Bekhorot 27 - October 15, 4 Cheshvan

<p class="MsoNormal">The <span lang="EN-US" style= "mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" xml:lang="EN-US">braita</span> states that an owner retains financial benefit (<em>tovat hana'a</em>) for priestly gifts, permitting an Israelite to accept payment from a fellow Israelite to direct <em>teruma</em> to a specific kohen who is a relative, whereas a kohen may not pay another kohen for it. The Gemara asks why the <span lang="EN-US" style= "mso-ansi-language: EN-US;" xml:lang="EN-US">braita</span> specifies <em>teruma</em> rather than other priestly gifts (<em>matnot kehuna</em>). It answers that <em>teruma</em> possesses intrinsic sanctity (<em>kedushat haguf</em>) and cannot be redeemed, so people will not mistakenly treat it as unconsecrated (<em>chullin</em>); whereas monetary-sanctity gifts (<em>kedushat damim</em>) might lead people to err, thinking they can redeem them for a small sum and treat them as <em>chullin</em>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Gemara outlines several lenient rulings regarding <em>teruma</em> from outside the Land of Israel (<em>terumat chutz la'aretz</em>): it is exempt from the prohibition of a <em>kohen</em> assisting at the threshing floor, it is nullified by a simple majority, one may eat from the produce before separating it, and its prohibition applies only to someone whose impurity issues directly from their body (such as a <em>zav</em> or <em>nidda</em>), and even then only for eating rather than touching. Ravina applies this to <em>challa</em> outside Israel: a woman in a state of <em>nidda</em> may separate <em>challa</em>, which may then be eaten by a young <em>kohen</em>; if no such <em>kohen</em> is present, she burns it in the oven and separates a second <em>challa</em> to maintain the practice of <em>challa</em>, which an adult <em>kohen</em> may eat. Following a query posed to Rav Nachman, Rav Amram, and Rami bar Chama on a boat, Rav Amram held like Rav that one who is impure from corpse contamination must immerse in a <em>mikveh</em>, though he does not need to wait for sunset; however, the Gemara clarifies that we do not hold like Rav, but rather like Shmuel, that if the impurity is from an external source, there is no prohibition to eat this <em>teruma</em> in a state of impurity.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The <em>Mishna</em> rules that a <em>bekhor</em> is eaten within its first year. Rav derives from the verse "before Hashem your God you shall eat it year by year" that a <em>bekhor</em>'s year is calculated based on its