Your Insights state:
ACHIEVING PERFECT PRECISION IN HUMAN ACTIONS
OPINIONS: Rebbi Yosi maintains that it is possible for natural occurrences to achieve perfect precision ("Efshar l'Tzamtzem bi'Yedei Shamayaim"), and certainly it is possible to achieve perfect precision in human actions ("bi'Yedei Adam"). Why is it easier to achieve perfect precision in human actions?
(a) RASHI (17b, DH v'Chol she'Ken) explains that human actions are more likely to achieve perfect precision because they involved a concentrated effort to achieve an exact measure or timing. In contrast, natural occurrences involve no concentrated effort to achieve precision.
How can we say that something Hash-m does (natural occurrences), doesn't involve an exact timing and concentrated effort to achieve precision? is the human more sophisticated then Hash-m Ch"v? we all know that every breath we take is calculated in advanced by Hash-m then how can we understand this Rashi?
Also How can R' Yosi say that we look as if the Kohen took the Bechor animal and sold it back to the Yisroel thereby making the Yisroel "Patar" from the Matanot.
What If the animal the Yisroel has now is Chulin? how can we make this deal (as R' Meir argues)
Thank you,
Yoel Rubin, Brooklyn NY
Dear Yoel,
Hello there and thanks for your questions. "Ei Efshar l'Tzamtzem bi'Yedei Shamayaim" means that we are unable to accurately measure an act done bi'Yedei Shamayaim as it is something that happens too quickly and unexpectedly. This does not mean that Hash-m does not have the ability to make things happen precisely. There is an audio shiur on the kollel's website discussing the topic.
http://www.dafyomi.co.il/lectures/tapes/bech017-daf.mp3
Regarding the Safek Bechor, the animal may indeed be Chulin, but it also might be a Bechor, thus it is exempt from Matanos.
Kol tuv.
Y. Landy