Chullin 11a

חולין י״א ע״א

Learn Chullin 11a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Chullin 11a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Where do we learn to follow a majority we cannot see (רובא דליתא קמן)? A series of proofs from animals that are never checked for being טריפה

Overview

The amud opens with the last line of an earlier discussion: a row of men reports to the כהן that a נגע in a house has stayed the same. That is how רב אחא בר יעקב explains the ברייתא, so for him it is no proof that we rely on חזקה. Then a new topic begins: where do we learn to follow the majority (זיל בתר רובא)? The גמרא is surprised at first, since the פסוק ״אחרי רבים להטות״ says it outright. It explains that a majority we can see and count, like nine shops or the votes of a סנהדרין, is clearly covered. The real question is about a majority we cannot see, like assuming a קטן and קטנה will grow up normally. A series of sages then try to prove it from animals that the תורה says are used without being checked inside, so they might be טריפה. The proofs come from the head of an עולה, the bones of the קרבן פסח, and the אליה of a שלמים, and each one is rejected because the animal could be checked after all. More proofs follow from the עגלה ערופה and the פרה אדומה, each defended against the objection that a טריפה would not matter. The amud ends in the middle of a new proof from the two goats of יום כיפור, which continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (17)

1. ResolutionA row of men passes word about the mark to the כהן
2. QuestionWhere do we learn to follow the majority?
3. ResponseSurprise: a פסוק says it outright
4. ResolutionA majority we can see is not the question
5. QuestionThe real question: a majority we cannot see
6. ProofProof from the head of a burnt offering
7. RejectionMaybe the head is split and checked
8. ProofProof from the bones of the קרבן פסח
9. RejectionThe brain of the פסח could be checked by burning through the skull
10. ProofProof from the tail of a שלמים, which must be offered whole
11. ResolutionThe tail is cut at a spot where a torn spinal cord matters
12. RejectionThe tail could be split and checked while staying joined
13. ProofProof from the heifer whose neck is broken
14. ResolutionA tereifa would matter for this heifer
15. ProofProof from the red heifer
16. ResolutionThe red heifer is called a sin offering
17. ProofA proof from the two goats of יום כיפור