Commentary for Shabbat 149:7

השוחטו: שוחט משום מאי חייב רב אמר משום צובע ושמואל אמר משום נטילת נשמה

CAPTURING A DEER, etc. Our Rabbis taught: He who captures a purple-fish<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Hillazon, v. p. 356, n. 2 ');">¹⁰</span> and crushes it is liable to one [sin-offering];<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Crushing not being a culpable offence. ');">¹¹</span> R. Judah said: He is liable to two, for R. Judah maintained: Crushing comes under the head of threshing. Said they to him: Crushing does not come under the head of threshing. Raba observed: What is the Rabbis' reason? They hold that threshing is applicable only to produce from the soil. But let him be culpable too on the score of taking life? — Said R. Johanan: This means that he crushed it when [already] dead.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' In order to make the blood exude. ');">¹²</span> Raba said: You may even explain that he crushed it whilst alive: in respect to the taking of life he is but incidentally occupied.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., the taking of life is not his main purpose, but merely follows incidentally; such does not entail culpability. ');">¹³</span> But Abaye and Raba both maintain: R. Simeon admits in a case of 'cut off his head but let him not die!'<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' R. Simeon holds that a labour performed unintentionally in the course of doing something that is permitted is itself permitted, unless it follows inevitably from the latter, when it is the same as any other forbidden labour. Here too it must inevitably die when crushed. ');">¹⁴</span> Here it is different, because he is more pleased that it should be alive, so that the dye should be clearer.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Hence its death is more than unintentional, but actually contrary to his desire. ');">¹⁵</span> AND SLAUGHTERING IT. As for him who slaughters, on what score is he culpable? — Rab said: On the score of dyeing;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The blood that gushes forth from its cut throat stains and dyes the flesh. ');">¹⁶</span> while Samuel said: On the score of taking life.

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