3,687. Benefit From a Firstborn Donkey

Hilchos Bikkurim 12:4

One is not permitted to benefit from a firstborn donkey until it has been redeemed. If it was sold before redemption, the money received is prohibited. If it died before being either redeemed or decapitated, it must be buried. This is because one may not even benefit from it after decapitation, since it wasn’t redeemed. Therefore, if a person didn’t redeem a donkey, but rather he gave the firstborn donkey to a kohein, even the kohein may not benefit from it until it is redeemed with a sheep. He then takes the sheep for himself. Alternatively, the kohein can decapitate and bury the donkey. Kohanim are suspected of being lax in this matter, so a Yisroel may not give a firstborn donkey to a kohein unless the kohein redeems it in front of him.

Hilchos Bikkurim 12:5

If someone put a sheep aside to redeem a firstborn donkey and it died before he gave it to a kohein, he need not replace it. Rather, he gives the sheep’s body to the kohein, who can benefit from it. If the firstborn donkey dies after being redeemed, one still gives the sheep to a kohein. One is permitted to derive benefit from the deceased donkey because it was redeemed.