The first shearing is one of the twenty-four gifts we are commanded to give the kohanim, so they will have wool for their clothing, as it is stated: “The first of your grain, your wine, your oil, and the first shearing of your flock you shall give him. For the Lord your God has chosen him from all your tribes to stand and serve in the name of the Lord, he and his sons, all the days” (Devarim 18:4–5).
By Torah law, any amount fulfills the obligation; there is no required measure. The Sages, however, set a minimum. Some say it is one sixtieth of the shearing (MT, Laws of Bikkurim 10:1); others say it is the weight of five sela’im — about one hundred grams, enough for a belt (Tur YD 333:13). The first shearing has no sanctity, and the kohen may do with it as he wishes.
Yisraelim and levi’im, men and women, are all obligated in the first shearing. A Yisrael married to a bat kohen is exempt. Since the first shearing has no sanctity, it may also be given to a bat kohen who is married to a Yisrael (SA YD 333:14, as explained in section 1).
The Tanna’im disagree whether the mitzva of the first shearing applies in the Diaspora. In practice, it does not — just as terumot and ma’asrot do not (Ḥullin 136b; SA YD 333:1). As for Eretz Yisrael, most poskim hold the obligation to be by Torah law; some hold it is rabbinic, like terumot and ma’asrot (above, 12:16, note 18).
The mitzva applies to sheep, whether male or female, since wool comes primarily from them; it does not apply to goats or other species. If a sheep’s wool is too coarse for clothing, it is exempt (SA YD 333:2).
The Sages derived that one must own at least five sheep, each yielding at least twelve sela’im — about 204 grams — of wool, to be obligated. An adult Awassi sheep, the common breed in Eretz Yisrael, yields about two and a half kilograms, so virtually every such sheep meets the threshold, and one must separate from every five sheep (SA YD 333:9).
The five sheep need not be shorn in the same year. Even if one is shorn each year, if all five belonged to the owner when the first was shorn, he must separate the first shearing when the fifth is shorn (SA YD 333:12).
If the sheep belong to several partners, the obligation applies only when each partner’s share equals five sheep.
If one has several grades of sheep, the wool given to the kohen must come from the superior grade, as it is stated: “the first shearing of your flock” (Devarim 18:4–5; Rema YD 333:12). Ideally, one separates from the first sheep shorn, but the gift is not given until all five have been shorn, since the obligation arises only then (Gez Tzonekha 333:11:1).
Ideally, the kohen receives the wool raw, before the oils and debris have been cleaned from it. If it was already cleaned, one separates from the clean wool and gives that (Gez Tzonekha 333:13:5).
