Overview
Daf 138 serves as a transition between two mitzvot:
- Reishit HaGez (the first shearing given to a Kohen).
- Shiluach HaKen (sending away the mother bird).
The first half of the daf concludes the discussion of how much wool must be given and what quality is required. The second half opens the final perek, introducing the laws of Shiluach HaKen and comparing them to Kisuy HaDam.
Finishing Reishit HaGez
How Much Wool Must Be Given?
The Mishnah taught:
Enough cleaned wool to produce a small garment.
The Gemara derives this from:
“לעמוד לשרת“
The gift must be large enough to produce something fit for Temple service.
The Gemara initially considers various priestly garments:
- Me’il (robe)
- Turban
- Avnet (belt)
and concludes that the minimum measure is based on the avnet, since it was worn by ordinary Kohanim as well.
The Wool Must Be Useful
The Torah says:
תתן לו
The gift must have real value.
Therefore the Kohen must receive enough wool to produce something usable, not merely a symbolic amount.
Selling the Wool Before Completion
A dispute appears:
Rav Chisda
If a person shears one sheep and sells the wool, then later shears more sheep until the minimum amount is reached:
He remains obligated.
Rabbi Natan bar Hoshaya
Once ownership has left his possession before the obligation fully develops:
He is exempt.
The Gemara analyzes how ownership at the critical moment affects the mitzvah.
Who Is Obligated When Wool Is Sold?
The Mishnah discussed:
One who purchases another person’s wool.
The Gemara explains:
If the seller retains some of the flock, responsibility generally remains with the seller because people do not normally intend to sell the Kohen’s portion.
Beginning of Perek Shiluach HaKen
The Mishnah now introduces:
שילוח הקן
Sending away the mother bird before taking the eggs or chicks.
Where Does the Mitzvah Apply?
The Mishnah states:
✅ Eretz Yisrael
✅ Chutz LaAretz
✅ During the Beit HaMikdash period
✅ After the Churban
This parallels many previous mitzvot in Chullin.
Comparing Shiluach HaKen and Kisuy HaDam
The Mishnah notes:
Kisuy HaDam is broader because:
- Applies to both chayah and birds.
- Applies whether the animal is prepared or not prepared.
Shiluach HaKen is narrower because:
- Applies only to birds.
- Applies only in certain circumstances.
What Is “Not Prepared” (שאינו מזומן)?
The Torah only requires Shiluach HaKen when the nest is not considered readily available.
Examples:
Obligated
- Domestic geese nesting in an orchard.
- Chickens that settled in a field on their own.
Exempt
- Birds nesting inside one’s house.
- Fully domesticated birds under a person’s ongoing control.
The mitzvah applies primarily to birds that retain a degree of independence.
Non-Kosher Birds
The Mishnah teaches:
A non-kosher bird is exempt from Shiluach HaKen.
Similarly:
- A kosher bird sitting on non-kosher eggs.
- A non-kosher bird sitting on kosher eggs.
Both are exempt.
The mitzvah requires the proper combination of kosher bird and kosher offspring.
The Male Koré Bird
A famous dispute:
Rabbi Eliezer
Obligates sending away the male koré bird.
Chachamim
Exempt.
The Gemara will analyze whether the Torah’s mitzvah applies only to a mother bird or can extend to unusual nesting situations.
Why Mention “In the Mikdash Era and Not in the Mikdash Era”?
The Gemara notes that many Mishnayot repeat:
“בפני הבית ושלא בפני הבית”
even when seemingly unnecessary.
One opinion teaches that these formulae often appear simply for consistency with parallel mitzvot.
Another explains that without the Mishnah one might have thought certain mitzvot depended on the existence of korbanot or the Beit HaMikdash.
Why Not with Kodshim?
The Mishnah excludes consecrated birds.
The Gemara derives:
שלח תשלח את האם
Only a bird that you are commanded to send away.
Not a bird that must instead be handed over to the Temple treasury.
This creates a general principle:
When another Torah obligation governs the bird, Shiluach HaKen may not apply.
Big Idea of the Daf
The first half of the daf teaches:
Reishit HaGez requires a meaningful, usable gift to the Kohen.
The second half introduces a very different mitzvah:
Taking eggs is permitted only after recognizing and respecting the bond between the mother bird and her young through the mitzvah of Shiluach HaKen.
Final Summary
Chullin 138 concludes the laws of Reishit HaGez, defining the minimum meaningful gift, discussing ownership of wool, and clarifying who bears responsibility when the wool is sold. The daf then opens the final perek on Shiluach HaKen, establishing that the mitzvah applies worldwide, only to kosher birds, and primarily to nests that are not fully under human control. It also explains why consecrated birds are excluded and begins defining the precise conditions under which the mitzvah applies.