Chullin 133a (קלג.) — the Talmud in English

The burning of the offerings and the melikah,

and the receiving

that is, receiving the blood,

the sprinkling, the giving of the sota to drink, and the breaking of the neck of the heifer whose neck is broken

which are performed by kohanim, as it is written: “And the kohanim, the sons of Levi, shall draw near,”

and the purification of the leper

that is, the sprinkling of the blood of the birds,

and the Priestly Benediction, whether

the raising of the hands

inside

that is, in the Temple,

or outside,

that is, in the synagogues in every city—where is it derived that with regard to all these acts of service as well, if a priest does not acknowledge them, he does not receive a share of the sacred portions?

The verse states:

at the end of the verse “one who sacrifices the blood of the peace-offering

from the sons of Aaron,”

and they expounded:

An act of service stated with regard to the sons of Aaron. And any priest who does not acknowledge it has no share in the priesthood.

That is, if he does not acknowledge it, he does not receive a share of the gifts.

The Gemara infers from the words of the beraita:

The reason

is

because he does not acknowledge it. But if he acknowledges it, even though he is not expert in them,

he receives a share of the sacred portions.

Rav Abba said that Rav Huna said that Rav said: The sinews in the jaw

of the animal

are forbidden

because of the blood they contain.

And any priest who does not know how to remove them,

those sinews, from the jaw,

is not given the gift.

That is not so!

Those sinews are not forbidden.

For if they are roasted [

roasted], then

they drip,

the blood flows out through the roasting.

And if they are placed in a pot [

that is, if one cooks them],

if he cuts them and salts them,

then this too

causes them to drip!

Rabba said: Rav Yosef tested us [

tested us]

with

a question on this matter [since he was a priest]:

This priest who snatches the gift

from the children who carry the gifts to the priests—does he thereby

show affection for the mitzva,

and is he acting properly,

or

perhaps by snatching it he is considered to be

disdaining the mitzva?

And we resolved it for him

from the verse

“And he shall give”

to the priest, whose meaning is

and not that he should take it himself.

It is thus proven that he is not acting properly.

Abaye said: Initially [

at first]

I would snatch the gift,

because

I would say,

when I snatch it,

I am showing affection for the mitzva.

But

once I heard this

homiletic interpretation of

“And he shall give,” and not that he should take it himself, I no longer snatched it.

I still

would say

to the owners of the animals:

Give me

the gifts!

And once I heard what was taught:

concerning the verse about Samuel’s sons,

“And they turned aside after profit.” Rabbi Meir says: The sons of Samuel asked for their portion verbally,

the portion of the Levite that was due to them, such as the first tithe; they requested it from the owners of the produce. From then on, I did not even

say

“Give me the gifts.”

I still acted as follows:

if they gave me

the gifts—

I would take them. Once I heard what was taught

with regard to the division of the showbread:

“The modest withdraw their hands

from the division,

and the greedy partake,”

from then on

I would not even take

6 . except

once a year, on

the eve [

the evening before]

of Yom Kippur,

when I would take the gifts in order

to reinforce my status as a priest,

so that it would not be forgotten that I am a priest.

The Gemara asks: Why did he need to take the gifts in order to publicize his priesthood?

For

he could

spread his hands

on the platform throughout the year during the Priestly Benediction, and thereby it would not be forgotten that he is a priest.

The Gemara answers:

His time constrained him,

as he was occupied teaching his students when the priests raised their hands in the synagogue and could not raise his own hands.

Rav Yosef said: This priest who has a Torah scholar in his neighborhood [

in his vicinity],

and the matter is difficult for him

for that Torah scholar, as he is poor, and the priest wishes to benefit the Torah scholar,

should acquire for him

the priest should acquire for that Torah scholar the

gift

that is due to him, so that the Torah scholar will receive the foreleg, jaw, and maw from the residents of the city on behalf of the priest—and eat them.

And even though they do not come

the gifts

into his possession,

the priest’s, he can acquire them for the poor man—

through recognized beneficiaries of the priesthood and Levites,

that is, a priest who is known and recognized in the city, whom most of the city’s residents love and to whom they give the gifts. That priest can acquire them even though they have not come into his possession.

Rava and Rav Safra happened to come to the house of Mar Yochana, son of Rav Ḥana bar Adda—and some say, to the house of Mar Yochana, son of Rav Ḥana bar Bizna. He prepared for them

Mar Yochana

a third-born calf [a calf born third to its mother, which is of especially high quality].

a calf born third to its mother, which is of the very best quality].

Rava said to his attendant [the attendant of the householder, who was a kohen and whose master was accustomed to give him his priestly gifts]:

the attendant of the host, who was a kohen, and the host was accustomed to give him his gifts]:

Acquire on my behalf—

give me permission to take—

the gift,

because

I want to eat the tongue with mustard [the tongue with mustard], since the tongue is among the priestly gifts, which are given together with the jawbones to the kohen.

the tongue with mustard], and the tongue is among the gifts, which are given together with the cheeks to the kohen.

The servant did as Rava instructed and

acquired it for him,

acquiring the gifts for Rava.

Rava ate

from the tongue,

but Rav Safra did not eat

from it, because the tongue had not come into the attendant’s possession before Rava acquired it.

They recited to Rav Safra in a dream

the verse in Proverbs [chapter 25]: “

A worn-out garment on a cold day

[a worn-out and rotten garment] on a cold day is worthless, since it does not provide warmth].

Vinegar on natron

a type of soft earth from which vessels are made, which vinegar dissolves and damages].

And

so too is

one who sings songs to a heavy heart.”

That is,

one who teaches words of Torah to someone who does not understand them. Rav Safra came

before

Rav Yosef and said to him: Perhaps it is because I transgressed your teaching

that you said that it is permitted for a Torah scholar to take the priestly gifts even though a kohen had not acquired them—

was this recited to me

in my dream

in this manner?

He said to him:

No! For

when I said this, I was referring to

a

different kohen,

who is not subordinate to him. But

the attendant

of the householder

is compelled

to do the will of the householder, and

acquires it for him

for the distinguished person who is his guest .

And

further,

when I said

that he could acquire the gifts

for one who cannot afford it,

that is, for a poor person living in straitened circumstances. But

this one,

Rava,

can afford it

and can eat other meat that is not among the priestly gifts, since he is not poor.

Rav Safra said to him:

But for what reason was this recited to me

in my dream

in this manner?

He said to him: This verse was shown to you

with reference to Rava,

because Rava did not understand the reason for Rav Yosef’s ruling, that this law does not apply to a servant or to one who can afford to eat something else.

The Gemara raises a difficulty: If so, why was this verse shown to Rav Safra

and not recited to Rava

himself?!

The Gemara answers:

Rava was under a ban [see Rashi], and for that reason matters were not shown to him in a dream.

Abaye said to Rav Dimi: And with regard to the plain meaning of the verse, with what is it written?

Abaye said to Rav Dimi: And what is the plain meaning of the verse referring to?

He said to him: It is referring to one who teaches a student who is unworthy,

for this is what the verse “and one who sings songs to a heavy heart” refers to.

As Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: Anyone who teaches a student who is unworthy—

falls into Gehenna.

As

it is stated

in the Book of Job [chapter 20]:

“All darkness is reserved for his treasures; an unfanned fire shall consume him; what remains in his tent shall be destroyed.” And “what remains” refers only to a Torah scholar, as it is stated

[Joel 3]

“And among the remnants whom the Lord shall call.”

And this is how the verse is expounded: “What remains in his tent shall be destroyed”—that a Torah scholar has an evil student in his tent—“an unfanned fire shall consume him,” that is, the fire of Gehenna.

Rav Zeira said in the name of Rav: Anyone who teaches a student who is unworthy—

is like one who throws a stone at Markulis.

As it is stated: “Like binding a stone in a sling,

so is one who gives honor to a fool,”

14 , and

further,

it is written: “Pleasure is not fitting for a fool.”

Our Mishna teaches:

And one who joins them must register.

The Gemara discusses:

And

even

if

he joins

a gentile,

must he register?

And we raise a contradiction

to this, apparently, from what we learned:

One who joins a kohen—

must register. But one who joins a gentile, and

one who sells

animals disqualified from consecrated offerings

after they have been redeemed and slaughtered, which are exempt from the priestly gifts—

need not register!?