Chullin 59b (נט:) — the Talmud in English

And we answer:

Rabbi Zeira said:

What the Tosefta wrote, “These are the identifying signs of a wild animal,” means this:

to permit its fat.

For the fat of a wild animal is permitted for consumption, whereas the fat of a domesticated animal is forbidden for consumption.

And this is what it is saying: These are the identifying signs of a wild animal whose fat is permitted

in contrast to a domesticated animal, whose fat is forbidden:

Any animal that has horns

and below the Gemara explains which horns,

and hooves,

claws in its hooves; this is the sign that distinguishes a wild animal from a domesticated animal.

Rabbi Dosa says: If it has horns,

this is a definitive sign that it is a wild animal.

And you need not examine its hooves,

to see whether it has hooves; even if its legs were severed and you do not know whether it has hooves, it is fit, and its fat is permitted for consumption, since it is certainly a wild animal.

But if

it has hooves—

this is not a definitive sign that it is a wild animal, and

you must examine its horns

in order to permit its fat for consumption.

And the keresh,

a species of wild animal,

even though it has only one horn, its fat is permitted,

as it is a species of wild animal.

And we raised a difficulty:

Is this a general rule?

Is it an absolute rule that any animal that has horns and hooves is a species of wild animal?

But there is the goat, which has horns and hooves, and its fat is forbidden,

as it is a species of domesticated animal!?

And we answer: We require the horns to be

wrapped,

made like one layer of shell over another, similar to the horns of an ox,

in order

for them to be considered a sign of a wild animal. The horns of a goat, however, are not wrapped, and therefore its fat is forbidden.

And we challenge this:

But there is the ox, whose

horns

are wrapped, and whose fat

nevertheless

is forbidden

as is the law concerning a domesticated animal. Do we not see from this that wrapped horns are not a sign of a wild animal!?

And we answer: We require its horns to be

notched,

full of serrations and grooves,

in order

for them to be considered a sign of a wild animal. The horns of an ox, however, are not notched, and therefore its fat is forbidden. And the Gemara understood that this is the exclusive sign of a wild animal, and that it is not necessary for the horns of a wild animal to be wrapped.

And we challenge this:

But there is the goat, whose

horns are

notched

and full of serrations and grooves,

and its fat is forbidden?

Do we not see from this that notched horns are not a sign of a wild animal?

And we answer: We require the horns to be

forked,

divided into several parts,

in order

for them to be considered a sign of a wild animal; the horns of a goat, however, are not forked, and therefore its fat is forbidden.

And we challenge this:

But there is the deer, whose

horns are

not forked,

and nevertheless

its fat is permitted

as is the law concerning a wild animal. Do we not see from this that forked horns are not a sign of a wild animal?

And we answer: We require the horns to be

pointed,

like the horns of a ram and a deer, which taper to a point at the top, in order for them to be considered a sign of a wild animal. Therefore, a deer is a species of wild animal.

Therefore,

since there are many types of horns, we state this general rule:

Where they are forked,

the horns are forked,

there is no law and no judge,

there is no question or dispute, and it is clear that this is a species of wild animal, since domesticated animals do not have forked horns.

But

where they are not forked,

where the animal’s horns are not forked, such as those of a deer,

we require

three conditions for the horns to be a sign of a wild animal:

a. The horns must be

wrapped,

like one layer of shell over another, as with the horns of an ox. b. They must be

pointed,

sharp. c. They must be

notched,

full of serrations and grooves.

And this means that their grooves are embedded in one another,

and with regard to those notched horns, we require that the grooves be close together and embedded in one another. When all three of these conditions are present, it is certainly a wild animal, and its fat is permitted for consumption.

The reason that notched horns are required is so that the animal will not resemble an ox.

The reason that pointed horns are required is so that the animal will not resemble a goat, whose horns are broad.

The reason that wrapped horns are required is so that the animal will not resemble a goat.

And this is the uncertainty concerning the az karkoz.

With regard to that goat called an az karkoz, we are uncertain: Since its horns are pointed and notched, is it a species of wild animal because of these two signs, despite the fact that its horns are not wrapped? Or perhaps, since it is called a goat, it is a species of domesticated animal.

There was a certain az karkoz that was in the house of the Exilarch,

an az karkoz was in the possession of the Exilarch,

from which a full basket of fat was removed,

which was taken from it after it was slaughtered.

Rav Aḥai forbade

the fat, because he held that an az karkoz is a species of domesticated animal, and its fat is forbidden.

Rav Shmuel, son of Rabbi Abbahu, ate from it,

as he held that it is a species of wild animal, and its fat is permitted.

Rav Shmuel, son of Rabbi Abbahu, applied

to himself

the following verse,

concerning himself, the statement written in Proverbs [18]: “

From the fruit

of a man’s

mouth his belly shall be satisfied.”

Its meaning is: Because I heard and accepted that its fat is permitted, I was satisfied with it.

They sent word from there,

from there: a.

The halakha is in accordance with Rav Shmuel, son of Rabbi Abbahu,

that the fat of an az karkoz is permitted.

b.

And be careful with our master Rav Aḥai,

to preserve his honor and to deliberate before him until he retracts his ruling, and do not permit in his presence the fat that he forbids,

for he enlightens the eyes of the Diaspora.

We learned in the Tosefta:

And the keresh, even though it has only one horn—

is permitted.

Rav Yehuda said: The keresh

is

the tavya

deer

of the forest of Ilai,

of the forest called “Ilai.”

The tגרס

is

the lion of the forest of Ilai.

Rav Kahana said: There are nine cubits between one lobe and another,

the distance between the lobes of

the lion of the forest of Ilai.

Rav Yosef said: Its hide is sixteen cubits long,

its length is sixteen cubits,

of the tavya

deer

of the forest of Ilai.

The emperor said to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya: Your God is likened—

to a lion,

He is likened, as it is written in the book of Amos [3]: “

The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken; who will not prophesy?” Thus, the Holy One, blessed be He, is likened to a lion.

‘The Lord God has spoken; who will not prophesy?’” Thus the Holy One, blessed be He, is likened to a lion.

And we raised a difficulty:

What is the greatness in that?

Is that His greatness?

A horseman can kill a lion!

Any mighty horseman can kill a lion!?

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya said to him:

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya said to him:

He is not likened

to such a lion, which a horseman could kill,

but is likened,

He is likened not to such a lion, but

to the lion of the forest of Ilai; He is likened

to that.

He said to him,

that emperor:

I want you to show it to me.

I want you to show me that lion of the forest of Ilai.

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya said to him:

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya said to him:

You cannot see it,

you are unable to see it.

That emperor said to him:

That emperor said to him:

Indeed, I will see it!

I truly want to see it, and you are compelled to show it to me.

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya sought

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya sought

mercy

from Heaven.

It was uprooted

that lion of the forest of Ilai was uprooted

from its place,

from its location.

When it was four hundred parasangs away,

at a distance of

four hundred parasangs,

parasangs,

it roared

that lion

with a single roar,

and from fear of it—

even all the pregnant women

miscarried.

And the southern wall

the wall of Rome

fell

from the force of the sound.

When it was

when the lion was at a distance of

three hundred parasangs, it roared

it roared

another sound,

another voice,

and the gums and teeth of the men fell out,

the gums and teeth of the people fell out.

And he too,

the emperor,

fell from his throne to the ground,

from his throne to the ground.

He said to him,

the emperor said to him:

Please,

I beg you,

pray for it

for the lion of the forest of Ilai

to return to its place,

so that it will return to its place.

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya sought

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya sought

mercy for it, and it was returned to its place,

and it was returned to its location.

The emperor said to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya: I want to see your God!

I want to see your God.

He said to him,

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya said to him:

You cannot see Him.

You are unable to see Him.

The emperor said to him: Indeed,