Chullin

(i) they do not draw up a kethubah document for males,1 (ii) they do not weigh flesh of the dead in the market,2 and (iii) they respect the Torah. IT DOES NOT APPLY TO BIRDS, [BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO SPOON-SHAPED HIP]. But we see that they have it? — They have it indeed, but it is not convex.3 R. Jeremiah raised the question. What if a bird happened to have it convex, or if an animal happened to have it [flat and] not convex? Do we consider the particular creature by itself, or do we consider the class to which it belongs? — It is undecided. IT ALSO APPLIES TO A FOETUS. Samuel said: The ruling: ITS FAT IS PERMITTED, is agreed to by all. What fat? Should you say, that of a foetus, but this is a matter of dispute. For it has been taught:4 It5 applies to a foetus, and its6 fat is forbidden: so R. Meir. R. Judah says: It does not apply to a foetus, and its6 fat is permitted. And R. Eleazar said in the name of R. Oshaia: They differ in the case of a nine months’ fetus which was [extracted] alive [from its dam's womb]; R. Meir therefore ruling according to his principle7 and R. Judah according to his.8 And should you say, the fat of the nerve, but there too there is a dispute about it. For it has been taught: As to the sciatic nerve, one must follow it up as far as it goes and must cut away the fat thereof at its source;9 so R. Meir. R. Judah says: One merely cuts it away from off the cap of the bone!10 — In truth, it refers to the fat of the nerve; Samuel however agrees that according to R. Meir it is forbidden by Rabbinic decree. For it has been taught: Its fat is permitted, but Israel being a holy people have regarded it as forbidden.11 And presumably the author [of this Baraitha] is R. Meir who maintains that by the law of the Torah it is permitted but is forbidden by Rabbinic decree! But whence this? Perhaps it is R. Judah, but according to R. Meir it is forbidden even by the law of the Torah! — You cannot think of this; for it has been taught: As to the sciatic nerve, one must follow it up as far as it goes, and its fat is permitted. Now whom have you heard say that it is necessary to ‘follow it up?’ R. Meir; and here it expressly says, its fat is permitted.12 R. Isaac b. Samuel b. Martha said in the name of Rab: The Torah forbade only the branch nerves of it.13 Ulla said, [Although] it is like wood the Torah makes one liable for it.14 Abaye said: The view of Ulla is the more probable, for R. Shesheth said in the name of R. Assi. The veins in fat are forbidden but one is not liable [to the penalty of Kareth] on account of them. It is evident therefore that the Divine Law forbade the fat but not the veins, likewise the Divine Law forbade the nerve but not the branch nerves. [To turn to] the main text. ‘R. Shesheth said in the name of R. Assi: The veins in fat are forbidden but one is not liable on account of them’. The veins in the kidney are forbidden but one is not liable on account of them. As to the white substance of the kidney15 there is a difference of opinion between Rabbi and R. Hiyya, one forbids it and the other permits it . Rabbah used to scrape it all away.16 R. Johanan also used to scrape it all away. R. Assi used to cut away only the surface thereof.17 Abaye said: The view of R. Assi is the more probable, for R. Abba said in the name of Rab Judah on the authority of Samuel, deed for the purpose. vcu,f here means a marriage deed; for specific meanings v. Introduction to Keth., Sonc. ed., p. XI, n. 1. of an animal that had not been slain but had died a natural death. 500, n. 2. slaughtering of its dam but must be slaughtered itself and is in every respect like an ordinary animal, hence its fat is forbidden and also the sciatic nerve. fat as well as the sciatic nerve. strictly the whole of the fat is permitted. Rabbinic decree. This then was the purport of Samuel's teaching. into the substance that is cooked with it, but the actual sciatic nerve is hard like wood and is not forbidden.