For the source text click/tap here: Chullin 77
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This perek has focused on the rules and regulations that apply to an animal that was slaughtered and was discovered to have a developing fetus within it. The Mishna on today’s daf discusses the case of a shilya – a placenta – that was found in such an animal. A placenta is a large organ – filled with blood vessels – that connects the developing fetus to the uterine wall. By means of the placenta – and specifically the umbilical cord connected to it – the fetus “eats,” that is, ingests nutrients that allow it to develop. The presence of a placenta in an animal (or in a human) is a clear indication that a pregnancy began, although if no fetus is present then the pregnancy did not continue with its normal development.
While the focus of the Mishna is on the permissibility of the placenta – the Mishna rules that it can be eaten, even though it is not ordinarily considered to be food – it concludes that “it may not be buried at an intersection or hung on a tree, due to the ways of the Amorite.”
We explore ancient views of the placenta and modern claims to medicinal properties.