Chullin 141b

חולין קמ״א ע״ב

Learn Chullin 141b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

רבי יהודה's reason for lashes in שילוח הקן, how to send the mother bird, and whether a courtyard acquires dovecote eggs for its owner.

Overview

The משנה taught that רבי יהודה says one who takes the mother bird with her young gets מלקות and does not send her away. The גמרא first tries to find his reason. Either he gives lashes even for a לאו שניתק לעשה, or he reads 'שַׁלֵּחַ' as a command that applies only from the start. Two proofs are rejected. Then רבינא brings a ברייתא about leftover meat of the קרבן פסח, and it shows that רבי יהודה gives no lashes for a fixable לאו. So his reason must be that 'שלח' applies from the start. Next the גמרא teaches how far and how to send the bird, and tells stories about רב יהודה, who punished a man for clipping a bird's wings, and about רבא and the תימה bird. A ברייתא rules that dovecote pigeons require sending but are protected by a rabbinic ban on robbery, and the גמרא works out when a courtyard acquires eggs for its owner. The amud ends with a story of שמואל telling רב יהודה to bang on a dovecote. The גמרא begins asking why, and that question continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (37)

1. RejectionThe earlier ברייתא is unreliable
2. ProofA reliable ברייתא about שכחה and פאה
3. ProofThe proof: רבי יהודה gives lashes for a לאו שניתק לעשה
4. RejectionMaybe 'תעזוב' means from the outset
5. Proofרבינא brings a ברייתא about leftover meat of the פסח
6. ConclusionSo רבי יהודה reads 'send away' as applying from the start
7. Proofרב אידי supports this from the wording of the משנה
8. RejectionThe משנה's wording can be read differently
9. QuestionHow far must he send the mother bird?
10. ResponseFar enough that she leaves his grasp
11. QuestionIn what way does he send her?
12. ResponseFeet or wings
13. ProofThe reasons for feet and for wings
14. StatementThe man who clipped the bird's wings
15. ChallengeWhose opinion did רב יהודה follow?
16. ResolutionLike the רבנן, and the lashes were rabbinic
17. QuestionA man asks רבא about the תימה
18. ResponseEvery kosher bird must be sent
19. QuestionMaybe the question is about a single egg
20. ConclusionThe משנה already says one egg obligates sending
21. StatementThe man sends the bird away and רבא catches it
22. ChallengeShouldn't רבא worry about looking suspicious?
23. ResolutionHe caught it in an unusual way
24. StatementPigeons of a dovecote or attic need sending, but taking them is rabbinic robbery
25. ChallengeDoesn't a person's courtyard acquire the eggs for him?
26. ResolutionThe obligation starts before the courtyard acquires the egg
27. ChallengeWhy would it be robbery if the egg isn't his yet?
28. ResolutionThe robbery rule is about the mother bird
29. ResolutionOr: the owner already has his mind on the egg
30. ResolutionWith רב's rule, even an egg in the courtyard isn't acquired
31. ChallengeThen why is it only a rabbinic robbery?
32. ResolutionThe ברייתא is about a minor
33. ChallengeIs a child bound by rabbinic rules?
34. ResolutionThe child's father must return the eggs
35. Statementשמואל tells רב יהודה to bang on the nest
36. QuestionWhat was the banging for? Not for buying, since a cloth would work
37. ChallengeSecond possibility: was it for יום טוב?