Commentary for Avodah Zarah 79:9
יתיב רב חיננא בר אידי קמיה דרב אדא בר אהבה ויתיב וקאמר עובד כוכבים שהביא עריבה מלאה חביות ונמצאת כילבית באחת מהן פתוחות כולן מותרות סתומות היא מותרת וכולן אסורות א"ל מנא לך הא מתלתא קראי שמיע לי מרב ושמואל ורבי יוחנן
R. Hinnena b. Idi was sitting in front of R. Adda b. Ahavah; and while sitting there he said: If a non-Jew brought a boat laden with barrels [of fish-brine] and a kalbit-fish is found in one of them, should they be open barrels they are all permitted, but if is closed, that barrel is permitted and the rest are prohibited. [R. Adda] asked him: From where do you know this? I heard this from three verses: From Rav, Shmuel and R. Yohanan.
Daf Shevui to Avodah Zarah
The kalbit fish is a sign that the brine is kosher. So if the barrels are open, one kalbit fish is sufficient for all of the barrels to be presumed kosher. But if the barrel is closed, then only that barrel can be considered kosher. The others must be suspected as coming from non-kosher fish. Interestingly, R. Hinena calls Rav, Shmuel and R. Yohanan “verses” as if to say that they are as reliable as the written word.
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