important enough for the prohibition of bal tashḥit to apply to it...
View Article12. Respectful Disposal of Leftover Food
Even when there is no prohibition of bal tashḥit in throwing away leftover food, one must be careful not to disgrace it by actively destroying it, especially leftover bread. Therefore, if pieces of...
View Article11. Discarding Clothing and Objects, and Replacing Furniture
A person who owns used clothing may decide that he no longer wishes to wear it and may buy new clothing instead. Even if the used clothing is still wearable, this does not violate bal tashḥit. A person...
View Article10. Leftover Food
When a person feels full, there is no mitzva, not even an act of piety, to finish the food on his plate, even though whatever he does not eat will be thrown away. True, the pious are pained when food...
View Article09. Destroying Food and Treating It Disrespectfully
Destroying food is especially serious. Food sustains human life, and the prohibition of bal tashḥit is itself stated in connection with food. The Sages therefore added safeguards and warnings to keep...
View ArticleDestruction for a Legitimate Purpose
When destruction is done for an important reason, it is not considered destruction and is not prohibited. Therefore, one may destroy fruit for financial reasons. For example, if the market is flooded...
View Article07. Bal Tashḥit: The General Prohibition
There is a Torah mitzva not to destroy things that are useful, whether food, utensils, or raw materials. The basis of the mitzva is the Torah’s warning to soldiers not to destroy fruit trees in...
View Article06. The Spiritual Danger in Uprooting a Fruit Tree
As we have learned, halakha permits uprooting fruit trees that seriously harm people, whether by attracting gnats or by damaging sewage pipes. It is also permitted to uproot fruit trees in order to...
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