Gemara Clarity

Chullin 29a

חולין כ״ט ע״א

Learn Chullin 29a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Chullin 29a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

Is exactly half like a majority? Then, which lines of the משנה about cutting most of a סימן refer to חולין and which to קדשים.

Overview

The amud opens by testing whether exactly half (מחצה על מחצה) counts like a majority (רוב) in שחיטה. A ברייתא about pausing after cutting half the windpipe is answered by saying it is about a bird. A second ברייתא, about a windpipe already half damaged, gets רבא's answer that טרפה needs a majority you can see. אביי knocks this down with a כל דכן. So the גמרא concludes that for שחיטה everyone agrees half is not a majority, and the argument of רב and רב כהנא was really about a nation half טמא at פסח time. Next the גמרא asks why the משנה repeats that most of a סימן is enough. רב הושעיא answers that one line is about חולין and one is about קדשים, and the גמרא explains why each is needed. רב כהנא, רב שימי בר אשי, רב פפא and רב אשי each prove that the first line is about חולין and the later line is about קדשים. ריש לקיש agrees, explaining that the later line teaches the יום כיפור תמיד is valid even if the cut was not finished. The גמרא then starts examining his words, a discussion that continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

כְּדֵי שְׁחִיטָה אַחֶרֶת וּגְמָרָהּ,

for the time of another slaughter, and then completed it,

שְׁחִיטָתוֹ כְּשֵׁרָה.

his slaughter is valid.

וְאִי אָמְרַתְּ מֶחֱצָה עַל מֶחֱצָה כְּרוֹב,

But if you say half-and-half is like a majority,

אִיטָּרְפָא לַהּ.

it became a tereifa!

The steps (33)

  1. ChallengeA ברייתא about pausing after cutting half seems to contradict רב
  2. ResolutionThe ברייתא is about a bird, so it works either way
  3. ChallengeA second ברייתא about a windpipe that was already half damaged
  4. Resolutionרבא: for טרפה, the majority must be visible
  5. Challengeאביי argues that slaughter should need a visible majority even more than a טרפה
  6. ResolutionEveryone agrees half is not a majority, and the dispute was about קרבן פסח
  7. StatementThe פסח case: half the nation pure, half impure
  8. QuestionWhat is רב's reason in the Pesach case?
  9. ResponseAn individual is pushed off, but a community is not
  10. ChallengeWhy does the משנה repeat the rule of most of one סימן?
  11. StatementA memory aid for the coming discussion
  12. Resolutionרב הושעיא: one line is about חולין, one is about קדשים
  13. ResolutionWhy we need the line for קדשים
  14. ConclusionWhy we need the line for חולין
  15. QuestionWhich line is about חולין and which is about קדשים?
  16. Responseרב כהנא: the first line is חולין and the later line is קדשים
  17. ProofThe proof: the first line says "one who slaughters"
  18. ChallengeBut the later line also says "his slaughter is valid"
  19. ResolutionThe later line ends with an animal, so "slaughter" fits
  20. ProofBut the first line opens with a bird, so it has no excuse
  21. Proofרב שימי בר אשי: a different proof from "one in a bird"
  22. ChallengeThe bird burnt offering problem hits the latter clause too
  23. Resolution'Majority of one' means the majority of each one
  24. ChallengeThen the משנה should have said 'majority of two'
  25. ResolutionThe bird sin offering needs only one סימן
  26. Proofרב פפא proves the first clause is about non-sacred birds
  27. Proofרב אשי's proof begins: two heads at once only after the fact
  28. ProofFor offerings there is a verse against slaughtering two at once
  29. Proofרב כהנא explains the spelling, and רב אשי finishes his proof
  30. Proofריש לקיש Also Splits the משנה Between Ordinary and Holy Animals
  31. QuestionWhy Does the משנה Repeat the Majority Rule?
  32. ResponseThe Repetition Teaches About the Daily Offering on יום כיפור
  33. QuestionQuoting ריש לקיש's Line in Order to Examine It