For the source text click/tap here: Chullin 102
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Reb Yochanan learns that the verse (Devarim 12:23) which states “do not eat the soul (הנפש) with the flesh,” teaches us the prohibition not to eat eiver min hachai— not to eat from a limb of an animal while the animal is still alive.
The verse from Shemos (22:30) which states, “And flesh, in the field, which is torn you shall not eat,” teaches the halacha not to eat tereifah. This includes eating from an animal that had a physical defect, or from a limb of an animal after it has died, but where it did not die due to shechita.
Rashi explains that “eiver min hachai” is referred to as “the soul” because after a limb is cut from its source it will not grow back, just as when life is taken it will not be regenerate. The lesson is that the limb should not be eaten while the animal’s life is still intact.
We explore ever min vs Bassar min…and the case of foie gras.