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Rashi to Genesis 25:26

ואחרי כן יצא אחיו וגו’ צֵא וּלְמַד מִשְּׁפוֹפֶרֶת שְׁפִּיהָ קְצָרָה, תֶּן לָהּ שְׁתֵּי אֲבָנִים זוֹ אַחַר זוֹ, – הַנִּכְנֶסֶת רִאשׁוֹנָה תֵּצֵא אַחֲרוֹנָה וְהַנִּכְנֶסֶת אַחֲרוֹנָה תֵּצֵא רִאשׁוֹנָה; נִמְצָא עֵשָׂו הַנּוֹצָר בָּאַחֲרוֹנָה יָצָא רִאשׁוֹן וְיַעֲקֹב שֶׁנוֹצַר רִאשׁוֹנָה יָצָא אַחֲרוֹן, וְיַעֲקֹב בָּא לְעַכְּבוֹ, שֶׁיְּהֵא רִאשׁוֹן לְלֵידָה כְּרִאשׁוֹן לִיצִירָה, וְיִפְטוֹר אֶת רַחֲמָהּ וְיִטּוֹל אֶת הַבְּכוֹרָה מִן הַדִּין

After that his brother came out, etc. Go and learn this from a narrow tube, insert two stones, one behind the other. The one inserted first will come out last and the one inserted last will come out first. Consequently, Eisov, who was conceived last came out first and Yaakov, who was conceived first came out last. Yaakov, thus, attempted to hold him back so that he [Yaakov] would be born first as he was the first conceived and be the first out of the womb so that he would rightfully gain his birthright.

Rashi (stating that he's quoting a Medrash to explain the pshat) seems to be implying that when twins are born, the "bechor" is really the second one to emerge. But (as far as I know) we don't consider that to be true according to Halachah. How does this jive with his explanation that Yaakov is "really" the bechor?

wfb
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  • Wait, what's the question? – ezra Apr 11 '18 at 04:20
  • Taken together, this Rashi, the midrash about the twin girls with each shevet, and Rashi in Vaychi כחי וראשית אני are inconsistent. – Heshy Apr 11 '18 at 11:04
  • @Heshy I see no reason why the twin sisters couldn't have been born before their brothers. If this is assumed, then the Rashi here and the Rashi in Vayechi is consistent. As for Reuven being referred to as the "bechor", well, he is the firstborn son. And as we know from Ta'anis Bechoros, the first son a couple has is known as the firstborn. – ezra Apr 11 '18 at 12:40
  • @ezra not for pidyon haben – Heshy Apr 11 '18 at 12:41
  • @Heshy Did pidyon haben exist at that time? Does it explicitly say that Reuven was the first to come out of his mother's rechem? I don't see how that comment is even related. – ezra Apr 11 '18 at 12:42
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    @ezra it's a stretch to define "bechor" based on a minhag, when we have a perfectly good mitzva deoraisa (actually several, since there are also animal bechoros and peter chamor) that can provide a definition. Also both answers here disagree with you. – Heshy Apr 11 '18 at 12:48
  • See http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=21091&st=&pgnum=67 – wfb Apr 11 '18 at 17:04
  • see bechoros, there are two criteria for a bona fide bechor, first born, and first to open womb. first conceived is nםt a criteria. rashi ends off ויִטּוֹל אֶת הַבְּכוֹרָה מִן הַדִּין meaning that first conceived is not מן הדין – Hershy S. Apr 12 '18 at 01:14
  • @heshy is that what the chasam sofer here (bottom left paragraph) is referencing? – robev Apr 12 '18 at 03:54
  • @robev great reference. He is saying that at makas bechoros even reishis ono were killed i.e. first conceived. so that would be an extra value of a bechor, only i believe there is no actual ramification in halacha other the taanas bechoros, which is not based on actual bechor status but rather on any type of bechor who was killed in MB – Hershy S. Apr 12 '18 at 04:01
  • Rashi himself says that Yaakov wanted to come out first "so that he would rightfully gain his birthright" – for all practical purposes, the first one born, not conceived is the one who's treated as the firstborn. – DonielF Apr 04 '19 at 21:20

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