Gemara Clarity

Chullin 79a

חולין ע״ט ע״א

Learn Chullin 79a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

Open Chullin 79a in Gemara Clarity

Topic

חנניה's view that the father counts in אותו ואת בנו, and whether רבי יהודה is sure or in doubt that the father doesn't count in deciding a mule's species

Overview

The גמרא first gives חנניה's source from the פסוק: 'אותו' points to a male parent and 'בנו' points to a female, so אותו ואת בנו covers both. שמואל rules like חנניה. The גמרא shows this fits שמואל's comment on a משנה in כלאים. There, רבי יהודה looks only at the mother to decide an animal's species, while the חכמים, who are חנניה, also count the father. The גמרא then asks whether רבי יהודה is sure the father doesn't count or is only in doubt. The practical difference is whether a mule may mate with its mother's species. A proof from the משנה and a proof from a ברייתא about a female mule are both pushed away. Then רב הונא בריה דרב יהושע says everyone forbids mating the offspring with its mother's species, so רבי יהודה is in doubt. Finally, a story shows that רבי אבא matched his wagon mules only by signs of the mother, so he holds that the father does not count.

Opening lines

וְלַחֲנַנְיָה,

And according to Ḥananya,

כְּתִיב ״אוֹתוֹ״ דְּמַשְׁמַע זָכָר,

it is written "it," which implies a male,

וּכְתִיב ״בְּנוֹ״ –

and it is written "its offspring" —

מִי שֶׁבְּנוֹ כָּרוּךְ אַחֲרָיו

meaning the one whose offspring clings after it,

The steps (23)

  1. Statementחנניה's source for including both males and females
  2. Statementשמואל rules like חנניה
  3. Proofשמואל is consistent: the משנה about horse and donkey offspring
  4. Proofשמואל: רבי יהודה ignores the father, the חכמים do not
  5. ResponseIdentifying the חכמים as חנניה
  6. QuestionIs רבי יהודה sure or unsure about ignoring the father?
  7. ResponseThe practical difference: mating with the mother's species
  8. ProofBringing רבי יהודה's words from the משנה
  9. ProofWhich case is the משנה talking about?
  10. ProofConclusion: רבי יהודה is sure
  11. RejectionMaybe both mules have donkey fathers
  12. ResolutionWhy the משנה still needed to say it
  13. ProofA ברייתא suggests רבי יהודה is in doubt
  14. RejectionMaybe we don't know her mother's species
  15. ChallengeBut the ברייתא says 'her own kind'
  16. ResolutionReading the ברייתא as giving a reason
  17. ChallengeWhy not check her by signs?
  18. ResolutionA mute mule with ears and tail cut off
  19. QuestionSo what is the final answer?
  20. ProofEveryone forbids mating the offspring with its mother's species
  21. ConclusionConclusion: רבי יהודה is in doubt
  22. Statementרבי אבא tells his servant to pair mules that look alike
  23. ConclusionSo רבי אבא ignores the father's species