Day Yoimie Snippets ... Chullin Dafim 117,118, 119,120,121,122, & 123

A great opportunity for the entire family, to share some thoughts on the daf ...  the  family feels united by discussing what the head of the house is studying.
I try to break it down so that everyone can understand it .... 

You can copy and print this without my consent, since Torah belongs to all of us..... 

See  previous Daf Yoimie Snippets 

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צארטל בת אסתר מלכה 

''דף קי''ז ''פרק העור והרוטב

Page 117  Mesectas Chullin  

''The Chapter The Hide & The Gravy"

The chapter "The Hide and The Gravy" deals with tumeh or if you wish,contamination.

The first Mishna of this chapter mentions various different parts of animals, such as the hide, bones, horns etc in reference to tumeh.

How would horns have any connection to tumeh?

We have a rule that contaminated food cannot contaminate another food item unless the food has the minimum volume of an egg.

The mishna discusses a case where we found a piece of contaminated meat with less than the minimum volume of an egg but it was attached with the bone; with the bone it would meet the minimum requirement of the volume of an egg.... 

the halacha is that we combine the food with the bone which would now have the required volume of an egg and now it is able to convey contamination to another food item.

''דף קי''ח ''ידים ו'שומרים של מאכלים 

Page 118  Mesectas Chullin  

''The Handle & The Protector of Food"

On this daf we are introduced to the concept of "handles" and "protectors" of fruit.

Just like pots have "handles" which is attached to the pot and one grabs it to take hold of the pot, so too, fruits have "handles" which are attached to the fruit.

The "handle" of fruits is the soft branch that the fruit hangs from on the tree.

The "protector" of the fruit is the peal that covers the fruit and protects it from getting ruined.

Why does  the mishna and the gemarrah deal with the 

"handles" and the "protectors" of food?

Because they are vital to various different halachos, for example:

If tumeh would touch the "handle" or "protector" of the food item, then the entire food item becomes contaminated as if the tumeh touched the food itself.

''דף קי''ט ''גרעין חיטה

Page 119  Mesectas Chullin  

''Wheat Kernel"

In the Bet Midrash of Rebi Yishmoel it was taught that the husk of wheat kernels and the husks of barley are considered "protectors," and it would therefore be able to be combined with the wheat kernel or barley itself to make the required volume of an egg.

But wheat and barley kernels are tiny and cannot possibly amount to the volume of an egg even if you were to combine it with its husks?

The Talmud states that we are talking about very large kernels like those in the era of R' Shimon ben Shetach.

The Talmud in Mesactas Taanis relates that in the era of Shimon ben Shetach there was great blessings in crops, and that in fact the wheat and barley kernels were so large that it would amount to the volume of an egg.

''דף ק''כ ''כתיבה תמה

Page 120 Mesectas Chullin  

'' Writing That Must Be Complete"

Rebbe Yochanan says that each strand of hair has a tiny perforation which penetrates deep into the skin unto the flesh.

There is a halachic requirement for tefillin to be written "complete" כתיבה תמה! Any klaf (parchment) that has holes or even pinholes cannot be considered כתיבה תמה ... complete!

According to Rebbe Yochanan how can tefillin ever be written since every klaf has tiny holes;  klaf is actually animal skin, and we just discussed that hair penetrates the skin making microscopic holes?

The Talmud answers that when the scribe writes on the klaf, his ink covers those tiny pinholes that the hairs penetrated in effect rendering the klaf ,,, כתיבה תמה

''דף קכ''א ''אלל

Page 121 Mesectas Chullin  

'' Ah'lol"

Our Mishna stated that the ''Ah'lol" combines with meat to convey  tumah of foods but not the tumah of neveilos.

What is ''Ah'lol?"

There are two opinions of what it is.

Reb Yochanan is of the opinion that it is the very hard sinew of the neck and spine.

Rabbeinu Chananel and Rabbeinu Tam explain that R' Yochanan  is talking about the dead flesh that a veterinarian would cut away if the animal were alive.

According to Tosfos, the Ah'lol is not considered food in its own right, but is deemed edible when combined with other meat.

Resh Lakish, on the other hand, explains that Ah'lol is the meat that was excised by the knife when the animal was flayed.

Rashi explaining Resh Lakish states that when an animal is flayed, the knife used to peel away the hide sometimes cuts into the meat, so that some shreds of meat are excised from the body and remain attached to the hide, these shreds are really insignificant.

''דף קכ''ב ''דבשת הגמל

Page 122 Mesectas Chullin  

'' A Camel's Hump"

The Torah states that only edible items can convey tumah's neiveilah.

Therefore the first mishna in this chapter rules that the hide of an animal does not contaminate tumas neiveilah, since hide is very tough and cannot be eaten; it is not considered meat!

The mishna on this daf, however states that the hide from a young camel's hump does convey tumas neiveilah, because it is soft, so it is considered meat.

Until what age is the hide of the hump of a young camel considered meat?

Ulah states in the name of R' Yehoshuh ben Levi it is considered meat up until the camel carries a burden.

''דף קכ''ג ''גדוד החילים

Page 123 Mesectas Chullin  

'' A Battalion of Soldiers"

An interesting bareisah (Mishnayis that were learned outside of the Bet Midrash, bareisah literally translated means "outside") brought down on this daf, states that if a Roman Legion enters a house while its on a warpath, the house is tumah!

The Romans would carry with them the scalps from their enemies ' corpses, which they would use for sorcery to achieve victory in battle, so this bareisah rules that human skin has "corpse tumah" even after it had been tanned, since it is logical to assume that these scalps were tanned.