Chullin 56a — the Talmud in English

To bring the hide of the house of prostitution.

If he intended to eat it

outside its place, it is invalid, and there is no karet for it

if he ate it.

And if he intended to eat it

outside its time—

it is pigul, and one is liable for it

for its eating

karet:

Mishna:

All the tereifot that apply to an animal also apply to a bird. But there are certain tereifot that the tanna had to repeat and teach with regard to birds, because of the reasons that will be explained below:

And these are the tereifot in a bird:

A puncture of the esophagus,

which was written because of the novelty of a severed windpipe.

And a severed windpipe.

And its novelty is that it should not be said that, since a bird’s vitality is weak—for it is fit to be slaughtered through one sign only—the windpipe too becomes tereifa through any puncture, as with a puncture of the esophagus through anything whatsoever; therefore, “a severed windpipe” is written, excluding “a punctured windpipe.”

A weasel struck it on its head

in

the place that makes it tereifa,

through puncturing the membrane of the brain. And one should not say that it becomes tereifa through the breaking of the skull bone without puncturing the membrane, as we find with a water bird, which becomes tereifa through the breaking of the skull bone alone.

The gizzard was punctured.

And likewise,

the intestines were punctured,

the small intestines. And the novelty is because of the latter clause, which says: “Its intestines came out—it is fit.” That is, it should not be said that a bird, whose vitality is slight, becomes tereifa through the intestines coming out, even if they were not punctured.

It fell into a fire, and its intestines contracted,

contracted

its intestines

and their appearance changed—

if

the heart and the gizzard, which are red, became

green, they are invalid.

And

if

they remained

red

as is their normal condition,

they are fit.

An animal trod on it,

a person trod on the bird with his feet, or

made it tereifa,

he struck it

against a wall, or an animal crushed it—

and

it was still

fluttering, and a day and a night passed, and he slaughtered it,

it is

fit.

Gemara:

A bird that a weasel bit on its head—

Rav, Shmuel, and Levi say: He inserts his hand inside and examines it,

by pressing inside the bird’s palate, upward—

if it protrudes and rises

from the membrane of the brain outward, through the puncture made by the trampling—

it is tereifa.

And if not—

it is fit.

And we raised an objection concerning it:

That works

that this examination is effective

according to the one who says

that it does not become tereifa through the puncture of the membrane אלא

until the lower and upper membranes are punctured.

Since the puncture passes through, it is indeed possible to examine whether the brain emerges from the puncture.

But according to the one who says: If the upper

membrane

is punctured, even though the lower

membrane

is not punctured, it is tereifa; if so, what does this examination accomplish for it!?

ona stanovitsya treifa, to kakuyu polzu prinosit etaya proverka!?

Let us be concerned: perhaps

the membrane

above

alone

was punctured, but the membrane

below

was not punctured,

and therefore the brain did not emerge!?

And we answer:

If it is indeed the case that the

membrane

above

—the membrane

below

was also punctured, because

due to its softness, it breaks through

when the finger pushes upward.

Zeiri said: There is no

possibility of

examining a

bite of a

weasel—

because its teeth are thin.

And therefore, sometimes even though the membrane was punctured, nevertheless the brain does not emerge through the narrow puncture, despite pressing the palate upward with a finger.

And we raised an objection concerning it:

And since its teeth are thin, what of it?

For it is impossible that a little of the brain should not protrude through the puncture!?

And we answer:

Rav Oshaya said: Because its teeth are thin and crooked.

And the crookedness of the teeth causes the puncture in the membrane of the brain and the puncture in the skull bone not to be aligned in a straight line. Therefore, when the brain is pressed and emerges outward through the puncture in the membrane, the skull bone stops it, since the puncture in the bone is not aligned opposite the puncture in the membrane. And therefore the examination is not effective for it.

When he went up to Nehardea, he sent word to them: The things that I said before you were an error on my part. Rather, this is what they said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish: A weasel is examined by hand,

by pressing the palate upward,

but not with a nail.

So that the examiner should not open the skull and move a nail above the membrane of the brain, to see whether the nail will be held in a puncture in the membrane; for it is possible that there was no puncture in it, and the nail will puncture it, and the examiner will thereby cause financial loss to a Jew.

And Rabbi Yohanan said:

He examines

even with a nail.

And it is subject to the dispute between Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Nehemiah—

one examined by hand, and one examined with a needle.

The one who examined by hand said to the one who examined with a needle: How long will you be destroying the property of Jews?!

The one who examined with a needle said to the one who examined by hand: How long will you be feeding Jews carcasses?!

And the Gemara wonders: Is he really

feeding carcasses

to them?

But it was slaughtered?!

Rather, tereifot

he is feeding them, because

perhaps the membrane of the brain was punctured.

Conclude from it that Rabbi Yehuda is the one who examined by hand.

For it was taught in a beraita: Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says in the name of Rabbi Yehuda: A weasel is examined by hand, but not with a nail!

The bone was broken,

of the skull through its bite—then

even though the membrane of the brain was not punctured,

it is tereifa, because it is impossible to examine whether the brain was punctured, since the weasel’s teeth are thin.

And we say:

Conclude from it!

And we raised an objection concerning it:

This itself is difficult! You said: A weasel is examined by hand, but not with a nail. Evidently, it has

for the weasel’s bite

an examination.

And then it teaches: The bone was broken, even though the membrane of the brain was not punctured. Evidently, it does not have an examination?!

And we answer:

The latter clause: We come to a water bird, since it has no membrane!

And the Gemara wonders: Is it conceivable that

it has no membrane

for the brain,

could it enter your mind?

And we answer:

Rather, since its membrane

of the water bird

is soft,

and if the bone is broken, its soft brain membrane is also damaged.

Rav Naḥman said to Rav Anan: Master, you said: Shmuel—

examines by hand and declares it fit.

And our colleague Huna said: Rav—

examines by hand and declares it fit.

And we refute this:

But Levi taught: The tereifot that the Sages enumerated in an animal—

corresponding to them

there are tereifot

in a bird.

A bird has one additional [tereifa] over them,

for if

the bone is broken

of the skull,

even though the membrane of the brain was not punctured,

it is tereifa.

He said to him: That one—

concerns a water bird, since it has no membrane.

And the Gemara wonders:

Could it enter your mind that it has no membrane?!

And we answer:

Rather, since its membrane is soft.

There was that hen that was in the house of Rav Hana. He sent it before Rav Mattana.

And that hen

had its bone broken but the membrane of the brain was not punctured, and Rav Mattana declared it fit. He said to him,

Rav Hana:

But Levi taught: The tereifot that the Sages enumerated in an animal—

corresponding to them in a bird. A bird has one additional [tereifa:] the bone is broken even though the membrane of the brain was not punctured?!

He said to him: There—

concerns a water bird, since it has no membrane.

And the Gemara wonders:

Could it enter your mind that it has no membrane?!

And we answer:

Rather, say: Since its membrane is soft.

Rav Shizvi examined

the puncture in the membrane of the brain

in sunlight.

For he would look against the sun.

Rav Yemar examined with water.

For he would remove all the brain from the side of the opening of the spinal cord, fill it with water, and see whether the water emerged.

Rav Aḥa bar Yaakov examined ![](pamud.bmp "

Exact column position")

with a pointed reed.

Like the examination with a nail above.