771. A Calf that is Sold like Chometz
In the days of the Bais Hamikdash (Holy Temple), a bechor beheimah (first-born [kosher] male domesticated animal) that belongs to a Jew is kadosh (holy) must be gifted to a kohen within the first year of its life (after being raised by the owner for a minimum of thirty or fifty days). If the animal is without a mum (blemish) it is offered in the Beis Hamikdash as a korban (sacrifice) and its flesh is eaten by the kohen b’taharah (in a state of purity). If the animal is deemed blemished, it may be slaughtered by the kohen for its meat—but it may not be used for any other purpose. If it dies without a mum, it must be buried complete—its flesh, bones, horns and hide—with no benefit to anyone at all.
In present times, Jewish cattle-ranchers are still essentially required to tender all first-born beheimos to a kohen. An animal offered in this manner must be accepted by the kohen—it would be degrading to the mitzvah of matnos kehunah (priestly gifts) for a modern-day kohen to refuse it. But what would he do with it? This is especially relevant to unblemished animals, since we have no Beis Hamikdash (may it be speedily rebuilt) and no korbonos. Keeping the unblemished bechor beheimah in a proper environment—there are many restrictions—and waiting for it to somehow be injured so it may be slaughtered for its meat is impractical. To declare a holy animal blemished requires a psak from a knowledgeable rav with clear evidence that the injury was not caused deliberately or self-inflicted.
The circumvention to this difficult scenario offered by Rishonim (early halachic authorities) is a mechirah (sale) similar in concept to mechiras chametz (selling leavened products over Pesach), but in a sense more complicated. In simple terms, it entails selling part ownership of the gestating firstborn fetus to a non-Jew; this partnership exempts the newborn calf (or kid or lamb) from its status as a Jewish-owned bechor beheimah. Although workarounds for mitzvos are not generally endorsed, the complexity of fulfilling this mitzvah in galus (exile) is so great that this solution has been universally accepted. Similar to mechiras chometz, mechiras beheimah must be overseen by a rav who has expertise in the intricate aspects of such a sale.
Although cattle-raising in the modern day is not as common as it once was, it nevertheless has far-reaching affects; kosher-slaughtered meat and parchment used for stam (Torahs, tefillin and mezuzos) originating from Jewish-owned animals must be sourced from ranches where the selling of bechor beheimah was properly observed.