Bikkurim, Chapter 3, Mishnah 12. This mishnah returns to clarify a ruling that was already taught at the opening of the second chapter: bikkurim are the property of the kohen, they belong to him and are part of his holdings. Our mishnah asks: "Lamah amru habikkurim k'nichsei kohen?" - in what way are bikkurim considered the property of the kohen?
The ways in which bikkurim are like the property of a kohen:
"Shehu koneh mehem avadim" - with their value the kohen may purchase slaves.
"V'karka'os" - and likewise land.
"U'vehemah temei'ah" - even an animal that is not fit to be eaten.
"U'va'al chov notlan b'chovo" - a creditor to whom the kohen owes money may take them as repayment of the loan.
"V'ha'ishah bichsuvasah" - and a woman may collect her kesubah with them.
It emerges that bikkurim belong to the kohen completely, and their use is not restricted the way the use of maaser sheni is restricted, which may be used only for things meant to be eaten and which are eaten in Jerusalem. Bikkurim belong to the kohanim, and a kohen may sell them and purchase any of these items with their value.
"K'sefer Torah" - two versions of the text:
According to the version before us, "k'sefer Torah", the Rav explains that a Torah scroll has the same status as bikkurim, for a woman may take it too as payment of her kesubah.
Some have the version "v'sefer Torah", meaning that a Torah scroll may also be purchased with the money of bikkurim.
According to the second version one must ask: if even a non-kosher animal may be purchased with the money of bikkurim, surely a Torah scroll may be purchased with them. The explanation is that the other items - a slave, land, and a non-kosher animal - can be sold and food purchased with the proceeds, whereas a Torah scroll is not sold in order to buy food. There was therefore room to think that it is not included, so the mishnah comes to teach that a Torah scroll too may be purchased with the money of bikkurim.
The view of Rabbi Yehudah:
The mishnah continues: "Rabbi Yehudah omer: ein notnin osam ela l'chaver b'tovah" - bikkurim are not given to just any kohen, but to a kohen who is a chaver. A 'chaver' is one who is careful to eat his produce and his ordinary food in a state of taharah. The reason: a kohen who is an unlearned person is liable not to treat them with the proper taharah, and bikkurim must be eaten in taharah. And what he said, "b'tovah" - that the kohen shows appreciation to the giver and expresses his gratitude to him.
The Rav, however, following the Rambam, explains that the main emphasis in Rabbi Yehudah's words is on the word "b'tovah", and in this he disagrees with the first tanna, who said that anything may be bought with bikkurim. In his view, the only thing that may be done with bikkurim is to give them to another kohen, and that kohen expresses his gratitude to the giver; beyond that, the owner has nothing in them other than the act of giving. In this Rabbi Yehudah comes to disagree and say that bikkurim are not considered the property of a kohen in this sense.
Giving the bikkurim to the members of the watch:
The mishnah goes on to teach that the bikkurim are given to the kohanim who are serving in the Temple service that week. The kohanim are divided into twenty-four watches, and the watch serving during the week in which a person brings his bikkurim is the one that receives them, and they divide them among themselves like the other consecrated items that are divided in the Temple. And they are given to them whether they are chaverim or not, because with regard to items brought to the Temple courtyard and to offerings there is no concern that a kohen who is not a chaver will fail to eat them in taharah - everyone is careful to eat consecrated items in taharah, and bikkurim are included in this, and they are like anything else that is divided among the kohanim.
In summary: in this mishnah we learned why it is said that bikkurim are like the property of a kohen - that he buys slaves, land and a non-kosher animal with them, and a creditor and a woman take them for the debt and for the kesubah; we examined the two versions of the text regarding a Torah scroll; the view of Rabbi Yehudah that they are given only to a chaver "b'tovah" and the Rambam's explanation that in this he disagrees with the first tanna; and finally the giving of bikkurim to the members of the watch, who divide them like all consecrated items, whether they are chaverim or not.