Today's Daf Yomi
A daily Talmud reading for Jews who want to be Jewish
Chullin 47a
Sunday, August 30, 2026
Summary
In Chullin 47a, the Talmud delves into the intricate laws regarding the examination of slaughtered animals, focusing primarily on kashrut and potential defects that could render an animal non-kosher. Rav and Shmuel are front-and-center in this discourse, debating whether certain lesions found on the lungs are significant enough to deem an animal as treifa (non-kosher). Rav Assi introduces questions about palpating the lung to determine its fitness, which leads to further discussion about methodology and the implications of relying on tradition versus empirical examination. The daf also touches upon the famous rule of ‘rov’ (majority), exploring its application when uncertainties about an animal’s state arise during slaughter. Significant emphasis is placed on the implications for those consuming the meat and their reliance on the expertise of the shochet (ritual slaughterer).
Rav Yochanan interjects with a narrative that challenges the established norms, as he recounts scenarios where expert opinion saved potentially kosher meats from being wrongly discarded. There’s an underlying conversation about the tension between strict adherence to halacha and the practicalities of daily life. Tosafot weigh in here, providing insights into how community practices evolved to handle these complex issues.
The discussion moves onto an intellectual wrestling match over the nature of certainty. Rav Pappa suggests a novel way to assess internal damage through external signs, inspiring both skepticism and grudging admiration from his colleagues. Throughout, there's a dance between the desire for certainty and the inevitable gray areas that arise in practices dictated by ancient tradition.
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Text from Chullin 47a
וְאָמַר רָבָא: הָנֵי תַּרְתֵּי בּוּעֵי דִּסְמִיכָן לַהֲדָדֵי, לֵית לְהוּ בְּדִיקוּתָא. חֲדָא וּמִתְחַזְיָא כְּתַרְתֵּי – מַיְיתִינַן סִילְוָא וּבָזְעִינַן לַהּ, אִי שָׁפְכָן לַהֲדָדֵי – חֲדָא הִיא וּכְשֵׁרָה, וְאִי לָא – תַּרְתֵּי נִינְהוּ וּטְרֵפָה.
And Rava says: These two cysts that are adjacent to one another on the lung have no need for inspection. The animal is definitely a tereifa, since it is presumed that the cysts formed around a perforation in the lung. But if there is only one cyst that looks like two, due to a depression in the middle, we bring a thorn and pierce it to remove the fluid inside. If the fluids from either side empty into one another, this indicates that it is one cyst, and the animal is kosher. And if not, they are two separate cysts, and the animal is a tereifa.
וְאָמַר רָבָא: חָמֵשׁ אוּנֵּי אִית לַהּ לְרֵיאָה, אַפַּהּ כְּלַפֵּי גַּבְרָא – תְּלָתָא מִיַּמִּינָא וְתַרְתֵּי מִשְּׂמָאלָא. חַסִּיר אוֹ יַתִּיר אוֹ חֲלִיף – טְרֵפָה.
§ And Rava says: The lung has five lobes [unnei]. When the animal hangs by its legs with its face toward the person checking it, he sees three lobes on his right and two on his left. If the animal is missing a lobe or has an extra lobe, or if the lobes were switched, with two on the right and three on the left, the animal is a tereifa.
הָהוּא יַתִּירְתָּא דַּאֲתַאי לְקַמֵּיהּ דְּמָרִימָר, הֲוָה יָתֵיב רַב אַחָא אַבָּבָא. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: מַאי אֲמַר לָךְ? אֲמַר לֵיהּ: אַכְשְׁרַהּ נִיהֲלִי. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: הֲדַר עַיְּילַהּ קַמֵּיהּ! אֲמַר לֵיהּ: זִיל אֵימָא לֵיהּ לְמַאן דְּיָתֵיב אַבָּבָא, לֵית הִלְכְתָא כְּוָותֵיהּ דְּרָבָא בִּיתֶרֶת.
The Gemara relates that a certain lung that had an extra lobe was brought before Mareimar. Rav Aḥa was sitting at the door of Mareimar’s house. When the animal’s owner was leaving, Rav Aḥa said to him: What did Mareimar say to you? The man said to him: Mareimar deemed it kosher. Rav Aḥa was surprised by this, because it contradicts Rava’s statement, so he said to him: Turn around and bring the animal before him. The owner did so. Mareimar realized why he was being asked twice, and said to him: Go tell whomever is sitting at the door: The halakha is not in accordance with the opinion of Rava in the case of an animal that has an extra lobe.
וְהָנֵי מִילֵּי – דְּקָיְימָא בְּדָרָא דְּאוּנֵּי, אֲבָל בֵּינֵי בֵּינֵי – טְרֵפָה.
The Gemara adds: And this statement applies only when the extra lobe stands in line with the other lobes, on the left or right. But if it is in between the two sides, the animal is a tereifa.
הָהוּא בֵּינֵי בֵּינֵי דַּאֲתָא לְקַמֵּיהּ דְּרַב אָשֵׁי, סָבַר רַב אָשֵׁי לְמִיטְרְפַהּ. אֲמַר לֵיהּ רַב הוּנָא מָר בַּר אַוְיָא: כֹּל הָנֵי חֵיוֵי בָּרָיָיתָא הָכִי אִית לְהוּ, וְקָרוּ לַהּ טַבָּחֵי עֵינוּנִיתָא דְּוַורְדָּא. וְהָנֵי מִילֵּי מִגַּוַּאי,
The Gemara relates that a certain animal with an extra lobe in between the two sides was brought before Rav Ashi. Rav Ashi thought to deem it a tereifa. Rav Huna Mar bar Avya said to him: All those animals that graze outside in the fields have extra lobes like this, and butchers call it the little rose lobe. The Gemara adds: And this statement applies only when the extra lobe is on the inside face of the lung, facing the heart.
The Mensch's Take
Context
Today's daf takes us on a deep dive into livestock lungs—because who doesn't love a casual chat about thoracic examinations over morning coffee? Our esteemed Rabbis are essentially conducting a divine episode of 'CSI: Kosher Scene Investigation,' making sure that your brisket is right with the Almighty. Our sages debate the nuances of whether a blemish is just a blemish or a real existential crisis for our bovine buddies.
Implications
*Ah, the dance of certainty versus doubt, a theme as old as Abraham’s beard. This daf doesn’t just address the nitty-gritty of whether your cholent will pass muster with the angels; it speaks to the human condition. We’re all navigating our own sets of rules and exceptions, searching for clarity amidst the cloudy soup of life. Here, tradition and reality engage in a lively tango, showing that faith is as much about questioning as it is about answering.*