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Safek Peter Chamor - Twice

Bechorot (1:3) | Yisrael Bankier | 18 hours ago

The first perek of Bechorot discusses the mitzvah of peter chamor. That is the mitzvah to redeem the first-born male donkey with a lamb or kid, which is then given to the kohen. If the redemption is not performed, the donkey is killed by taking an axe to the back of its neck in the process called arifa. The Mishnayot discuss cases where there is doubt regarding whether the animal is indeed a peter chamor.

One case is if a donkey gave birth to a male and female, and we do not know which one was born first. The Mishnah (1:3) explains that while the redemption must still be performed, the lamb that was used can be retained. That is because from this point onward it is monetary question of whether the lamb needs to be given to the kohen. Since it is a doubt, the kohen would need to prove that the male donkey was indeed born first if he wants to take them lamb -- ha'motzi me'chaveiro alav ha'raayah. We discussed this case in a previous article (17(20)).

Another case is if there were two male and two female foals born to two donkeys. In that case there is similarly a doubt regarding both the donkeys, whether or not they were first born. The Mishnah states, "the kohen does not receive anything." The simple understanding would be that the owner would still need to perform the redemption based on the doubt that they may indeed be first born donkeys, yet he can keep the lambs. The Bartenura however cites the Rambam who explains that the redemptions do not even need to be performed, considering the multiple different possibilities where the males would not be first born.

The Tosfot Yom Tov cites the Kesef Mishnah who notes that in the previous case in the Mishnah the ruling is different. That was where there were two males and one female born. The Mishnah rules that one lamb must be given to the kohen since there was at least one peter chamor. A second redemption must be performed since there is a doubt whether there were two first born male donkeys; yet that lamb can be retained. This is despite the fact that there are also many different scenarios (or "doubts"). The Kesef Mishnah answers that even though there are multiple doubts in this case, since one lamb definitely needs to be handled to the kohen, he must separate another. In our case however, since no definite action is performed, we do not tell him to separate any lamb since it is a case of a double doubt.

The Raavad (Bikkurim 12:21) however finds the Rambam difficult. Even though there are many scenarios, there is only one real safek -- whether the male was born first or second to its mother. That being the case it should not be treated any different to the other cases in the Mishnah and redemption should still be required.

The Chazon Ish (Bechorot 17:1) explains that each of the mother donkeys are treated separately. From that perspective, there is a double doubt.¹ The first doubt is whether it even gave birth to a male. The second is that even if it did, it may not have been the first born. Considering that each has a double doubt, it treats the mothers as if they did not give birth to a bechor. He continues that even though from the offsprings perspective it is only a single doubt, since the doubt arose because there were two mothers, and for each there is a double doubt, we permit the offspring. He elaborates that this is because when there is a balanced doubt, a small consideration can tip the scale to permit (especially considering that the Rambam maintains that all sefeikot are rabbinic).

¹ See the Tifferet Yisrael that brings a similar answer.

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