Ki Seitzei 21:15 · unit 6

TT #35 · Parashas Ki Seitzei · First aliya · Passuk 21:15

The Complete Passuk

כִּֽי־תִהְיֶ֨יןָ לְאִ֜ישׁ שְׁתֵּ֣י נָשִׁ֗ים הָאַחַ֤ת אֲהוּבָה֙ וְהָאַחַ֣ת שְׂנוּאָ֔ה וְיָֽלְדוּ־ל֣וֹ בָנִ֔ים הָאֲהוּבָ֖ה וְהַשְּׂנוּאָ֑ה וְהָיָ֛ה הַבֵּ֥ן הַבְּכֹ֖ר לַשְּׂנִיאָֽה׃

If a man has two wives, the one beloved and the one hated, and they bear him sons, the beloved and the hated, and the firstborn son is the hated one’s—

Chabad.org — 21:15

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to Bava Basra 142b.

Sefaria — Bava Basra 142b

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
וְיָלְדוּ לוֹ – אָמַר מָר בְּרֵיהּ דְּרַב יוֹסֵף מִשְּׁמֵיהּ דְּרָבִינָא, בֵּן שֶׁנּוֹלַד לְאַחַר מִיתַת אָבִיו אֵינוֹ מְמַעֵט בְּחֵלֶק בְּכוֹרָה, מַאי טַעְמָא? וְיָלְדוּ לוֹ אָמַר רַחֲמָנָא, וְהָא לֵיכָּא.

English: “And they bear him” — Mar the son of Rav Yosef said in the name of Ravina: a son born after the father’s death does not reduce the firstborn’s portion. Why? The Merciful One said “and they bear him,” and here there is none (the father is already dead).

On the daf / in context: The double portion is fixed at the moment of the father’s death among the sons then alive. A posthumous birth does not reopen the calculation of the bechorah.

Type of Learning

Derash on the phrase “ve-yaledu lo.”

What Is Learned

A son born after the father’s death does not diminish the firstborn’s double portion.