Chullin 140b

חולין ק״מ ע״ב

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Topic

שילוח הקן: unfit fledglings, unresolved questions, the male קורא, and a mother hovering or perched above the nest

Overview

The amud continues the laws of שילוח הקן. It first shows that the mother bird is not judged like the fledglings, and אביי rereads a ברייתא so it fits רב כהנא's rule that טרפה fledglings are exempt. Next come several questions: רב הושעיא asks about partly slaughtered fledglings, רבי ירמיה asks about things lying between the mother and the eggs, and רבי זירא asks about a bird sitting on another kosher species' eggs. The first two end in תיקו, and אביי's attempted proof for רבי זירא's question is rejected. The גמרא then explains the משנה's מחלוקת about a male קורא. רבי אליעזר learns from the word 'brooding' that it must be sent away, and רבי אלעזר limits the argument to the male קורא alone. A new משנה teaches that a hovering mother counts if her wings touch the nest, that even one egg is enough, and that unfertilized eggs and chicks that can fly are excluded. Finally the גמרא discusses רב's ruling about a bird perched on tree branches above the nest, in two versions of a debate over a ברייתא. The second version ends with a challenge that continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (40)

1. RejectionThe mother is not compared to the fledglings
2. ChallengeA ברייתא says a טרפה case is obligated
3. Resolutionאביי: the mother is the טרפה
4. Questionרב הושעיא asks about a partly slaughtered fledgling
5. QuestionThe two sides of the question
6. ConclusionThe question stays unresolved
7. QuestionDoes a rag or loose feathers block the mother from the eggs?
8. QuestionMore possible barriers: bad eggs, a second layer of eggs, a male bird
9. ConclusionAll of רבי ירמיה's questions stay unanswered
10. QuestionA pigeon on a תסיל's eggs, or the reverse
11. Proofאביי tries to answer from the משנה
12. RejectionMaybe the משנה is only about a קורא
13. StatementThe משנה's case of a male קורא
14. QuestionWhat is רבי אליעזר's reason?
15. ResponseA גזירה שוה from the word 'brooding'
16. StatementEveryone agrees about a female קורא
17. ChallengeIsn't that obvious?
18. ResolutionMaybe 'male' only showed how far רבי אליעזר goes
19. StatementEveryone agrees an ordinary male bird is exempt
20. ChallengeIsn't this obvious too?
21. ResolutionMaybe 'קורא' only showed how far חכמים go
22. ProofA ברייתא supports רבי אלעזר
23. StatementA hovering mother bird counts only if her wings touch the nest
24. StatementEven a single egg or fledgling is enough
25. StatementFlying fledglings and unfertilized eggs are excluded
26. StatementA ברייתא: "resting" includes a hovering bird whose wings touch
27. QuestionHow does "resting" teach this?
28. ResponseThe תורה said "resting," not "sitting"
29. StatementA bird sitting between two branches
30. ChallengeA ברייתא is brought against רב
31. ChallengeReading 'above them' as touching
32. Rejection'Above them' means not touching from above
33. ProofProof from the ברייתא's choice of examples
34. RejectionThe hovering case was needed for its own lesson
35. ChallengeThe משנה says touching wings do obligate
36. ResolutionThe ברייתא means touching from the side
37. ProofSecond version: the ברייתא offered as support for רב
38. Proof"Above them" is the tree-branches case
39. RejectionAbove them means touching them, so a bird on branches is exempt
40. ChallengeChallenge from the last clause about the hovering bird begins