Talking Talmud

Perforated intestines are likely to be sealed by internal mucous, which would leave the animal kosher. The Gemara then traces Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel's statement on this point - namely, that it would be kosher. And Rabbi Shimon's view on mourning -- that a mourner who first hears about the death late will join the count with the family that is sitting shiva if he is close enough to join t...

If there's a perforation in the 4th stomach of a cow, the kohanim were accustomed to treat it as permitted. Which leads to lots of discussion and tracing back. With a mnemonic about the blessing of the kohanim. And that blessing pertaining specifically to the meat. Also, the implications of the forbidden fat -- in contrast to the permitted fat. Plus, what if the impetus to be lenient puts othe...

The unusual kashrut halakhic question that was brought from Asia Minor to the land of Israel for an answer. And they repeated the question: whether an animal that had worms in its liver would be kosher or not. Finally, they were told that it was kosher. What about if a needle was found in a lung? Doesn't that render the animal not-kosher/a treyfa? A case of this is brought to explain why it&#3...

Rulings by Rava: Issues of the lungs, specifically with regard to the lobes. Plus, Meimar, who answers the halakhic questions differently from Rava. Until the Gemara establishes that their answers pertain to different cases -- regarding the lobes. The sages are very precise here in their examination of the different concerns. Also, the implications of various colors -- dark grey (kosher) vs. black...

The Gemara moves on to the mishnah''s case of an animal that was missing a liver -- which is surely a treyfa -- but what if an olive's worth remained? That seems to define the animal as a kosher animal. But less than a "kezayit" amount of the liver seems that it would get that treyfa distinction. Also, 4 rulings - listed with a mnemonic. Including the case of creepy crawlies...

A review of injuries to various body parts and the implications for a kosher shechitah. Note the sages' awareness of the animals' anatomy. After all, they did open these animals up and were able to discern their inner workings. Note also the sages' verbal descriptions of the visual/physical. Also, a deeper dive into the potential perforation of the heart -- and which chamber of the hea...

An investigation into an acceptance of the stringencies of Rav and the stringencies of Shmuel when it comes to the details of shechitah, including the location of where one begins the process of slaughtering. But taking the stringencies of both sages, instead of following either of them for the full gamut of their respective views, seems incongruous in its inconsistency. Plus, the bat kol (heavenl...

Ulla says that there 8 groups of treyfot that were told to Moses at Sinai - that is, the categories. Plus a focus on a punctured gallbladder, among other potential issues, where the animal may actually not die (but isn't that a miraculous event, and therefore not a proof for anything?). Also, a focus on some kind of injury for an animal that might or might not make the animal a treyfa -- with...

Chapter 3! A focus on the slaughtering of kosher animals -- and what makes an animal kosher (as compared to a treyfa, which is a kosher kind of animal, but some blemish prevents it from being kosher upon shechitah). Which is to say: a new mishnah -- that lists 18 "defects" that make an animal a treyfa in detail - and then because of the animal's status, the shechitah cannot be kosher...

2 mishnayot! The first one includes the details about a non-believing Jew who participates in shechitah, and whether that shechitah would be kosher. And the mishnah is preceded by Gemara that includes a discussion of a Jewish apostate. The mishnah includes what manner of disposing of the blood of kosher shechitah are acceptable and which are problematic because they smack of idolatry. The second m...

A new mishnah! One who slaughters an animal in the name of worship of natural bodies (mountains, rivers, seas, etc.), then the slaughtering is not kosher shechitah. Even if two people are doing the slaughtering together and one of them has correct "kosher" intent, the shechitah is still not valid. But it's also not fully idolatry either - except for a beraita that presents comparable...

If one slaughters an animal with intent to use the blood for idolatrous purposes, is the rest of the animal forbidden for any benefit or not? Yes, it's a machloket. With hypothetical parallels to pigul. Unless you think nothing in the Temple can be used to infer halakhic details for that which does not pertain to the Temple service. Also, a husband who writes a bill of divorce that was written...

An animal that is close to death demonstrates its vitality by some form of movement. Of course, the degree and nature of movement is subject to dispute. Also, a new mishnah - if/when one slaughters an animal for a non-Jew, that shechitah should be kosher, depending on the idolatry factor.

A new mishnah! Establishing the category of an animal that is close to death (misukenet) -- in contrast to a treyfa, where it becomes clear that the animal had something wrong internally and would likely have died within the year. This case is an animal that is weak, not damaged internally. Thus, signs of vitality during shechitah become essential, to be certain that the animal didn't die of i...

Another baraita on the impact of blood on - in this case, a gourd of terumah - in terms of making it susceptible to impurity. Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi and Rabbi Hiyya have a debate about that. Of course, if there is blood and shechitah on the gourd throughout the process, that would render the gourd susceptible to impurity. But perhaps not if the process itself were interrupted. Also, Resh Lakish pose...

A case of a person who is eating non-sacred food at the level of purity of sacrificial food - which doesn't really give off that impurity to the next level. Plus, the hierarchy of impurity means that something that is pure in and of itself can be regarded as impure in comparison to something that is pure with a higher standard of purity. Also, on the susceptibility of impurity - will shechitah...

More on how to understand the mishnah -- and whether the level of sanctity raised there is potentially really that of terumah, or perhaps that of sacrificial offerings (and how that would be determined). Note that terumah is only ever a gift from one's produce - that which grows from the ground, and it would not be confused with meat (in contrast to the sacrificial meat as compared to regular...

A new mishnah! What happens if the animal doesn't bleed at the time of shechitah? Apparently, that's a kosher shechitah. And one's impure hands won't render the meat impure (unless the slaughtering itself made it susceptible to impurity, and not just the liquid of the blood). The Gemara reexplains the mishnah to explain that the mishnah could not be talking about sacrificial foods,...

2 mishnayot! 1 - A person is slaughtering an animal and the knife falls and he picks it up to complete the slaughtering... as long as the shechitah is completed in the time that it would take to slaughter the animal to begin with, that's kosher. If it takes more time, then it's not a valid shechitah. But different animals - and fowl - take different amounts of time to do the shechitah. Doe...

A new mishnah! In the case of a knife fell and slaughtered the animal officially correctly, the shechitah is not actually kosher because a person must be involved doing the slaughtering. But if a person dropped the knife, even without intent, then the person is there as an agent, and the shechitah may well be kosher. The question is whether intent is required for shechitah to be valid. Also, the c...

If there's more than one incision in the pipe, can that be kosher shechitah? It's a machloket. What about 2 people holding the knife for one animal's slaughter? That's one incision, but 2 people with 2 knives, which means 2 incisions, and it has all kinds of insecurities associated with it - and could result in non-kosher shechitah, but we really don't worry about that, and all...

More on the question of when a siman is cut precisely halfway across - is that 50/50 considered the majority or not? (it's still a machloket). With the parallel to the requirement that at least half of the population of the Jews need to be pure to be able to participate in the Pesach sacrifice. That 50/50 seems to be acceptable, rather than leaving a full half of the people to make up the sacr...

On the bird's "one siman" being severed, does it make a difference which of the esophagus or the trachea is cut? It's a machloket, whether "either one" is enough or one specific one needs to be cut. The Gemara provides a mnemonic to support 5 different arguments, half of which support the one view above and the other half the other view. Plus, the order of when the sima...

Chapter 2! A new mishnah... On slaughtering a "bird," where cutting one "siman" (windpipe or gullet) is sufficient for kosher shechitah, or an "animal" - that requires both simanim for kosher shechitah. Which leads to a discussion of partial completion of cutting, and how much must be cut to be considered as if it were cut in full for a kosher shechitah. Plus, sourcin...

Another 2 mishnayot: 1 - In the case of a girl who's to be sold to be a servant, if she is sold, then her father would not receive a fine in the event of her being raped or seduced, because it's a full sale. And vice versa. 2 - In the case of refusal, there's no halitzah, and vice versa. But there is a case of refusal, where a non-minor girl can refuse, and also would be eligible for h...