Julian Ungar-Sargon

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Daf Ditty

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

Chullin 30: מְלַמֵּד שֶׁהַשּׁוֹחֵט צָרִיךְ שֶׁיִּתֵּן עָפָר לְמַטָּה וְעָפָר לְמַעְלָה

jyungar May 30, 2026

For the source text click/tap here: Chullin 30

To download, click/tap here: PDF

Generally speaking, we anticipate that sheḥita – ritual slaughter – is a single cut of the simanim – the trachea and the esophagus.

Nevertheless, we find that Rav Yehuda quotes Rav as teaching that if sheḥita is performed “in two or three places,” it is acceptable. Although Shmuel objected that this is not a clear slaughtering, which he deems necessary, nevertheless it appears that the Gemara’s conclusion follows Rav Yehuda’s teaching in the name of Rav, given that it closes by the relating the story of Rav Yitzḥak bar Shmuel bar Marta who ate the choice part of an ox that was slaughtered “in two or three places,” thereby indicating his position on the matter.

Our new Mishna teaches that it is valid to slaughter by cutting two animals’ heads simultaneously. It is valid for two people to slaughter from different points in the neck of one animal. Decapitating an animal is one motion is not valid; however, if one accidentally decapitated an animal in one motion and the length of the knife is the same as the breadth of the animal’s neck, the slaughter is valid. It is valid if one who was slaughtering two animals simultaneously and s/he decapitated them in one motion and the length of the knife was the same as the breadth of one animal’s neck. The important piece is that the knife is drawn back and forth if possible.

We return to chullin 21 and the description of sacrificing pigeons, how the color of both doves and pigeons changes from or to a yellow. This leads us on a muse as to the treatment (even currently in certain places whereby a pigeon is placed on the belly of the yellow patient. After a few minutes, the jaundice is drawn out of the patient and enters the bird, which promptly dies.

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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.​