Beitza 25 a-b
1- So we continued the issue of animals that have been shechted and the bedika that follows.
Rav Ami bar Abba teaches that before one eats meat, the animal should have the skin removed and the limbs should be cut up.
The Gemara first tentatively suggests that perhaps the reason for this is that we require that the animal be inspected/bedika for any indications of tereifah before one can assume it is kosher. Before this is determined, eating from it would be irresponsible and prohibited.
Nevertheless, the Gemara quickly rejects this explanation for Rami bar Abba’s words, based upon our Mishnah where we find that it is permitted to eat from an animal before it is dismembered.
2- Additionally, the Gemara assumes that the ruling of Rav Huna is accepted by all.
Rav Huna’s 2 principles:
- A) – A live animal (before it is slaughtered) has a Chazakah – חזקה – that it is בחזקת איסור – prohibited (“Chezkas Isur”) until proven otherwise. Thus, if a question arises with regard to whether the act of Shechitah was performed properly, the animal is presumed to be forbidden due to its Chezkas Isur.
Why does an animal have a Chezkas Isur until it is known that it was slaughtered properly?
Rashi maintains that the animal’s Chezkas Isur is due to the prohibition of Ever Min ha’Chai, אבר מן החי – eating part of a live animal. When the animal is alive, it is forbidden to be eaten because of the prohibition of Ever Min ha’Chai.
[We had a heated trying to understand Rashi. As Tosfos (below) asks – how can a dead animal have such a prohibition?
Yanki T asked a good question: If an animal does not lose its אבר מן החי status even after it is dead how can a goy eat meat that was non shechted properly!?]
Tosfos questions Rashi’s explanation. The prohibition of Ever Min ha’Chai departs as soon as the animal dies. How, then, can that prohibition be the basis of a Chezkas Isur that forbids the animal when it is dead, after the primary prohibition of Ever Min ha’Chai no longer applies?
[We mentioned the Rashba in Chulin who comments that this question is not so strong.
ומיהו אינו קשה כל כך, דאפשר לומר דכיון דמעיקרא בחזקת איסור אבר מן החי עומדת ועכשיו נמי לא נתברר אם נשחטה כהוגן, הרי היא מוחזקת מאיסור לאיסור – רשב”א חולין ט א ד”ה בהמה
Perhaps Rashi maintains that the principle of מחזיקין מאיסור לאיסור – “Machzikin me’Isur l’Isur” applies to prohibit the animal after its death. “Machzikin me’Isur l’Isur” means that when an animal was once definitely prohibited for one reason, and now there is a doubt whether it is still prohibited due to a different reason, the rules of Chazakah still apply. The animal remains prohibited until there is conclusive proof that it is permitted].
In any case, Tosfos maintains that the Chezkas Isur of a live animal is based on the prohibition against eating any animal that was not properly slaughtered. This prohibition is an “Isur Aseh” which stems from the Mitzvas Aseh of “Tizbach v’Achalta” — “You shall slaughter and eat” (Devarim 12:21), which prohibits one from eating meat that was not slaughtered properly. Obviously, this prohibition does not depart from the animal just because it is now dead. We spoke of the Ritzva Tosfos in Shevuos 24a, who questions the existence of such an Mitzvas/Isur Aseh.
B- An animal that has been properly shechted is assumed that it is kosher even if has not been checked internally to assure that it does not have one of the 18 treifos. The reason is that most cows/bulls are kosher and we rely on the ‘rov’.
3- We discussed this 2nd ruling of Rav Huna length.
In short, that is indeed the Halacha.
Nevertheless, the Mechaber (39, 1) writes that the exception to this rule are the lungs that must be checked. The reason being is that although the majority of lungs are kosher there is a מיעוט המצוי of lungs, (a definite percentage) that have issues.
4- What is this “percentage” of מיעוט המצוי? We spoke of the various opinions with the most accepted one being 10%.
5- We discussed the issue of kosher dairy products. The Halacha (YD 81, 2) is that if one milks a cow and when he shechts it finds that it was a treifa that milk is prohibited. We drink milk because we assume, as above, that most cows are non-treif.
The issue is that when shechting milk cows (usually when they are older and the milk produced diminishes) the majority are found to be treif!!!
We spoke of the various reasons why this is (may) not be a problem. See פתחי תשובה above #4.
6- We mentioned the lenient ruling that some dubious ‘hechsheirim’ (Hebrew National) rely on for not checking the lungs at all.
How? It is permitted to eat from an animal if the lung has been removed and subsequently misplaced, even though the required inspection of the organ will now be impossible.
Being that the lungs are placed on a moving conveyor belt it is viewed as missing!
So they rely on the assumption that most animals are not tereifah. And the chumra of bedika is alleviated by the disappearing lung…..
6- The Gemara concludes that Rami bar Abba’s ruling that one needs to check the animal prior to eating is therefore explained to be דרך ארץ.
Rashi explains that it is proper to wait until the animal is cut open to ensure that it is not a treifah, although it is not against the halacha to eat it beforehand.
Tosafos questions the explanation of Rashi, as the Gemara continues and states that the halachos of ערלה demonstrates that just as one must wait three years before eating fruit of a tree, so too must a butcher not eat meat before determining that the animal is not a tereifah.
Tosafos understands that waiting is required, and not simply recommended. Therefore, Tosafos explains that although once slaughtered, an animal is not considered a tereifah, if someone eats from it too early, and the animal is later found to be a treifah, the person’s actions are שוגג and not אונס .
7- We discussed the cases of the butchers that we caught selling treifa meats. All customers needed to kasher their utensils.
The question is if one needs to do Teshuva for the inadvertent eating of the teifa meat.
The Ponim Meiros (2, 41) ruled that from our Tosafos is would seem that eating meat in case of an אונס does not require Teshuva. Other disagree.
Enough said.