Gemara Clarity

Chullin 2b

חולין ב׳ ע״ב

Learn Chullin 2b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

How the opening משנה of חולין, הכל שוחטין ושחיטתן כשרה, fits together: לכתחלה versus דיעבד, and רבה בר עולא's reading about a טמא slaughtering חולין and קדשים

Overview

The opening משנה of חולין says הכל שוחטין ושחיטתן כשרה, "everyone slaughters, and their slaughter is valid." "Everyone slaughters" sounds like it is allowed from the start (לכתחלה), but "their slaughter is valid" sounds like it only counts after the fact (דיעבד). רב אחא suggests that הכל might mean only דיעבד. רב אשי pushes back with סוכה, ציצית and סמיכה, and with the point that the משנה would then be saying דיעבד twice. רבה בר עולא solves the contradiction by splitting the cases. A טמא may slaughter חולין kept at the purity of קדשים from the start, using a long knife. A טמא who slaughtered real קדשים is valid only after the fact, if he is sure he did not touch the meat. חרש, שוטה and קטן are not valid even after the fact. The גמרא then works out that the clause about others watching refers to a טמא with קדשים who is not there to be asked. It also explains why a משנה in זבחים repeats the same rule. Finally, it begins to ask what kind of טומאה this טמא has, and that discussion continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

אֲבָל אָמַר ״הֲרֵי עָלַי״ – לֹא.

But if he said, 'It is upon me' – no.

וְכֹל ״הַכֹּל״ לָאו לְכַתְּחִלָּה הוּא?

And is every 'everyone' not from the start?

אֶלָּא ״הַכֹּל חַיָּיבִים בְּסוּכָּה״,

Rather, 'Everyone is obligated in סוכה,'

״הַכֹּל חַיָּיבִין בְּצִיצִית״,

'Everyone is obligated in ציצית,'

The steps (24)

  1. ProofEnd of the proof from vows: saying 'it is upon me' is not ideal
  2. ChallengeChallenge: what about 'everyone is obligated in סוכה and ציצית'?
  3. ResolutionAnswer: I did not mean cases that say 'obligated'
  4. ChallengeSecond challenge: 'everyone does סמיכה' is clearly done from the start
  5. ResolutionAnswer: 'everyone' can go either way, so ours may mean after the fact
  6. ChallengeWhy would the משנה say 'after the fact' twice?
  7. Resolutionרבה בר עולא: even a טמא person may slaughter חולין
  8. ChallengeWhy would we need to be told this about חולין?
  9. Resolutionחולין kept at the purity level of קדשים
  10. QuestionHow does he slaughter without making it טמא?
  11. ResponseHe uses a long knife
  12. ResolutionWith קדשים: not from the start, but valid after the fact
  13. ResolutionDeaf-mute, imbecile, and minor may not slaughter even plain חולין
  14. QuestionWhich case does 'and all of them who slaughtered' refer to?
  15. RejectionIt can't be about the deaf-mute, imbecile, and minor
  16. RejectionIt can't be about a טמא slaughtering חולין
  17. ChallengeA טמא with קדשים? His own word should be enough
  18. ResolutionWatching is needed when he is not here to ask
  19. ChallengeIsn't this rule already taught somewhere else?
  20. ProofThe משנה in זבחים: anyone may slaughter קדשים, as long as the טמא doesn't touch
  21. ResolutionOur משנה is the main source; the other mentions it in passing
  22. ResolutionThe opposite answer: the other משנה is the main source
  23. QuestionWhat kind of impurity does this person have?
  24. RejectionTesting the option of impurity from a dead body