Julian Ungar-Sargon

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Daf Ditty

A wide-ranging commentary on the daily page of Talmud.

Mayer Kirshenblatt. The Illegal Slaughter(From Mayer Kirshenblatt and Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, They Called Me Mayer July: Painted Memories of a Jewish

Childhood in Poland Before the Holocaust. University of California Press. n.d. p114)

Beitzah 28: Chalaf

jyungar September 28, 2021

For the source text click/tap here: Beitzah 28

To download, click/tap here:  PDF

The debate on our daf concerns weighing out meat at the butchers on Yom Tov. All agree that the butcher cannot just weigh out meat as usual, using weights on the scale, because that looks too much like conducting business as usual. They also all agree that one can go to a butcher and get meat on Yom Tov. This is necessary to ensure that the average person has access to fresh meat so that he can enjoy his Yom Tov to the fullest extent. As a solution to the problem of the butcher weighing out the meat, Rabbi Judah says that the butcher may use other utensils on the other side of the scales. For instance, if he knows that his chopping knife weighs 2 kilo, he can weigh out meat according to the weight of his knife. This looks different enough that everyone will know that he is not engaging in business as usual.

The Mishnah on our daf forbids sharpening a knife on Yom Tov, but the Gemara permits it under certain circumstances.

The Gemara says that one may not bring a Shochet's knife to a Chacham to have it inspected on Yom Tov, but a Chacham may inspect his own knife.

We discuss the famous controversy about the slaughtering knives between hassidim and Mitnagdim .

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Julian Ungar-Sargon

This is Julian Ungar-Sargon's personal website. It contains poems, essays, and podcasts for the spiritual seeker and interdisciplinary aficionado.​