Chullin 90

Chapter 90

א פולין יש מונחין על פי הקדרה
1 bean shaped protuberances<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., the occipital condyles which articulate the cranium to the first vertebra.');"><sup>1</sup></span>
ב מן הפולין ולפנים כלפנים מן הפולין ולחוץ כלחוץ ופולין עצמן איני יודע ומסתברא כלפנים
2 that lie at the entrance of the cranium; whatsoever lies on the inside of these protuberances is regarded as within [the cranium] and whatsoever lies on the outside of these protuberances is regarded as outside [the cranium].
ג רבי ירמיה בדק בעופא ואשכח כמין שני פולין מונחין על פי הקדרה:
3 As to that which lies directly opposite these protuberances, I know not how to regard it.
ד ניקב הלב לבית חללו:
4 It is the more reasonable view, however, to regard it as within [the cranium].
ה בעי רבי זירא
5 R'Jeremiah once examined the skull of a bird and found these two bean shaped protuberances at the entrance of the cranium.
ו לבית חלל קטן או לבית חלל גדול
6 IF THE HEART WAS PIERCED AS FAR AS THE CAVITY THEREOF.
ז א"ל אביי
7 R'Zera raised the question: Does it mean as far as the small cavity<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., the atrium; the large cavity being the ventricle.');"><sup>2</sup></span>
ח מאי תיבעי לך
8 or as far as the large cavity?
ט מי לא תנן ר"ש אומר
9 Thereupon Abaye said to him: Why are you in doubt?
י עד שתנקב לבית הסמפונות
10 Have we not learnt: R'SIMEON SAYS, PROVIDED IT WAS PIERCED AS FAR AS THE MAIN BRONCHI?
יא ואמר רבה בר תחליפא אמר רבי ירמיה בר אבא אמר רב
11 And this was explained by Rabbah B'Tahlifa in the name of R'Jeremiah B'Abba on the authority of Rab to mean that it [the lung] must be pierced as far as the large bronchus!<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Abaye would therefore suggest that even in the case of the heart the hole must reach as far as the main or large cavity, i.e., the ventricle.');"><sup>3</sup></span>
יב עד שתנקב לסמפון גדול
12 - He replied: There is no comparison at all! There it says: AS FAR AS THE MAIN BRONCHI,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'the house (or center) of the bronchial tubes'.');"><sup>4</sup></span>
יג הכי השתא
13 that is the center into which the bronchial tubes converge, but here it says: AS FAR AS THE CAVITY THEREOF; what does it matter whether it is the large or small cavity?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' In either case it is trefah. ckv vbe');"><sup>5</sup></span>
יד התם לבית הסמפונות קתני להיכא דשפכי סמפונות כולהו והכא לבית חללו קתני מה לי חלל גדול מה לי חלל קטן
14 As to the aorta,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Heb. 'the artery of the heart'.');"><sup>6</sup></span>
טו קנה הלב רב אמר
15 Rab says: The slightest perforation therein [will render the animal trefah]; Samuel says, [I is trefah only if] the greater portion [of its circumference was severed].
טז במשהו ושמואל אמר
16 What is the aorta?
יז ברובו
17 Said Rabbah B'Isaac in the name of Rab: It is the artery<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'the fat'. The aorta was regarded as composed of fat by reason of its whiteness.');"><sup>7</sup></span>
יח הי ניהו קנה הלב
18 which runs along the [chest] walls.
יט אמר רבה בר יצחק אמר רב
19 The walls?
כ חלב שעל גבי דפנות
20 But that is absurd! Rather it is the artery which runs in the groove between the lungs.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., the mediastinal cavity.');"><sup>8</sup></span>
כא דפנות סלקא דעתך
21 Amemar said in the name of R'Nahman: There are three main vessels, one leads to the heart,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The aorta.');"><sup>9</sup></span>
כב אלא
22 the other to the lungs<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The trachea or windpipe.');"><sup>10</sup></span>
כג שעל גבי דופני ריאה
23 and the third to the liver;<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The vena cava inferior.');"><sup>11</sup></span>
כד אמר אמימר משמיה דרב נחמן
24 the one that leads to the lungs is counted as the lungs,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' And the slightest perforation therein will render the animal trefah.');"><sup>12</sup></span>
כה תלתא קני הוו חד פריש לליבא וחד פריש לריאה וחד פריש לכבדא
25 the one that leads to the liver is counted as the liver,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' So that it is trefah only if it was gone entirely.');"><sup>13</sup></span>
כו דריאה כריאה דכבדא ככבדא דליבא פליגי
26 but with regard to the one that leads to the heart there is the abovementioned dispute [between Rab and Samuel].
כז מר בר חייא מתני איפכא
27 Mar B'Hiyya reports a different version: The one that leads to the lungs is counted as the liver, the one that leads to the liver is counted as the lungs, but with regard to the one that leads to the heart there is the above-mentioned dispute [between Rab and Samuel].
כח דריאה ככבדא דכבדא כריאה דליבא פליגי
28 R'Hiyya B'Joseph went and reported Rab's view to Samuel.
כט אזל רבי חייא בר יוסף אמרה לשמעתא דרב קמיה דשמואל א"ל
29 Said Samuel: If this is what Abba<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e.. Rab. V. supra p. 202, n. 5.');"><sup>14</sup></span>
ל אי הכי אמר אבא לא ידע בטרפות ולא כלום:
30 said, then he knows nothing about defects in animals.
לא נשבר השדרה:
31 IF THE SPINE WAS BROKEN.
לב ת"ר
32 Our Rabbis taught: Rabbi says: The greater part of the circumference of the spinal cord must be severed.
לג חוט השדרה שנפסק ברובו דברי רבי
33 R'Jacob says: Even if it was only pierced [the animal is trefah].
לד רבי יעקב אומר
34 Rabbi, however, decided cases according to the view of R'Jacob.
לה אפילו ניקב
35 R'Huna said: The halachah is not in accordance with R'Jacob's view.
לו הורה רבי כרבי יעקב
36 What is meant by 'the greater part'? - Rab said: It means the greater part of the circumference of the membrane<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' And it is trefah even though the medulla or spinal tissue is intact and has not been affected at all.');"><sup>15</sup></span>
לז אמר רב הונא
37 [which envelops the cord].
לח אין הלכה כרבי יעקב
38 Others say [in the name of Rab]: It means the greater part of the circumference of the medulla.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' If it is severed to this extent it is trefah even though the membrane which envelops the cord is intact.');"><sup>16</sup></span>
לט וכמה רובו
39 Now those who say: 'the greater part of the circumference of the medulla', will certainly hold [that the severance of] the greater part of the circumference of the membrane [renders the animal trefah]; but as for those who say: 'the greater part of the circumference of the membrane', what would be their view if the greater part of the circumference of the medulla [was severed]? - Come and hear: Niwli said in the name of R'Huna, 'The greater part' of which the Rabbis spoke means the greater part of the circumference of the membrane, for the actual medulla is of no consequence.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Lit., 'neither raises nor lowers'. For a discussion of this passage in the light of medical science v. Katzenelsohn, op. cit. pp. 132-3.');"><sup>17</sup></span>
מ רב אמר
40 R'Nathan B'Abin was once sitting before Rab and was examining the spinal cord for any severance of the greater part of the circumference of the membrane and also for any severance of the greater part of the circumference of the medulla; whereupon [Rab] said to him: If the greater part of the circumference of the membrane is intact [no further examination is necessary, for] the actual medulla is of no consequence.
מא רוב עורו ואמרי לה
41 Rabbah B'Bar Hana said in the name of R'Joshua B'Levi: If [the medulla] liquified, [the animal] is unfit; [likewise] if softened, it is unfit.
מב רוב מוחו
42 What is meant by 'liquified' and by 'softened'? 'Liquified' means that it flows out as from a jug; 'softened' means that it cannot stand upright.
מג מאן דאמר רוב מוחו כ"ש רוב עורו
43 R'Jeremiah asked: What is the law if it cannot stand upright because of its [abnormal] heaviness?
מד למאן דאמר רוב עורו רוב מוחו מאי
44 It is Undecided.
מה ת"ש דאמר ניולי אמר רב הונא
45 In the school of Rab it was taught: If it softened, the animal is unfit, but if part wasted away<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' And a cavity was formed (Rashi) . V. Alfasi.');"><sup>18</sup></span>
מו רובו שאמרו רוב עורו מוח זה לא מעלה ולא מוריד
46 the animal is still fit.
מז רב נתן בר אבין הוה יתיב קמיה דרב
47 The following objection wa raised: R'Simeon B'Eleazar said: If part of the spinal substance of an animal wasted away it is trefah.
מח בדק ברוב עורו וקא בדיק ברוב מוחו א"ל
48 - That was a case where the substance had softened.
מט אם רוב עורו קיים מוח זה אינו מעלה ואינו מוריד
49 But surely this is not right,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' To say that a wasting away of part of the spinal cord leaves the animal valid.');"><sup>19</sup></span>
נ אמר רבה בר בר חנה אמר רבי יהושע בן לוי
50 for Levi was once sitting in the public baths when he saw a man shaking his head incessantly<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Or 'who struck his head' (Aruch) .');"><sup>20</sup></span>
נא נתמרך פסול נתמסמס פסול
51 and exclaimed: 'Ah, this man's brain has wasted away'.
נב איזוהי המרכה ואיזוהי המסמסה
52 Now he meant to imply, did he not, that he could not continue to live? - No, said Abaye; he meant to imply that he could not procreate.
נג המרכה כל שנשפך כקיתון מסמסה כל שאינו יכול לעמוד
53 How far does the spinal cord extend?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., at what point does the vitality of the spinal cord cease so that any severance of the cord beyond that point would be of no consequence. ,uarpv ihc');"><sup>21</sup></span>
נד בעי רבי ירמיה
54 - Rab Judah said in the name of Samuel: Up to the interval between the branch nerves.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Heb. , 'between the partings', i.e., that part of the cord between the pairs of nerves that branch off from the cord (Rashi, first interpretation) . It must be observed that the spinal cord is a long, almost cylindrical rod of nerve tissue accommodated in the vertebral canal, and it extends from the skull to about the middle of the sacrum (the bone at the lower end of the spine and is wedged in between the hip bones) . At intervals along the entire length of the cord are given off pairs of spinal nerves (thirty-seven in number, classified as eight cervical, thirteen thoracic, six lumbar, five sacral, and five coccygeal) which break up into branches, and these again into smaller ones until almost every tissue in ,uarp the body is reached. These spinal nerves (called in the text 'branch nerves': Heb.) as they emerge from the vertebral canal are at once concealed in muscles and are not visible, with the exception of the first three sacral nerves which are visible and soon unite to form the sacral plexus from which proceeds the sciatic nerve, the largest nerve in the body. Accordingly the intervals between the branch nerves spoken of in the text will refer to the length of spinal cord between the first pair of sacral nerves and the second, and between the second pair and the third. The significance of Samuel's statement is that any severance of the cord below the interval is of no consequence and the animal is valid.');"><sup>22</sup></span>
נה אינו יכול לעמוד מפני כבדו מאי
55 As R'Dimi B'Isaac was intending to go to Be Huzai<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The modern Khuzistan.');"><sup>23</sup></span>
נו תיקו
56 he came to Rab Judah and said: 'Would the Master indicate to me the position of these intervals? ' 'Go', he replied: 'fetch me a kid and I will show them to you'.
נז בי רב אמרי
57 He brought them a fat kid so Rab Judah said to him, 'In this they are too deeply sunken in and are not distinguishable'.
נח נתמסמס פסול נתמזמז כשר
58 He then brought him a lean kid and Rab Judah said to him, 'In this they protrude too much<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' And the hip bones press hard on the nerves so that they are hardly noticeable.');"><sup>24</sup></span>
נט מיתיבי רשב"א אומר
59 and are not distinguishable.
ס בהמה שנתמזמז מוחה טרפה
60 But come', said he, 'and I will teach you the traditional law.
סא ההיא נתמסמס איתמר
61 Thus said Samuel, [The severance of the cord in any part] up to the first interval<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The first interval is that portion of the spinal cord between the branching off of the first sacral nerve and the second, the second interval between the second and third sacral nerves, and the third interval after the third sacral nerve.');"><sup>25</sup></span>
סב איני
62 is trefah, in the third interval it is permitted, as to the second interval I do not know'.
סג והא לוי הוה יתיב בי מסותא חזייא לההוא גברא דטרייה לרישיה אמר
63 R'Huna son of R'Joshua raised the point:
סד נתמזמז מוחיה דדין לאו דלא חיי
64 
סה אמר אביי
65 
סו לא לומר שאינו מוליד
66 
סז עד היכן חוט השדרה
67 
סח אמר רב יהודה אמר שמואל
68 
סט עד בין הפרשות
69 
ע רב דימי בר יצחק הוה קא בעי למיזל לבי חוזאי אתא לקמיה דרבי יהודה אמר ליה
70 
עא ליחוי לי מר בין הפרשות היכא
71 
עב א"ל זיל אייתי לי גדי ואחוי לך
72 
עג אייתי ליה גדי שמינה א"ל
73 
עד בליעה טפי ולא ידיע
74 
עה אייתי ליה כחוש א"ל
75 
עו בליטן טפי ולא ידיע
76 
עז א"ל
77 
עח תא אגמרך גמרא הכי אמר שמואל
78 
עט עד אחת טרפה שלישית כשרה שניה איני יודע
79 
פ בעי רב הונא בריה דרב יהושע
80 
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