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Zevachim 70b

זבחים ע׳ ע״ב

Learn Zevachim 70b step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Which animals' fat is excluded from נבלה impurity, how far רבי מאיר's ruling about pinched birds reaches, the status of the עגלה ערופה, and the opening of the new פרק on mixed sacrifices.

Overview

The ברייתא finishes working out which animals' fat the פסוק about נבלה and טרפה is talking about. The word טרפה rules out non-kosher animals, and 'you shall not eat it' rules out a kosher חיה, so only a kosher בהמה is left. רבא explains to רב יעקב בר אבא that the end of the ברייתא is about a non-kosher bird, so a non-kosher animal's carcass is still טמא. The גמרא then returns to רבי מאיר's ruling in the משנה. רבי יוחנן limits it to unblemished birds, while רבי אלעזר extends it to blemished birds and even to geese and chickens. רבי ירמיה asks whether breaking a goat's neck would work the same way. רב דימי explains that the question assumes the עגלה ערופה itself is טהור, because the Torah speaks of כפרה with it. רב נתן challenges this from a ברייתא about its fat, and the גמרא answers that the ברייתא is about a calf that died, which leads to the rule that the calf becomes forbidden once it goes down to the valley. The פרק ends with הדרן, and a new משנה begins about sacrifices mixed with forbidden animals; its second case continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

כְּשֶׁבָּא בְּדֶרֶךְ זוֹ –

When one approaches it this way,

הִיא בִּטְהוֹרָה,

it is about a kosher animal,

וּכְשֶׁבָּא בְּדֶרֶךְ זוֹ –

and when one approaches it that way,

הִיא בִּטְמֵאָה;

it is about a non-kosher animal;

The steps (22)

  1. QuestionThe ברייתא is stuck between two lines of reasoning
  2. ResponseThe word טרפה shows the verse means kosher animals
  3. ChallengeBut a kosher wild animal can also be a tereifa
  4. Response'You shall not eat it' leaves out the wild animal
  5. ChallengeDoes a non-kosher animal's carcass not cause impurity?
  6. Resolutionרבא: the end of the ברייתא is about a non-kosher bird
  7. StatementHow far does רבי מאיר's ruling of purity go?
  8. Proofרבי אלעזר's view reported again, even for geese and chickens
  9. QuestionWhat if someone breaks a goat's neck?
  10. Questionאביי notices a hidden assumption
  11. ResponseYes, because the calf brings atonement like קדשים
  12. Challengeרב נתן begins an objection from the fat of an עגלה ערופה
  13. ResponseThe ברייתא's source: 'all fat'
  14. ChallengeIf the calf is טהור, why would its fat need a verse?
  15. ResolutionThe verse is needed for a calf that was slaughtered
  16. ChallengeSlaughter itself should already make it טהור
  17. ResolutionThe verse is needed for a calf that died
  18. QuestionIs the calf forbidden even while alive?
  19. ResponseYes, going down to the valley makes it forbidden
  20. Conclusionהדרן — Closing פרק חטאת העוף
  21. StatementSacrifices mixed with animals forbidden for benefit must all die
  22. StatementSecond case begins: mixed with an ox used for a sin