Chullin Daf 57 צולין דַף 57

Rav Yehudah quoted Rav saying that שמוטת יד בבהמה – a dislocation of an animal’s foreleg leaves the animal kosher, but a dislocation of its ירך – thighbone is a tereifah. Regarding birds, a dislocated thighbone is a tereifah, and even שמוטת גף – a dislocation of the wing is a tereifah, because חיישינן שמא ניקבה הריאה – we are concerned that perhaps the lung was punctured through the wing’s dislocation. Shmuel and Rebbe Yochanan said תיבדק – [the lung] may be examined for punctures. Chizkiyah said: אין ריאה לעוף – a bird has no lung, so there is no concern of tereifah. Rebbe Yochanan says it does have lungs, וישנה כעלה של וורד בין אגפים – and it is like a rose petal between the wings. The Gemara wonders about Chizkiyah’s assertion that birds have no lungs, since we see that they do, and eventually concludes that he meant it literally, leading those in Eretz Yisroel to comment wryly that from Chizkiyah’s words, ניכר שאינו בקי בתרנגולין – it is apparent that he is not an expert on chicken meat, and so is unfamiliar with their anatomy. Rav Huna said in Rav’s name that a dislocated thighbone is kosher in birds and explained that Rav Yehudah’s version of Rav’s opinion was based on a mistake.

They said of Rebbe Shimon ben Chalafta שעסקן בדברים היה – that he dealt with matters to test their veracity. Rebbe Yehudah said that a bird which lost its down is a tereifah, and Rebbe Shimon ben Chalafta sought to disprove him. He placed such a bird in a warm oven, wrapping it in a leather coppersmith’s mat, and it grew down which was thicker than the original, which a tereifah could not have done. The passuk says about an ant אשר אין לה קצין שוטר ומושל – that it has no chief, overseer or ruler, and Rebbe Shimon ben Chalafta sought to test if it is true that ants have no king. He spread his cloak over an anthill in the summer, and one ant came out, which Rebbe Shimon marked. The ant informed the others about the shade, and they came out. Rebbe Shimon removed his cloak and the sun shone on them, whereupon they killed the ant for misinforming them. Rebbe Shimon considered this evidence that they have no king, for otherwise they would require permission to execute the ant. However, the Gemara objects that perhaps the king was with them, or had previously given permission, or perhaps they were between kings. Rather, סמוך אהימנותא דשלמה – rely on Shlomo’s trustworthiness.

Rav Huna said: סימן לטרפה י"ב חדש – the indication of whether an animal is a tereifah is if it survives for twelve months. If a possible tereifah survives that long, it is not a tereifah. This is challenged from a Baraisa: the Tanna Kamma says the סימן for a tereifah is כל שאינה יולדת – any [female] which cannot bear young, and Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says that משבחת והולכת – if it improves progressively, it is clearly kosher, but מתנוונה והולכת – if it deteriorates progressively, it is clearly a tereifah. Rebbe says the סימן for a tereifah is surviving thirty days, but they objected that many known tereifos survive for two or three years. In any event, none of these Tannaim hold like Rav Huna’s view of twelve months!? The Gemara answers that there is another Tanna who holds like Rav Huna: a person’s skull was once missing a piece the size of a drill hole, and they fashioned a piece of dried gourd in its place. Rebbe Shimon ben Elazar said that he could only survive the summer months but died as soon as the cold months arrived. The Gemara on the next Daf concludes that the halachah is that any male which survives twelve months, or any female which bears young, is not a tereifah.