Kiddushin, Daf Kaf Tet, Part 4
Introduction
This sugya discusses redeeming the first born son.
לפדותו: מנלן דכתיב (שמות לד, כ) כל בכור בניך תפדה
והיכא דלא פרקיה אבוה מיחייב איהו למפרקיה דכתיב (במדבר יח, טו) פדה תפדה
To redeem him. How do we know this? Because it is written, And all of your firstborn sons you shall redeem (Exodus 34:20).
And if his father did not redeem him, he is obligated to redeem himself, for it is written, You shall surely redeem (Numbers 18:15).
All firstborn sons must be redeemed. It is primarily the father s responsibility but if the father does not do so, the son must redeem himself.
ואיהי מנלן דלא מיפקדה דכתיב תיפדה תפדה כל שמצווה לפדות את עצמו מצווה לפדות את אחרים וכל שאינו מצווה לפדות את עצמו אינו מצווה לפדות אחרים
ואיהי מנלן דלא מיחייבא למיפרק נפשה דכתיב תפדה תיפדה כל שאחרים מצווים לפדותו מצווה לפדות את עצמו וכל שאין אחרים מצווים לפדותו אין מצווה לפדות את עצמו
ומנין שאין אחרים מצווין לפדותה דאמר קרא (שמות יג, ב) כל בכור בניך תפדה בניך ולא בנותיך
And how do we know that she [his mother] is not obliged [to redeem him]?
Because it is written, You shall [tifdeh] [which may also be read] You shall be redeemed [tippadeh] : one who is obligated to redeem oneself is obligated to redeem others; whereas one who is not obligated to redeem oneself is not obligated to redeem others.
And how do we know that she is not obligated to redeem herself?
Because it is written, You shall redeem [tifdeh], [which may be read] You shall be redeemed the one whom others are commanded to redeem is commanded to redeem oneself: the one whom others are not commanded to redeem is not commanded to redeem oneself.
And how do we know that others are not commanded to redeem her?
Because the verse said, And all of your firstborn sons you shall redeem your sons , but not your daughters.
Daughters need not be redeemed. Since others do not need to redeem them, they do not need to redeem others, nor do daughters need to redeem themselves. They are simply excluded from the obligations of redemption, just as they are excluded from the obligations of circumcision.
תנו רבנן הוא לפדות ובנו לפדות הוא קודם לבנו רבי יהודה אומר בנו קודמו שזה מצותו על אביו וזה מצות בנו עליו
Our Rabbis taught: If he has himself to redeem and his son to redeem, he takes precedence over his son. R. Judah said: His son takes precedence over him, for the commandment in respect to him (the son) lies [primarily] upon his father, whereas that concerning his son lies [primarily] upon himself.
According to the rabbis, if there is not enough money to redeem both him and his son, his primary responsibility is to redeem himself. This is like putting the oxygen mask on yourself first on an airplane. But R. Judah says that the mitzvah to redeem lies primarily on the father. So first he must redeem his son, and only then, when he has the money, he must redeem himself.
אמר רבי ירמיה הכל מודין כל היכא דליכא אלא חמש סלעים הוא קודם לבנו
מאי טעמא מצוה דגופיה עדיפא
כי פליגי היכא דאיכא חמש משועבדים וחמש בני חורין ר’ יהודה סבר מלוה דכתיב בתורה ככתובה בשטר דמיא בהני חמש פריק לבריה ואזיל כהן וטריף ליה לחמש משועבדים לדידיה ורבנן סברי מלוה דכתיב באורייתא לאו ככתובה בשטר דמיא והילכך מצוה דגופיה עדיף
R. Yirmiyah said: All agree that if only five sela s are available, he takes precedence over his son. What is the reason? A commandment affecting his own person is more important.
They differ when there are five sela s of encumbered property and five sela s free.
R. Judah holds: A debt decreed in Scripture is as one written in a document: hence, with these five sela s [that are free] he redeems his son, while the kohen goes and seizes the five encumbered sela s [worth] on account of himself [the father]. But the Rabbis hold, A debt decreed in Scripture is not as one written in a document; therefore a commandment affecting his own person is more important.
R. Yirmiyah limits the dispute in the baraita. If the father really has only five selas, then he redeems himself and not his son. There is only a dispute if the father has five selas that are free and five selas that have a lien over them, meaning he used them to secure a loan or he sold them. According to R. Judah, the lien of the Kohen on the five selas owed for the redemption of the father is like a debt written in a document, and therefore it can be collected even from property encumbered with a lien. So the priests would seize five selas worth of land and with this the father would be redeemed. The father can then use the free five selas to redeem himself. But the other rabbis hold that the debt of the five selas cannot be taken from encumbered property. Therefore, he really only has five selas with which he is to redeem himself.
ת"ר לפדות את בנו ולעלות לרגל פודה את בנו ואחר כך עולה לרגל
ר’ יהודה אומר עולה לרגל ואח"כ פודה את בנו שזו מצוה עוברת וזו מצוה שאינה עוברת
Our Rabbis taught: If one has his son to redeem and the duty of making the Festival pilgrimage, he must [first] redeem his son and then make the Festival pilgrimage. R. Judah said: He must first make the Festival pilgrimage and then redeem his son, for the one is a passing commandment whereas the other is not a passing commandment.
The rabbis now engage in a which mitzvah takes priority discussion. Here we have a dispute over which takes priority redeeming one s son, or spending the money to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem during one of the festivals.
בשלמא לר’ יהודה כדקאמר טעמא אלא רבנן מאי טעמייהו דאמר קרא (שמות לד, כ) כל בכור בניך תפדה והדר לא יראו פני ריקם
As for R. Judah, it is well, for he states the reason. But what is the reason of the Rabbis? Because the verse states: All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem, and then it says, and none shall appear before me empty-handed (Exodus 34:20).
R. Judah explains why the mitzvah of the pilgrimage takes precedence. But the rabbis do not explain their opinion. Therefore, the Talmud explains that it simply follows the order of the verse first the verse says redeem your son, and then it instructs people to go on the pilgrimage.
ת"ר מנין שאם היו לו חמשה בנים מחמש נשים שחייב לפדות כולן ת"ל כל בכור בניך תפדה
פשיטא בפטר רחם תלא רחמנא מהו דתימא נילף בכור בכור מנחלה מה להלן ראשית אונו אף כאן ראשית אונו קמ"ל:
Our Rabbis taught: How do we know that if one has five [firstborn] sons by five wives, he is obligated to redeem them all? From the verse: All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. But that is obvious, [since] the Torah made it dependent upon the opening of the womb? I might have argued, Let us learn the meaning of firstborn here from inheritance. Just as there, the beginning of his strength [is meant], so here too; therefore he teaches us [that it is not so].
When it comes to redeeming the first born, the first born is determined by the mother. So if a man has five sons from five different wives, he must redeem them all. But when it comes to inheritance, it follows the father. Only his own first born son inherits a double portion.