Chullin 104a

חולין ק״ד ע״א

Learn Chullin 104a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Chullin 104a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Who wrote the משנה on meat and milk and on vowing off meat? Is עוף in milk forbidden by the Torah?

Overview

The משנה ends by saying that someone who vows off meat may still eat fish and grasshoppers. The גמרא infers from the earlier part of the משנה that עוף cooked in milk is forbidden מדאורייתא. That part cannot follow רבי עקיבא, who holds that חיה ועוף in milk are only rabbinic. But the vow line implies that birds count as meat. That fits רבי עקיבא's rule that anything an agent would ask about belongs to the category, which comes from his argument with the חכמים about gourds and vegetables. So the משנה seems split between the רבנן and רבי עקיבא. רב יוסף answers that רבי followed different opinions for different topics. רב אשי answers that the whole משנה is רבי עקיבא, since its meat-and-milk ban includes both Torah-level and rabbinic cases. Then רב יוסף proves from the ban on placing bird meat on the table with cheese that עוף in milk is Torah-forbidden, because the חכמים do not make a decree on top of a decree. The גמרא starts to bring a source for that rule from חלה outside ארץ ישראל, and the proof continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (13)

1. StatementThe last line of the משנה: vowing off meat
2. QuestionBirds are forbidden by Torah law: whose view is that?
3. ResponseNot רבי עקיבא, who says birds are not Torah-forbidden
4. ChallengeBut the last line of the משנה does follow רבי עקיבא
5. ProofSource for רבי עקיבא's rule: vowing off vegetables
6. ChallengeThe חכמים challenge רבי עקיבא from the agent's words
7. Resolutionרבי עקיבא turns the agent argument around
8. ChallengeThe משנה seems split between two opinions
9. Resolutionרב יוסף: רבי chose different opinions for different topics
10. Resolutionרב אשי: The whole משנה follows רבי עקיבא
11. Proofרב יוסף proves bird meat in milk is Torah-forbidden
12. QuestionWhere do we know that there is no decree on top of a decree?
13. ProofOpening the proof from חלה outside ארץ ישראל