148 - המצווה הקמ"ח האזהרה שהזהר הכהן מלאכול את הביכורים בחוץ

The 148th mitzvah

This is the prohibition warning the Kohen not to eat the Bikkurim outside [the designated place].

This is as it is stated: "You may not eat within your gates... and the offering of your hand"—and it was received through tradition that "the offering of your hand" refers to the Bikkurim.

Since in this verse, nothing requiring bringing to a specific place is omitted without being explicitly mentioned, and it includes "the offering of your hand," these are certainly the Bikkurim, for it is explained regarding them that they require being brought to a specific place. But Terumah is known not to require being brought to a specific place, so how could there be a prohibition against eating it within your gates?

The language of the Sifri is: "The verse comes only to prohibit one who eats Bikkurim before the recitation [of the declaration], for he transgresses a negative commandment."

And it has already been explained at the end of Makkos that one is liable only if he ate them before placing them in the Azarah; but once he has placed them in the Azarah, he is exempt, even if he has not yet recited [the declaration].

And also regarding Bikkurim, the same condition applies as with Maaser Sheni: not everyone who eats them outside is liable, unless they have seen the inside of the House. If someone eats from them after they have seen the inside of the House but before being placed in the Azarah, a Kohen is liable for lashes only; but a Yisroel is liable for death by the hand of Heaven if he eats Bikkurim, even after the recitation.

And it is explicitly stated: Terumah and Bikkurim incur the obligation of an added fifth and death, and are forbidden to non-Kohanim. If one eats them intentionally, he is liable for death by the hand of Heaven; if unintentionally, he must add a fifth, as is the law with Terumah. Since the verse calls them "the offering of your hand," all the laws of Terumah apply to them.

You should understand this well so that matters are not confused for you: if a Kohen eats Bikkurim after they have seen the inside of the House but before being placed in the Azarah, he is liable for lashes, and the warning is from "You may not eat within your gates... and the offering of your hand," as explained in the Gemara Makkos, just as a Yisroel is liable for lashes for eating Maaser Sheni outside its place, even though it is his own.

But a Yisroel who eats Bikkurim after they have seen the inside of the House—wherever he eats them—is liable for death by the hand of Heaven, and the warning is from "And no non-Kohen may eat holy things," as we explained in the 133rd mitzvah of these mitzvos.

The laws of this mitzvah have already been explained in the Gemara Makkos.