Chullin Daf 95 צולין דַף 95

A butcher once told someone that had he been on good terms with him, he would have received meat from the fattened ox he had shechted. His adversary retorted that he had actually eaten from its choicest parts after purchasing meat from a certain idolator. The butcher informed him that he had shechted two animals that day, and the one sold to the idolator was a tereifah! Rebbe declared: בשביל שוטה זה שעשה שלא כהוגן – because of this שוטה, who acted improperly in selling tereifah meat to an idolator to sell in the market, אנו נאסור כל המקולין – should we prohibit [that day’s] entire meat market? Rebbe followed his own opinion, that in a meat market which is supplied by Jewish butchers, any meat found with a gentile vendor is permitted. In another version, Rebbe declared: מפני שוטה זה דאיכוון לצעוריה לחבריה – because of this שוטה who intended to torment his fellow (by misleading him to think he had eaten forbidden meat), should we prohibit the entire meat market? This version implies that if he had been believed to have sold tereifah meat to one vendor, the entire meat market would be prohibited. Although Rebbe allows following the majority of meat suppliers, שאני הכא דאיתחזק איסורא – here is different, because forbidden [meat] has been established in the marketplace, and he may have sold tereifah meat to multiple vendors.

Rav says: בשר כיון שנתעלם מן העין אסור – once a piece of meat became hidden from sight, it is prohibited, because it may have become exchanged with nonkosher meat. This is challenged from several sources which permit meat which was found, and the Gemara answers: נמצא ביד עובד כוכבים שאני – meat found in an idolator’s hands is different, because it is assumed to be obtained from the town’s kosher suppliers. Unsupervised meat, however, is prohibited, because ravens may have switched it with meat from another town. Since Rav requires constant supervision, he could only mean בשעתיה דלא עלים עיניה מיניה – in the moment just after its shechitah, when he did not take his eyes off [the meat] from its shechitah. Alternatively, בציירא וחתומא – when it was tied and sealed, or בסימנא – with an identifying mark in the meat, like Rabbah bar Rav Huna, who would cut his meat into triangles. Levi disagrees and permits meat without supervision.

Rav was once traveling, and saw the ferry coming as he approached, and remarked, “A ferry is coming toward me; [this is an omen] that there will be a celebration at my lodging tonight!” This was permitted, because Rav said: כל נחש שאינו כאליעזר עבד אברהם וכיונתן בן שאול אינו נחש – any divination which is not completely relied upon like those of Eliezer the servant of Avraham and Yonasan the son of Shaul is not prohibited as divination. [Eliezer and Yonasan decided their course of action based on omens.]

Shmuel would find omens בספרא – with the text that opened before him in a scroll. Rebbe Yochanan would find omens בינוקא – by asking a child what passuk he has just learned. He once wanted to travel to Bavel to meet Shmuel, but a child quoted the passuk "ושמואל מת" – and Shmuel died, and he took it as a sign that Shmuel had died. In truth, however, Shmuel was alive, but this occurred so Rebbe Yochanan would not trouble himself. In a Baraisa, Rebbe Shimon ben Elazar says that regarding building a house, the birth of a child, and marrying a woman, although there is no divination, יש סימן – there is an omen, provided that the omen is established by occurring three times.