6748 —ברכות בר מצוה ותובנות על עבודת הבכור

B"H, the 5th of Adar II, 5719.

Brooklyn, NY.

Haraha"g veharaha"ch iy"a nu"n etc. Moshe Aryeh Leib Shapira

Shalom u'Vrachah!

In response to your notification about your grandson Menachem's Bar Mitzvah: May it be the will of Hashem that from thirteen years for mitzvos he should grow to fifteen and beyond, as ruled in the Mishnah (Avos ch. 5), and may he increase in diligence and perseverance in his Torah study—both in revealed Torah and Chassidus—and be meticulous in mitzvah observance. May Hashem grant him success to be a chassid, G‑d-fearing, and a scholar, and may you derive much true chassidic nachas from him and all your descendants.

With honor and blessings for success in holy work, in Torah study and spreading its wellsprings.

Regarding what you raised about Shulchan Aruch of Admor HaZaken Orach Chaim sec. 128:10, that he holds that when there was service by firstborns—it applied also to a paternal firstborn. What is the source for this? For we only find sanctity with a maternal firstborn (petter rechem). The clearest source seems to be from the wording of the Mishnah (Zevachim 112b) regarding service by firstborns. So too in Targumim to Shemos 24:5. (But see Bechoros 4b which connects this with 'Sanctify to Me every firstborn,' which refers to petter rechem; this needs clarification.)

(b) In Bereishis Rabbah (98:4) regarding Reuven—that priesthood was his but when he sinned it was given to Levi. If you say it depends on petter rechem—then so too Dan, Gad, and Yosef; why was it taken from them? Note that according to Tanchuma and Targum Yerushalmi (there), "High Priesthood," it cannot be with two people at once.

(c) In Rabbeinu Bachya (on Sefer Hadar Zekenim) at the beginning of Toldos on 'And Yaakov gave,' he writes that for the inheritance Yaakov gave Esav much wealth; "And if you ask how did Yaakov deceive... one can say that by law Yaakov was the firstborn... as he was the first drop," yet Esav was petter rechem. Nevertheless, Esav's sale was needed because who would believe Yaakov was the first drop? This was quite wondrous (see Bachya at end of Toldos; Yevamos 98a).

Rabbeinu Bachya disagrees here with a Midrash quoted by Rashi there on 'and afterwards.'

(d) In Bamidbar Rabbah 4:8 it appears that service by firstborns means those who are great or important—not necessarily actual firstborns—and certainly not specifically petter rechem.

In any case, further clarification is needed from Or HaTorah by tzt"z on Bereishis (143b ff., 157a, 166a). Perhaps Or HaTorah explains according to the Midrash cited by Rashi above. Also see Keren Ora on Yerushalmi Megillah (1:11), Sefer HaGilgulim ch. 23:34. Printed in Likkutei Sichos vol. 11 p.307 and completed based on a copy from the Secretariat.

Summary

The Rebbe blesses a Bar Mitzvah boy for spiritual growth and delves into halachic debates about whether priestly service by firstborns depended on being a paternal or maternal firstborn, referencing many classical sources for deeper study.