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Chullin 68

Just a “taste” of today’s daf: f the fetus extended its foreleg outside the mother animal’s body and then brought it back inside and then afterward one slaughtered its mother, its consumption is permitted. Our modern instincts immediately recoil. We picture an unborn calf and think, How could they even discuss this? But then manyContinue reading “Chullin 68”

Chullin 67

Today’s daf (and this chapter!!) ends with a BIG one! It is taught in a baraita: Rabbi Yosei ben Durmaskit says: The leviathan mentioned in the Bible is a kosher fish, as it is stated: “His armor is his pride” (Job 41:7), and: “Sharpest potsherds are under him” (Job 41:22). The phrase “his armor” is referring to his scales, which protect him like armor. The phrase “sharpest potsherds are underContinue reading “Chullin 67”

Chullin 66

Today’s daf finds an exception to the rule that the Torah never gives any extra info. And it has to do with kosher fish!! The mishna states: And with regard to fish, any fish that has a fin and a scale is kosher. The Gemara asks: Now, since we rely only on scales to deem a fish kosher, presuming that if it has scales itContinue reading “Chullin 66”

Chullin 65

Today’s gem: be careful who you surround yourself with. The baraita concludes: Others say: If a bird dwells with non-kosher birds, it is non-kosher; if it dwells with kosherbirds, it is kosher. We can learn from here that we tend to become like whoever we surround ourselves with. Those we spend time with influence our opinions and our behaviors. We should make sure that we’reContinue reading “Chullin 65”

Chullin 64

My fellow daf yomi study buddy, Rabbi David Young, taught me that traditionally, the pleats (or folds) in a classic white chef’s hat represented the 100(yes 100) different ways a chef knew how to prepare an egg. Well, Daivd, this daf is for you! On today’s daf we get a list of way to differentiateContinue reading “Chullin 64”

Chullin 63

There are so many times when an entire meeting is held for what could have been a short email. Times in which a sermon could have been a brief paragraph of reflection. Where a story goes on so long you begin to tune out – and completely end up missing the point. That’s the dangerContinue reading “Chullin 63”

Chullin 62

Today’s daf lead me down a rabbit hole trying to discern who “Piruz the Evil” was. In discussing which birds are kosher, we get this line: And your mnemonic to remember this is the known personality Piruz the Evil. So, who was this guy? An evil king! In Persia (modern day Iran). Apparently, Sassanid KingContinue reading “Chullin 62”

Chullin 61

How do we know which birds are kosher? While the Torah offers indicators make land animals kosher (split hooves and chews its cud) it does not do this for birds (instead we get a list of 24 forbidden birds). Enter the Sages to establish 4 indicators for birds to be kosher: The gem? That ifContinue reading “Chullin 61”

Chullin 60

There are days when it’s hard to find a gem on the daf – then there are days when the daf is dripping with them. Today’s daf begins with a spoiled/demanding daughter of the roman emperor getting exactly what she asked for (and that being a hard lesson to learn for her as it requiresContinue reading “Chullin 60”

Chullin 59

Today’s daf has . . . UNICORNS! And giant lions. we will focus on the lion, but first, on our daf, the Keresh (Hebrew קֶרֶשׁ) refers to an enormous, one-horned animal or “unicorn.” It is described as large in size, one horned, and a kosher undomesticated animal! But before you do down the rabbit holeContinue reading “Chullin 59”