Chullin 47b (מז:) — the Talmud in English

But

if it was

on top,

above the lung, then

even

if it was small,

the size of a terefa,

like a leaf of

myrtle,

the lung is

a terefa. Rav Rafram said: This lung that resembles a block of wood

a split log

is a terefa.

And the Gemara proceeds to explain:

Some say

that it resembles a block of wood

in appearance.

That is, its white color resembles that of a block of wood.

And some say that it is in its feel,

as, when it is touched, one feels that it is hard like a block of wood.

Some say that it is in its swelling,

for it becomes white like a block of wood; and that is in its appearance.

And some say that it is in its firmness,

for it is hard like a block of wood; and that is in its feel.

And some say that it is in its smoothness,

for it is smooth like a block of wood that has been polished,

as it has no divisions between the lobes.

Rava said:

If the appearance of the lung was

like kakhol

blue eye makeup

it is fit.

And if the appearance of the lung was

like deyo,

dry black ink

it is a terefa.

As Rabbi Ḥanina said

with regard to menstrual blood: Blood that is

black

is red, but it has deteriorated

and become spoiled; and likewise, with regard to the lung, we say that flesh whose appearance is black is destined to decay and develop a perforation.

Green—

it is fit according to Rabbi Natan.

And the Gemara proceeds to explain. Likewise,

red—

it is fit according to Rabbi Natan. As it was taught in a beraita: Rabbi Natan says: Once I went to the cities overseas, and a certain woman came before me,

and she told me

that she circumcised her first son, and he died.

She circumcised her

second son, and he died.

And the son whom she bore

third, she brought him before me. I saw that he was red.

I said to her: My daughter, wait for him until his blood is absorbed into him.

She waited for him, circumcised him, and he lived. And they would call him Natan the Babylonian,

after me.

And once again I went to the province of Cappadocia. A woman came before me; she circumcised her first son, and he died. The second, and he died. The third, she brought him before me. I saw that he was green; I looked at him, and he had no blood of the covenant. I said to her: My daughter, wait for him until his blood flows into him. She waited for him, circumcised him, and he lived. And they would call him Natan the Babylonian

after me.

This proves that red and green are colors from which one can recover; therefore, these two colors should likewise be deemed fit in the case of a lung.

Rav Kahana said:

A lung whose appearance was

like a liver—

it is fit. Like flesh—

it is a terefa.

For Rav Kahana was certain that a lung whose appearance resembles a liver is destined to recover, whereas one whose appearance is like flesh is not destined to recover.

And your mnemonic is [

Exodus 22]

“and flesh in the field”—

it is a terefa.

Rav Sama, son of Rava, said: This lung that resembles

the color green

like kushata,

a type of vegetable, and not like ordinary grass,

or like morikha,

the color of saffron,

or like an egg

an egg [in which green and yellow are considered the same color]—

it is a terefa!

And we raised a difficulty concerning this:

But the green

that we stated above

is fit—

what is it like?

And we answer: It is green

like leek.

Ravina said:

If there was a place

sealed in the lung

where air did not enter

—

we bring a knife and tear it open. If there is pus in it—

the sealed place is

certainly due to the pus, and it is fit. But if not—

we place on it

on that sealed place, after it has been torn open

a feather,

a feather

or saliva,

and we observe:

If it bubbles,

that is, the feather or saliva moves

it is fit; but if not

if it does not bubble, it is

a terefa.

Rav Yosef said: A membrane that formed because of a wound, in the lung—

is not a membrane!

And this is because it is destined to be exposed. All adhesions of the lung are membranes that form because of a wound; therefore, even if air does not escape from that place, the lung is a terefa, because there is certainly a perforation in that place, from which the fluid emerged and a membrane formed.

And Rav Yosef said: With regard to this lung that makes a noise,

it produces a sound when one blows into it

if we know where it makes the noise, we place on it a feather,

a feather

or a reed,

a reed

or saliva. If it bubbles—

it is a terefa. But if it does not bubble—

it is fit.

And if we do not know where the noise is coming from, we bring a vessel

a bowl

of lukewarm water,

of lukewarm water

and place it

the lung

inside it.

We do not place it in hot water,

because

it contracts,

and the perforation is thereby sealed.

Nor in cold water,

because

it hardens,

causing the membrane to become rigid; and when a thin membrane hardens, it is exposed to tearing when touched by hand, so it is possible that the examination will perforate it.

Rather,

we examine it

in lukewarm water.

If it bubbles, it is a terefa, and if not, it is fit. For we say: The lower membrane was perforated, but the upper membrane was not perforated.

And this lung that

makes a noise—

it is air between the membranes. [

As we explained above, on page 46b.]

Ulla said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: A lung

whose flesh has dissolved within the lung’s membranes,

that has been poured out like a jug [

and the liquefied flesh has poured from its upper end to its lower end, and from its lower end to its upper end, thereby diminishing the flesh of the lung]—

it is fit.

Apparently, he holds

Rabbi Yoḥanan

that a deficiency

that occurred

internally is not considered a deficiency.

Rabbi Abba raised an objection to Ulla:

For we learned in our Mishna:

“The lung that was perforated or deficient”

is a terefa.

And Rabbi Abba analyzes this statement:

What is the meaning of “deficient”?

If you say

that it is deficient

externally—

is that not the same as “perforated”?!

For it is impossible for it to be deficient without the membrane having been perforated.

Rather, is it not

necessarily deficient

internally? And learn from it that an internal deficiency is considered a deficiency.

And we reject this:

No,

you cannot learn this from the Mishna, because

actually

I can say that it is deficient

externally. And as for what you said, “Is that not the same as ‘perforated’?”—it is necessary,

for the tanna of our Mishna to teach “deficient,”

only according to Rabbi Shimon, who says

that a perforation in the lung does not render it a terefa

until it perforates into the bronchial tubes.

And the tanna of our Mishna teaches us that

this matter

that Rabbi Shimon maintains, namely, that the perforation must extend into the bronchial tubes,

applies to a perforation that does not involve a deficiency.

But

with regard to a perforation that does involve a deficiency, even Rabbi Shimon agrees

that it need not perforate as far as the bronchial tubes.

Rabbi Ḥananya became ill,

he fell sick.

Rabbi Natan and all the great men of the generation went in to him. They brought before him a lung that had been poured out like a jug, and he deemed it fit.

Rava said: And this is only when the bronchial tubes remain intact,

that they have not dissolved.

Rav Aḥa, son of Rava, said to Rav Ashi: From where do we know

that they have not dissolved? Perhaps one of them dissolved?!

He said to him: We bring a glazed earthenware bowl,

a smooth earthenware bowl coated with lead,

and pour it

the liquefied flesh of the lung

into it,

and we observe:

If there are white veins in it,

white markings, this is a sign that the bronchial tubes have dissolved, and it is

a terefa; but if not—

it is fit!

Rav Naḥman said: A lung that has partially dissolved

on its own, so that it is not poured out like a jug, but the place that dissolved is hollow, with nothing inside it,

and its membrane remains intact—

it is fit.

It was taught likewise in a beraita: A lung that has dissolved while its membrane remains intact,

even if it can contain in the cavity that was formed

a quarter

of a log

it is fit.