Chullin, Chapter 11, Mishnah 1. Chapter 10 was devoted to the matanot, the three portions an owner must present to a kohen once he has performed shechitah on an unsanctified animal. Our chapter takes up a second priestly gift, one that costs the animal nothing at all: reishit hagez, the share of wool set aside when a flock is sheared.
The Source and the Amount
The Torah writes, "Vereishit gez tzoncha titen lo," and the first of the shearing of your flock you shall give to him. The picture is simple: a man shears his sheep, and from the wool that comes off he sets aside a share for the kohen.
How much? On the level of Torah law, no fixed quantity is named. "Kol shehu," any amount whatsoever that the owner chooses to give, discharges the obligation. The Chachamim, however, established a floor: one sixtieth of the wool.
Why is the mitzvah named for the opening of the shearing? Because in the ideal case the kohen's share is separated from the very first wool to come off the flock. Yet an owner who neglected to do so has not lost his opportunity; wool that came off later can serve for the mitzvah just as well.
Where and When the Mitzvah Applies
The mishnah's first statement maps out the reach of this obligation. "Reishit hagez noheig ba'aretz," the law is operative within the Land, "uvechutz la'aretz," and equally in every other country where a Jew shears his flock. It is likewise unaffected by the fate of the Temple: "bifnei habayit," during the era when the Sanctuary stands, "veshelo bifnei habayit," and in a time when it lies in ruin.
"Bechullin aval lo bemukdashin," it applies to ordinary chullin animals, but not to animals that have been dedicated to the Beit Hamikdash. Wool shorn from a consecrated animal carries no obligation of reishit hagez.
Comparing the Two Gifts
With both presents to the kohen now on the table, the three portions of meat from Chapter 10 and the wool of our chapter, the mishnah sets them side by side and measures which reaches further. "Chomer bazero'a uvalechayayim uvakeivah," a severity attaches to the foreleg, the cheeks and the stomach, "mereishit hagez," beyond what attaches to the gift of the shearing.
In what respect? "Shehazero'a vehalechayayim vehakeivah nohagim bevakar uvatzon," the three matanot are given from cattle and from the flock alike, from an ox as well as from a sheep or a goat. And they apply "bimrubeh uvimu'at," whether the owner slaughters many animals together or brings a single animal on its own. Even one animal slaughtered by itself generates the obligation.
On both scores the wool gift is the more restricted of the two. "Vereishit hagez eino noheig," the obligation does not extend across every species, "ela berecheilot," but is confined to sheep; goats generate no such duty, and neither does cattle. And as to quantity: "ve'eino noheig," the law does not take hold, "ela bimrubeh," unless a sizable flock is being shorn at one time. A man clipping the wool of a single animal has nothing to hand over.