Chullin 93a — the Talmud in English

The fat that the flesh

of the flanks

covers is permitted!

Evidently,

we say:

the Merciful One said [that it is forbidden] concerning the fat that is upon the flanks,

that it is forbidden,

but not

the fat

that is inside the flanks! Here too

we say: fat

that is upon the kidneys the Merciful One said [is forbidden], but not that which is inside the kidneys!

The body of the matter: Rabbi Abba said that Rav Yehuda said that Shmuel said: The fat that the flesh covers is permitted!

And we raise an objection:

Is that so? But Rabbi Abba said that Rav Yehuda said that Shmuel said: This fat that is beneath the matna,

the fat that is upon the flanks, beneath the loins,

is forbidden!

It follows that although it is covered by the flesh of the loins, it is forbidden?

And we answer:

Abaye said: An animal during its lifetime —

is loosened!

When it walks, its limbs move, and the flanks and the loins move away from one another; then the fat upon the flanks is exposed and is not covered by the loins.

For Rabbi Yoḥanan said: I —

I am not a slaughterer, and I am not the son of a slaughterer. And I remember,

I remember,

for this is what they would say in the beit-midrash: An animal during its lifetime —

is loosened!

Rabbi Abba said that Rabbi Yehuda said that Shmuel said: The fat upon the messas and the beit hakosot —

is forbidden, and one who eats it is liable to karet

the person who eats them.

And this is the fat upon the rumen!

That is, it too is included within the fat upon the rumen, although it is not the principal fat upon the rumen [see Rashi].

And Rabbi Abba said that Rav Yehuda said that Shmuel said: This fat of the kelibusta,

the fat upon the bone whose name is kelibusta —

is forbidden, and one who eats it is liable to karet. And this is the fat upon the flanks!

And Rabbi Abba said that Rav Yehuda said that Shmuel said: The sinews in the hand,

which are in the animal’s shoulder,

are forbidden.

Rav Safra said: Moshe!

That is, I am astonished at a Torah scholar such as you, who forbade the sinews in the hand, for

who said that the Merciful One said: Do not eat meat?!

Rava said: Moshe!

An expression of astonishment at Rav Safra,

who said that the Merciful One said: Eat blood?!

For it is forbidden on account of the blood contained in it.

And if

he cuts them and salts them

these sinews and extracts the blood from them,

even to

cook them

in a pot as well [

and not only by roasting]

it is entirely permitted!

Rav Yehuda said that Shmuel said: The head of the intestines, in the length of an ammah,

the first ammah of the intestines, at the beginning of their exit from the stomach —

requires scraping!

One must scrape away there the fat upon them.

And this is the fat upon the small intestines,

concerning which the tannaim disputed above [49b] whether it is forbidden as fat.

And Rav Yehuda said: The sinews in the tail,

which are in the tail

, are forbidden

on account of fat.

And he explains:

There are five sinews in the kafla

in the tail:

three on the right

of the animal

and two on the left.

These

three

on the right

split

each of them

into two and two.

And these

two

on the left

split

each of them

into three and three.

And there is

a practical difference

in knowing all the divisions:

for if he pulls them out while they are still warm —

they can be pulled out.

For while the flesh is warm, immediately after slaughter, all the sinews, together with their divisions, can be pulled out easily.

But if not, they require probing after them

after all the divisions of the sinews.

Abaye said, and some say Rav Yehuda: There are five sinews.

In five places in the animal there are forbidden sinews.

Three

of them are forbidden

on account of fat,

fat.

And two

of them are forbidden

on account of blood.

And these are they:

Those of the spleen,

the sinews of the spleen,

and those of the kafla

of the tail,

and those of the kidney

of the kidney — are forbidden

on account of fat.

Those of the hand,

the sinews of the hand,

and those of the cheek

of the cheek — are forbidden

on account of blood.

What practical difference is there

as to the prohibition on account of which they are forbidden? For

these that

are forbidden

on account of blood —

if he cuts them and salts them, it is entirely permitted,

for the blood has left them. But

those

that are forbidden on account of fat —

have no remedy!

Rav Kahana said, and some say Rav Yehuda: There are five membranes.

In five places there are forbidden membranes.

Three

are forbidden

on account of fat, and two on account of blood.

And these are they:

Those of the spleen, those of the kafla, and those of the kidney,

all these membranes are forbidden

on account of fat.

Those of the testicles,

the membrane upon the male’s testicles,

and those of the brain

and the one upon the brain are forbidden

on account of blood.

Rav Yehuda bar Oshaya was peeling it

the membrane upon the

spleen, for Levi, the son of Rav Huna bar Ḥiyya. He was peeling only its upper part

he was peeling only the upper part of the spleen.

He said to him

Levi to Rav Yehuda:

Go down into it more!

Go down and peel also from below.

His father came

of Levi,

found him, and said to him

to Levi:

Thus said your mother’s father in the name of Rav—and who is he? Rabbi Yirmeya bar Abba: The Torah forbade only

the membrane

that is upon the teat alone!

Upon the thick place of the spleen, which is above.

And Levi raises an objection to his father:

Is that so? But Rav Hamnuna said: A tanna taught: The membrane upon the spleen is forbidden, but one is not liable for it

for karet on account of fat!

And we inquire concerning it:

What are the circumstances? If you say

the membrane

that is upon the teat, why is one not liable for it?

But this is the fat of the rumen.

Rather,

certainly

it is of all of it.

The membrane of the entire spleen, which is not upon the teat, is forbidden even though one is not liable for it; if so, how do you wish to permit initially the membrane that is not upon the teat?

He said to him

Levi’s father:

If it was taught, it was taught!

The body of the matter: Rav Hamnuna said: A tanna taught: The membrane upon the spleen is forbidden, but one is not liable for it. The membrane upon the kidney is forbidden, but one is not liable for it.

And we raise an objection:

But it was taught: One is liable for it,

both for the membrane upon the spleen and for the membrane upon the kidney?

And we answer:

With regard to spleen and spleen, it is not difficult: This

for which one is liable is the membrane that is

opposite the teat. This

for which one is not liable is

not opposite the teat.

With regard to kidney and kidney too, it is not difficult: This

for which one is liable

is the upper one,

the upper membrane upon the kidney, which is actual fat.

This

for which one is not liable

is the lower one,

the lower membrane.

The testicles of an animal that have been torn away

the testicles of the animal [male] that have been torn away and are loosely attached to the body of the animal — they dispute this

Rav Ami and Rav Asi.

One forbids

to eat them even after the slaughter of the animal, for it is considered as though they had been entirely torn away from the animal while it was still alive, and the slaughter of the animal did not render them permitted, since they are a limb torn away from a living creature.

And one permits,

since they are still slightly attached to the animal, they are part of it and are permitted through the slaughter of the animal.