Reishit HaGez: The First of the Fleece

A source-based institutional presentation of the Torah obligation to give the first of a qualifying sheep-shearing to the Kohen.

A Living Gift of Kehuna

Reishit HaGez is the mitzvah of giving the first portion of the fleece from a qualifying shearing to the Kohen. It belongs to the Torah’s larger system of priestly gifts, through which designated first portions are separated from ordinary ownership and placed within the sacred order of Kehuna.

Igud HaKohanim Inc. presents Reishit HaGez as a living and applicable Torah obligation wherever its halachic qualifications are met. The classical sources define and apply the mitzvah in relation to ownership, shearing, quantity, quality, and transfer of the fleece.

In practical terms, the mitzvah has particular immediacy in the Land of Israel, where Jewish agricultural life, sheep raising, and wool production can place the obligation directly before owners and producers. In much of the Diaspora, most Jews are unlikely to encounter a qualifying flock personally, even though the mitzvah remains applicable there when its conditions are present.

The Torah Command

וְרֵאשִׁית גֵּז צֹאנְךָ תִּתֶּן לוֹ

“And the first of the fleece of your sheep you shall give him.”
Deuteronomy 18:4

The Basic Obligation

The owner of a qualifying shearing separates a meaningful first portion of the fleece and gives it to a Kohen. The gift is not charity and not a symbolic gesture. It is a Torah-designated due of the Kohen.

The wool is given in a useful condition, reflecting the mitzvah’s practical purpose as material support. Classical sources describe the gift in terms of a usable quantity of fleece rather than an insignificant handful.

Which Animals and Flocks Qualify?

Classical sources define Reishit HaGez in relation to sheep whose fleece is suitable for clothing and to a flock that meets the required threshold.

How Much Is Given?

The Torah requires a meaningful and usable gift. The classical sources express that obligation through traditional quantities and practical usefulness.

Israel and the Diaspora

Reishit HaGez applies both in the Land of Israel and in the Diaspora when its qualifications are met. Its practical visibility, however, is not the same in every place.

In Israel, Jewish agriculture and sheep raising give the mitzvah a natural and immediate setting for observance here and now. Owners, farmers, shepherds, investors, and wool producers may encounter the obligation directly in the ordinary course of their work.

In the Diaspora, the obligation remains in force, but most Jewish individuals will encounter it only if they own, operate, invest in, or contract with a qualifying flock or wool-producing enterprise.

The Practical Framework

Identify ownership: determine who owns the sheep and the fleece at the time of shearing, including any partners or contractual arrangements.

Establish qualification: confirm that the animals, number of sheep, and amount and quality of wool meet the relevant criteria.

Prepare the wool: the gift should be separated and presented in a useful condition.

Give it to a Kohen: the designated portion is transferred to a Kohen as his Torah-assigned due.

Why Reishit HaGez Matters

Reishit HaGez joins productive labor with sacred responsibility. The first portion of the fleece is not treated as entirely private property. It is separated in recognition that material blessing carries Torah obligation.

The Kohen receives the fleece by Torah right rather than as an act of private generosity. In this way, the mitzvah preserves the dignity of Kehuna and keeps the priestly gifts connected to real economic life.

Classical Themes in the Sources

The rabbinic, halachic, and Midrashic sources apply Reishit HaGez across a broad range of practical questions and teachings.

Selected Sources

What If You Don’t Own a Flock?

Most readers will not personally own or manage sheep. The mitzvah becomes directly relevant to those who own, manage, invest in, or contract with a qualifying flock or wool-producing enterprise.

Those who do not own a qualifying flock can still participate through the Reshit HaGez Fund, which supports the processing, production, logistics, and delivery that carry the wool gift through to a finished item for a registered Kohen.

The Reshit HaGez Fund

Those who do not own a qualifying flock can still participate in the practical restoration of Reshit HaGez. The wool itself is given as the Torah-designated gift to the Kohen; the Reshit HaGez Fund supports the ancillary work needed to carry that gift forward.

Fund participation helps cover cleaning and sorting, fiber preparation, spinning, weaving or knitting, sewing and finishing, supplementary materials, logistics, packaging, and delivery of finished wool items to registered Kohanim.