Chullin Daf 47 צולין דַף 47

Rava said: ה' אוני אית לה לריאה – the lung has five (upper) lobes. When the animal’s underside is facing a person (and is suspended from its hind legs), there are three on the right side, and two on the left. חסיר או יתיר או חליף – If a lobe is missing or extra or the number of lobes on each side is reversed, it is a tereifah (a superfluous lobe is a tereifah because יתר כנטול דמי – something extra is like something removed). A case of an extra lobe came before Mereimar, and Rav Acha, who was sitting at the entrance of Mereimar’s house, asked the butcher how Mereimar had ruled. When he replied that Mereimar had permitted it, Rav Acha told him to bring it back in. When he did, Mereimar said, “Go tell the one sitting at the entrance that the halachah does not follow Rava regarding an extra lobe,” and it is kosher. However, this is only דקיימא בדרא דאוני – where [the extra lobe] is in the row of the lobes, אבל ביני ביני – but if it is between the rows, it is a tereifah. A case of an extra lobe “between” the rows of lobes came before Rav Ashi, and he intended to declare it tereifah, but was told it was common to all rural animals, provided it is underneath the lungs.

Rava said that a lung which is (blue) like eye-paste is kosher, but if it is (black) like ink, it is a tereifah, because it indicates a redness which further decayed and turned black. ירוקה – If it is greenish, or if it is אדומה – reddish, it is kosher, based on incidents with Rebbe Nassan. He reported that he once traveled across the sea, and a woman, who had circumcised her first two sons and they had died, brought her third son to Rebbe Nassan. He saw that the infant was red and told her: בתי המתיני לו עד שיבלע בו דמו – My daughter, wait with him until he reabsorbs his excess blood, and then circumcise him. She did, and the child lived. In a similar incident, he observed that the third infant which was brought before him was greenish, and he did not have “blood of the ברית” in him. He told the woman: בתי המתיני לו עד שיפול בו דמו – My daughter, wait with him until his blood comes in fully. She did, and the child lived. In both incidents, the children were named “Nassan the Bavli.” The Gemara adds that a lung which is (yellow) like an egg is a tereifah, and is only kosher when it is (green) ככרתי – like a leek.

Rebbe Yochanan said: ריאה שנשפכה כקיתון – a lung which dissolved and can be poured like water in a jug is kosher. This proves he holds חסרון מבפנים לא שמיה חסרון – an internal deficiency is not considered a deficiency (because this lung, which was formerly full, is now half-empty, allowing its dissolved material to be poured back and forth). This is challenged from our Mishnah, which stated: הריאה שניקבה או שחסרה – a lung which is punctured or deficient is a tereifah. Since an external deficiency is by definition also “punctured,” the case of “חסרה” must refer to an internal deficiency, yet it is ruled a tereifah!? The Gemara answers that the Mishnah actually refers to an external deficiency, and is teaching that although Rebbe Shimon says a punctured lung is not a tereifah unless it is punctured into the bronchi, he agrees that a deficiency is a tereifah. Rava qualifies when a dissolved lung is kosher: והוא דקיימי סמפונות – that is only where the bronchi remain. Rav Ashi explained how to determine if any of the bronchi dissolved: we pour the lung’s contents into a glazed earthenware basin; if it has שורייקי חיורי – white streaks (indicating a dissolved bronchus), it is a tereifah, but if not, it is kosher.