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Talking Talmud
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Learning the daf? We have something for you to think about. Not learning the daf? We have something for you to think about! (Along with a taste of the daf...)
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Hullin 64: Egg Versatility
Jul 300:14:30Tap to summarizeEggs! They can bought from anyone, including idolators, without concern that they came via a nevilah or treyfa. The eggs themselves are identifiable as coming from a kosher species (or not) -- in terms of the shape of the egg itself, and more other ways of distinguishing one from another. But not if the egg itself is mixed. Also, if eggs are cooked together -- kosher and non-kosher -- the kosher eggs are still allowed. Unfertilized eggs are also acceptable, even if the hen sat on the egg for a long time. A droplet of blood on the egg won't invalidate it either - as long as you discard that droplet of blood. But if the blood was in the yolk area of the egg, then the entirety needs to be discarded.
Transcribe →Hullin 63: The Torah's Non-Exhaustive List of Non-Kosher Birds
Jul 200:16:59Tap to summarizeThere are 24 non-kosher birds, and there's a long chain of transmission to that effect, but if you count the birds in the Torah, the list in Leviticus has 20 birds and the comparable list in Deuteronomy has 21 birds. So where is the count of 24 to be found? The Gemara explains. By including those birds that come along with the other ones (a few times), the count works. Also, a hundred varieties of one particular kind of bird -- from within the 24. Plus, in the lists of kosher animals vs. non-kosher animals, the Torah includes the shorter one, whether kosher or non-kosher. Also, the Gemara acknowledges that one can have halakhic expertise or animal expertise or both, but they are not the same bodies of knowledge, and the one studying Jewish law must draw on other arenas of knowledge.
Transcribe →Hullin 62: The Common White "Snunit"
Jul 100:19:00Tap to summarizeThe Torah's list of the non-kosher birds includes some modification, "along with its kind." This is true of the "orev," a crow. And also the white "s'nunit." Which seems to have one sign that it's a kosher bird, but Rabbi Eliezer takes a more stringent view, saying that those who treat the bird as kosher (and eat it) will pay for that. Note also the distinction between a white-bellied white snunit and a yellow-bellied white snunit. Plus, a sign of a kosher bird (like a gizzard that can be peeled) does not present in the same way in every bird that has it.
Transcribe →Hullin 61: Is This Bird Kosher?
Jun 3000:19:27Tap to summarizeThe Gemara says that the signs for a bird to be kosher aren't explicit in the Torah - except that the Gemara also says that the signs for a bird to be not-kosher are explicit in the Torah -- via the "nesher" -- so the signs are identifiable. But does the nesher provide rules of thumb or is it specifically and only itself as a non-kosher bird? Plus, naming some non-kosher birds that are listed specifically, but that don't have all 4 signs of being a non-kosher bird that a nesher has. But these two named birds become significant in terms of representing which single kosher signs render the birds into examples for the kosher-ness of other birds too.
Transcribe →Hullin 60: God's Lion's Roar to Defend the Jewish People
Jun 2900:26:00Tap to summarizeA series of stories about Rabbi Yehoshua ben Haninah interacting with Roman officers, conversing with the Caesar, etc. Some of these stories need unpacking and investigation: including God as described as a lion (Amos). Plus, the lion whose roar pulled down the walls of Rome (and caused its women to miscarry). All of which points to the power residing with God, and not the Caesar. Also, how God controls the events of the world via nature -- another question by the Caesar, and Rabbi Yehoshua has a demonstration for him. Fundamentally, the series of stories provide some measure of comfort for a Jewish audience. Also, an investigation into the verses that describe the creation of the world in Genesis -- specifically, the story of the moon as a diminished light in comparison to the sun, and God's ostensible regret in how He handled the moon. Plus, the production of the world's vegetation in creation.
Transcribe →Hullin 59: The Species the Torah Knows, Including.... a Unicorn?
Jun 2700:19:43Tap to summarizeWhat are kosher animals? What are non-kosher animals? That is, from the signs listed in the Torah for domesticated and non-domesticated animals -- such as split cloven hooves and chewing its cud (for the former category). Ditto re birds -- excluding predator birds, where the forbidden ones are listed explicitly (or perhaps for the sake of deriving a general rule). Likewise for the few kosher creepy-crawlies. And fish (fins and scales). Plus, what if there is no tradition with regard to a certain animal (eg: duck; turkey). Also, the signs of the undomesticated - which might seem superfluous, but they permit the special fat, which might appear to be incorrect, so it's explicit. Plus, a unicorn. With caveats on the horns making various goats and their cousins
Transcribe →Hullin 58: Mosquito Years
Jun 2700:17:39Tap to summarizeWhat is the status of a treyfa animal after it has been declared a treyfa? For example if a hen is deemed a treyfa, what is the story with her eggs, for example? It will depend on whether the "father" of the eggs was also a treyfa, if the eggs were unfertilized, and the timing of when the eggs began growing (before or after the treyfa status). Also, worms in a melon when it grows from the ground or in dates that are stored in a jar -- when is that a problem of kashrut or not? Based on the presumption that invertebrates don't survive 12 months. Plus, mosquitos who officially lasted 7 years, but, apparently, that's not a real issue for the count.
Transcribe →Hullin 57: Scientific Experiments - Talmud Style: No King at the Ant Hill
Jun 2600:16:04Tap to summarizeIf a bird has a dislocated femur, the bird is nonetheless kosher. But it seems that the same sage said that it was not kosher - in Pompedita, leading to an observation that different stringencies applied in different communities. One element of the decision being where the break occurs in the bird's leg. [Who's Who: Rabbi Shimon bar Halafta] Also, efforts to demonstrate that an animal that had been dubbed a treyfa is really not a treyfa - experiments by R. Shimon bar Halafta to disprove Rabbi Yehudah, including the shenanigans at an ant hill that apparently has no king.
Transcribe →Hullin 56: The Red Heart, Gizzard, and Liver
Jun 2500:14:20Tap to summarize2 mishanyot! 1 - A list of injuries or damage that render birds to be treyfot -- including a weasel that hits the bird on its head. With an apparent 24-hour testing ground to see if the animal will recover, at which point, it will be considered kosher. Also, how much of the bird would turn green in the internal organs if it were scorched for it to be a treyfa? Plus, the story of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi's bird that was scorched in a fire, and a color change from red to green (or green to red) being a problem.
Transcribe →Hullin 55: You Can't Compare Treyfa with Trefya
Jun 2400:12:14Tap to summarizeWhat happens when there are injuries or defects in the lung can be benign when it's in the kidney. But when it's fine in the lung, does that mean it's automatically find in the kidney? But really, each kind of ailment or injury is specific to that same organ, because there's no guarantee that it won't be a problem in a different one. Also, the case of a "shriveled lung" - at the hands of heaven, and not as a result of an animal's attack, per se. Maybe it shrunk in fear... Well, in that case, the animal would either be kosher or a treyfa, depending on how the text is to be read. Plus, a method of figuring out whether the lung can be expanded, which tells you that the animal would have recovered from the shriveled lung(s). And if they don't, then the indication is that the animal was treyfa.
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