Chullin 97a

חולין צ״ז ע״א

Learn Chullin 97a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

How far forbidden flavor spreads (חלב in roasted meat, a pot's absorbed taste) and who may taste a mixture to check: a כהן, a Jew, or a non-Jewish cook

Overview

The גמרא explains why רב הונא forbids a whole kid roasted with its חלב, while a kid roasted with its גיד הנשה may be peeled and eaten: חלב spreads its flavor through the meat. A story in which רבי יוחנן allowed peeling a kid roasted with its fat seems to contradict this. The גמרא answers that the kid was lean. Two other אמוראים tell the story differently: one says it was a kidney with its fat, and the other says it was a small non-kosher fish in a pot, where רבי יוחנן told them to let a non-Jewish cook taste it. רבא then quotes a ברייתא that once troubled him: food cooked in a pot that absorbed meat or תרומה is forbidden only if it gets flavor from the pot. A כהן can taste for תרומה, but who can taste a meat-and-milk mixture? רבא answers with רבי יוחנן's ruling that we rely on a non-Jewish cook. He then begins listing the ways the Sages judge taste, and the list continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

The steps (9)

1. ResolutionForbidden fat spreads its flavor
2. ChallengeA story where רבי יוחנן allowed a kid roasted with its fat
3. ResolutionThat kid was lean
4. ResolutionThe story was about a kidney with its fat
5. ResolutionThe story was about a small fish in a pot
6. Statementרבא's early difficulty with a ברייתא about pots
7. ChallengeWho can taste a meat-and-milk mixture?
8. ResolutionWe rely on a non-Jewish cook
9. Statementרבא begins a list of ways to measure taste