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HULLIN: CHAPTER 11: MISHNAH 1 The First of the Fleece is obligatory both in the Land and outside the Land, during the existence of the Temple and when the Temple does not exist, for hullin but not for the consecrated. Greater stringency applies to the Shoulder and the Two cheeks and the Maw than to the First of the Fleece, since the Shoulder and the Two cheeks and the Maw applies to herds and flocks, whether many or few, whereas the First of the Fleece applies only to sheep and only when they are many. Kehati The law of "the shoulder and the two cheeks and the maw," elaborated in the preceding chapter, is followed in the same verse (Deut. 18:4) by "and the first of the fleece of your sheep shall you give him." Hence, whenever one shears his sheep, part of it belongs to the priest. This donation is called the First of the Fleece ( reshit hagez). The quantity to be given, not specified in the Torah, has been established by the Sages, as explained in the next mishnah. Rambam offers the following reason for this law (Hil. Bikkurim 10:5): "God having provided the priest with bread and wine through the terumah dues, and with meat through his share in the animals and sacrifices, He provided him with clothing through the First of the Fleece. For his other expenses and necessities, he was allotted the (non-returnable) stolen property of a proselyte (Num. 5:8), devoted objects (Num. 18:14), fields of possession (Lev. 27:21) and the redemption money of the (human) firstborn, seeing that he has no part in the inheritance or the spoils of war." This chapter elaborates the laws of the First of the Fleece. The law of The First of the Fleece is obligatory both in the Land and outside the Land of Israel. A baraita cited in the Gemara (Hul. 136a) states: "R. Ila'i says: The (law of) the First of the Fleece applies only in the Land"; this he learns by gezerah shavah from terumah; as terumah applies only in the Land, so also does the First of the Fleece apply only in the Land; according to the Gemara, the accepted practice concerning the First of the Fleece followed R. Ila'i's view. Thus also Rambam (Hil. Bikkurim 10:1) confines the scope of this precept to the Land; During the existence of the Temple and when the Temple does not exist, for hullin sheep but not for the consecrated; as the Gemara explains, this evidently does not apply to sheep designated for sacrifices, which, being consecrated as such, even if they suffer a blemish and are redeemed, their fleece is forbidden (see 10:2 above); likewise sheep, whose value is consecrated for the maintenance of the Temple, and which are rendered hullin after redemption, must not be fleeced before the animals are redeemed (by Rabbinic law). Accordingly, our mishnah teaches that even if one consecrated for the maintenance of the Temple a ewe without the fleece and shriveling of the animal is induced by the fleecing, he may shear it and keep the fleece (which stipulation does not apply to a sacrificial animal whose consecration affects the entire animal); he need not present it to the priest, since it is stated, "the first of the fleece of your sheep shall you give him" - i.e., from your own but not from that which belongs to the Temple. Greater stringency applies to the law of the Shoulder and the Two cheeks and the Maw than to the law of the First of the Fleece - i.e., it applies to the former but not to the latter - since the law of the Shoulder and the Two cheeks and the Maw applies to herds and flocks - as stated (Deut. 18:3), "whether it be ox or sheep," whether one slaughtered many or few animals, or no more than one whereas the law of the First of the Fleece applies only to male and female sheep but not to goats; this the Gemara learns by gezerah shavah from the term gez (fleece): "the first of the fleece (gez) of your sheep shall you give him" (Deut. 18:4) and "And if he were not warmed with the fleece (gez) of my sheep" (Job 31:20); just as there it refers to sheep, so also here. An alternative view in the Gemara derives this from the continuation of the text concerning the First of the Fleece (Deut. 18:4), "For the Lord your God has chosen him... to stand to minister"; i.e., the priest is to receive something that facilitates his ministering, i.e., the wool, which alone qualifies for the manufacture of the priestly garments, and only when they are many - as explained in the next mishnah.

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HULLIN: CHAPTER 11: MISHNAH 2 And what is meant by "many"? Bet Shammai say, Two sheep, as it is said (Isa. 7:21), "A man shall nourish a young cow and two sheep." Bet Hillel say, Five, as it is said (1 Sam. 25:18), "Five sheep ready prepared." R. Dosa b. Harkinas says, Five sheep that yield each a maneh and a half are liable to the First of the Fleece. But the Sages say, Five sheep, whatever the quantity of their fleeces. And how much must one give him? The weight of five selas in Judea which is ten selas in Galilee; bleached and not soiled, sufficient to make from it a small garment, as it is said (Deut. 18:4), "you shall give him," i.e., it should contain enough to count as a gift. If one did not contrive to present it before he dyed it, he is exempt. If he bleached it but did not dye it, he is liable. If one bought the fleeces of the sheep of a non-Jew, he is exempt from the First of the Fleece. If one bought the fleece of his fellow's sheep and the seller retained some, the seller is liable. If he did not retain any, the buyer is liable. If he had two kinds, gray and white, and he sold the gray but not the white, the males but not the females, each must give for himself. Kehati And what is meant by "many"? - how many sheep may he shear before he is liable to the law of the First of the Fleece - Bet Shammai say, Two sheep, as it is said (Isa.7:21), "A man shall nourish a young cow and two sheep - since two sheep are thus referred to as a flock and it is written, "and the first of the fleece of your sheep ( tzonkha)," one is not liable before he sheared at least two sheep. Bet Hillel say, Five sheep, as it is said (1 Sam. 25:18), "Five sheep ready prepared" - asuyot, which, according to the Gemara, prompt (me'asot) the owner to "arise and perform a commandment," hitherto not incumbent upon him at a lesser number. This evidently refers to the First of the Fleece concerning which tzon, which implies a plurality, is stated; not so the singular firstling of an ox (Num. 18:17) and the priestly dues of the shoulder, two cheeks and the maw "whether it be ox or sheep," likewise couched in the singular (Rashi). R. Dosa b. Harkinas says, Five sheep that yield each a maneh and a half, i.e., 150 dinars (approx. 600 grams) are liable to the First of the Fleece - whereas less than this is not considered a shearing. But the Sages say, Five sheep, whatever the quantity of their fleeces are liable to the law of the First of the Fleece. However, the Sages fixed a minimum weight of twelve selas (= 48 dinars) per sheep, i.e., an aggregate of sixty selas (Gemara). The statement "whatever the quantity" thus merely contrasts R. Dosa's more ample quota ( Bartenura). And how much must one give him? According to the Gemara, rather than referring to the preceding section, this establishes a minimum due to each priest for the owner of a large quantity of fleece who wishes to benefit several priests. The weight of five selas in Judea which is equivalent to ten selas in Galilee - a Galilean sela equaling half a Judean sela; bleached and not soiled when shorn, the wool requires bleaching - i.e., thorough rinsing. We learn that the soiled fleece due to the priest must suffice to weigh five selas after rinsing, sufficient to make from it a small garment - e.g., a girdle (Gemara), as it is said (Deut. 18:4), "the first of the fleece of your sheep you shall give him - titen lo - i.e., it should contain enough to count as a gift - naton matanah - both share the same root; the Gemara interprets these verses (4 and 5) as follows: "And the first of the fleece of your sheep you shall give him. For the Lord your God has chosen him.., to stand to minister": give him from the first of the fleece that suffices to make a garment that enables him to stand and minister, the least such item being a girdle ( avnet); this the Sages calculated to require five selas of bleached wool (Rashi, Bartenura). As noted earlier, the Torah does not specify the quantity for the First of the Fleece due to the priest (see introduction to mishnah 1), which the Sages set at a minimum of one sixtieth. The halakhah follows the Sages (see above) that one is not liable before he sheared at least five sheep, each bearing no less than twelve selas of wool, i.e., an aggregate of sixty selas. If one sheep fell short of the twelve selas, one is exempt, even if the total of the five exceeds sixty selas (Rambam, Bartenura). If one did not contrive to present it to the priest before he - the owner of the sheep - dyed it - the entire yield - he is exempt from delivering it to the priest. By dyeing the wool the owner has acquired it legally, by virtue of the alteration wrought on it. Thus being as one who damages or consumes priestly dues, he is exempt even from monetary restitution, since no claim can be raised in Court, seeing that the owner can contend that he wishes to give the wool to another priest (Gemara and Rashi Hul. 130b). If he - the fleece owner - bleached it before giving the First of the Fleece to the priest but did not dye it, he is liable to give it to the priest, since bleaching does not constitute an alteration that exempts it from the law of the First of the Fleece. If one bought the fleeces of the sheep of a non-Jew - even before they were shorn (Rashi, Bartenura); according to others, after they have been shorn (see Rambam Hil. Bikkurim 10:9) he is exempt from the law of the First of the Fleece, since it is written "the first of the fleece of your sheep," 'your' excluding that of a non-Jew. If one bought the fleece of his fellow's sheep and the seller retained some sheep for shearing, the seller is liable to give the First of the Fleece from his part for the entire fleece, since we presume that the priestly dues are at no time included in the sale (Gemara). If he - the seller - did not retain any wool for himself, the buyer is liable to the First of the Fleece, since the seller can argue that the value of the above was not included in the price. If he had two kinds of sheep, gray (shehufot) - neither black nor white (Rashi), or brown (Rambam); some read tehufot - black (Arukh), and white, and he sold the fleeces of the gray but not of the white, or if he had males and females and he sold the fleeces of the males but not of the females, each must give for himself - the seller that of the sheep he retained, and the buyer that of the purchased sheep, seeing that selling one kind and keeping the other does not count as a retention that would require the seller to render the First of the Fleece for that which he sold.

The Gemara, however, points out that in this case, too, the seller renders on behalf of the buyer; accordingly, the mishnah merely advises the seller that, since the fleece of the retained white sheep is superior to that of the sold dark sheep, and that of the females is softer than that of the males, he need not render from his own superior fleece for that which he sold. Rather, let him purchase from the buyer the First of the Fleece due from the dark or male sheep that he had sold him (Hul. 136b; see Ran, also Rambam and his supercommentaries Hil. Bikkurim 10:11).