Chullin 30b

חולין ל׳ ע״ב

Learn Chullin 30b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

How שחיטה must be done: cuts in different places, the hidden knife (חלדה), and drawing the knife rather than chopping

Overview

The גמרא first asks whether a שחיטה must be one clear cut in one place. רבי אבין answers his own challenge: a ברייתא that allows the סימנים to be cut at different heights means one slanted cut, like a reed pen. רבי זירא then learns from a story that our משנה allows two people with two knives to cut at different spots. Next, רב rules that hiding the knife between the סימנים (חלדה) makes the שחיטה invalid, even when the cut goes in the normal direction. A knife under the hide is valid, or, according to the school of רב, in doubt. Questions about a knife under a cloth, under tangled wool, or hidden for only a small part of the cut stay unresolved (תיקו). Then a new משנה teaches that two animals or two slaughterers are fine, but a single chop is invalid unless the knife slid across the neck. The גמרא proves from the 'drawn arrow' פסוק that שחיטה means drawing the knife. Finally, רבא slaughters a flying bird with an arrow, and the answer to whether that was חלדה continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (22)

1. StatementThe worry that two slaughterers may press on each other
2. Challengeרבי אבין asks about cutting the two סימנים at different heights
3. ResolutionThe ברייתא means one diagonal cut, like a reed pen
4. StatementA bull cut in several places, and a sage takes the best meat
5. Conclusionרבי זירא: the משנה allows two knives and two people
6. StatementHiding the knife between the סימנים versus under the hide
7. ChallengeWhy does רב need to say this if a משנה already teaches it
8. Resolutionרב teaches that it is invalid even when cutting in the normal direction
9. StatementAnother version: רב was unsure about the knife under the hide
10. QuestionHiding the knife under a cloth or tangled wool
11. QuestionHiding the knife for only a small part of the cut
12. Statementמשנה: two heads at once, and two people slaughtering together
13. Statementמשנה: cutting off the head in one stroke
14. Statementמשנה: knife length only matters for a one-way cut
15. QuestionAsking for the source of the drawing rule
16. Responseשמואל: the 'drawn' arrow
17. ProofThe school of רבי ישמעאל: וְשָׁחַט means drawing
18. QuestionWhy a second פסוק?
19. Response'Drawn gold' might mean thread-like gold
20. Statementרבא slaughters a flying bird with an arrow
21. ChallengeMaybe the arrow made a hidden cut
22. ResolutionStart of the answer: we see