Chullin Daf 47 (חולין דף מ״ז)

📖 Breakdown

Amud Aleph (47a)

Segment 1

TYPE: גמרא (מימרא דרבא)

Rava’s ruling on adjacent lung cysts

Hebrew/Aramaic:

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.

English Translation:

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.

קלאוד על הדף:

Rava continues the series of lung-inspection rulings that runs through this perek. Two cysts sitting next to each other cannot be salvaged by any inspection: we presume they formed around a perforation between them, so the animal is a tereifa outright. Where there is genuine doubt — a single cyst with a depression that makes it look like two — Rava prescribes an empirical test: pierce it with a thorn, and if the fluid flows freely from one side to the other it is one cyst and the animal is kosher. This is a striking example of the Gemara mandating physical experimentation to resolve a halachic doubt.

Key Terms:

• בּוּעֵי (bu’ei) = cysts or blisters on the surface of the lung
• סִילְוָא (silva) = a thorn, used here as a piercing instrument
• בְּדִיקוּתָא (bedikuta) = inspection — the possibility of verifying kosher status by examination

Segment 2

TYPE: גמרא (מימרא דרבא)

The five lobes of the lung — the anatomical baseline

Hebrew/Aramaic:

וְאָמַר רָבָא: חָמֵשׁ אוּנֵּי אִית לַהּ לְרֵיאָה, אַפַּהּ כְּלַפֵּי גַּבְרָא – תְּלָתָא מִיַּמִּינָא וְתַרְתֵּי מִשְּׂמָאלָא. חַסִּיר אוֹ יַתִּיר אוֹ חֲלִיף – טְרֵפָה.

English Translation:

§ 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.

קלאוד על הדף:

Rava establishes the normative anatomy of a kosher lung: five lobes — three on the examiner’s right and two on his left when the animal hangs by its legs facing him. Any deviation — a missing lobe, an extra lobe, or lobes switched between sides — renders the animal a tereifa according to Rava. This memra became the foundation of all practical lung inspection (bedikat hare’ah), and the next segments immediately test and qualify it.

Key Terms:

• אוּנֵּי (unnei) = the lobes of the lung
• חַסִּיר / יַתִּיר / חֲלִיף = missing / extra / switched — the three deviations from normal lobe anatomy
• אַפַּהּ כְּלַפֵּי גַּבְרָא = with its face toward the man — the standard orientation for examining the lung

Segment 3

TYPE: מעשה (עובדא)

Mareimar overrules Rava on an extra lobe

Hebrew/Aramaic:

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.

English Translation:

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.

קלאוד על הדף:

A practical case tests Rava’s ruling: a lung with an extra lobe is brought to Mareimar, who deems it kosher. Rav Acha, sitting at the gate, is troubled by the contradiction with Rava and sends the owner back in — a polite way of asking the master to reconsider. Mareimar, understanding exactly what is happening, sends back a pointed message: the halakha does not follow Rava regarding an extra lobe (yiteret). The episode shows how the halakha was refined through live rulings, not only abstract debate.

Key Terms:

• יַתִּירְתָּא (yatirta) = an extra lobe beyond the standard five
• אַבָּבָא (abava) = at the gate/door — Rav Acha was sitting at the entrance of Mareimar’s house
• לֵית הִלְכְתָא כְּוָותֵיהּ = the halakha is not in accordance with him — the formal rejection of Rava’s stringency for an extra lobe

Segment 4

TYPE: גמרא (אוקימתא)

The leniency applies only to a lobe in the row

Hebrew/Aramaic:

וְהָנֵי מִילֵּי – דְּקָיְימָא בְּדָרָא דְּאוּנֵּי, אֲבָל בֵּינֵי בֵּינֵי – טְרֵפָה.

English Translation:

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.

קלאוד על הדף:

The Gemara immediately qualifies Mareimar’s leniency: an extra lobe is acceptable only when it stands in the row of lobes (be-dara de-unnei), in line with the others on the right or left. An extra lobe positioned between the two sides is an actual malformation, and the animal is a tereifa. The principle emerging is that an extra growth in the natural pattern is a variant, while one outside the pattern indicates a defect.

Key Terms:

• דָּרָא דְּאוּנֵּי (dara de-unnei) = the row of lobes — the natural line in which the lobes sit
• בֵּינֵי בֵּינֵי (beinei beinei) = in between — an extra lobe positioned between the right and left sides

Segment 5

TYPE: מעשה (עובדא)

Rav Ashi and the little rose lobe (einunita de-varda)

Hebrew/Aramaic:

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,

English Translation:

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.

קלאוד על הדף:

A between-the-sides lobe comes before Rav Ashi, who is inclined to declare it a tereifa in line with the previous ruling. Rav Huna Mar bar Avya corrects him from field experience: all free-grazing animals have this small extra lobe, and the butchers even have a name for it — the einunita de-varda, the little rose lobe. Empirical familiarity with normal anatomy overrides the theoretical presumption of defect. The Gemara then limits this too: the rose lobe is normal only on the inner face of the lung, toward the heart.

Key Terms:

• עֵינוּנִיתָא דְּוַורְדָּא (einunita de-varda) = the little rose lobe — a small accessory lobe common in grazing animals
• חֵיוֵי בָּרָיָיתָא (cheivei barayata) = animals of the field — free-grazing livestock
• מִגַּוַּאי (miggavai) = on the inside — the face of the lung toward the heart

Amud Bet (47b)

Segment 1

TYPE: גמרא (המשך האוקימתא)

On the back of the lung even a tiny lobe is a tereifa

Hebrew/Aramaic:

אֲבָל אַגַּבַּהּ, אֲפִילּוּ כְּטַרְפָּא דְאָסָא – טְרֵפָה.

English Translation:

But if it is on the back of the lung, even if it is as small as a myrtle leaf, the animal is a tereifa.

קלאוד על הדף:

Completing the rule begun at the end of 47a: the rose lobe is tolerated only on the inner face of the lung. If an extra lobe appears on the back (outer face) of the lung, then even one as small as a myrtle leaf renders the animal a tereifa. Position, not size, is the determining factor: on the back of the lung no accessory lobe is part of normal anatomy.

Key Terms:

• אַגַּבַּהּ (a-gabbah) = on its back — the outer surface of the lung
• טַרְפָּא דְאָסָא (tarpa de-asa) = a myrtle leaf — proverbially small

Segment 2

TYPE: גמרא (מימרא ולשונות)

Rafram: a lung like a block of wood

Hebrew/Aramaic:

אָמַר רַפְרָם: הַאי רֵיאָה דְּדָמְיָא לְאוּפְתָּא – טְרֵפָה. אִיכָּא דְּאָמְרִי בַּחֲזוּתָא, וְאִיכָּא דְּאָמְרִי בְּגִישְׁתָּא. אִיכָּא דְּאָמְרִי דִּנְפִיחָה, וְאִיכָּא דְּאָמְרִי דִּפְחִיזָא, וְאִיכָּא דְּאָמְרִי דְּשִׁיעָא, דְּלֵית לַהּ חִיתּוּכָא דְאוּנֵּי.

English Translation:

§ Rafram says: This lung that is similar to a chip of wood renders the animal a tereifa. There are those who say that the similarity lies in its appearance, i.e., if it is pale like wood. And there are those who say that it lies in its feeling, i.e., if it is hard like wood. There are those who say that it is swollen. And there are those who say that it is light. And there are those who say that it is completely smooth, that it has no sectioning of lobes.

קלאוד על הדף:

Rafram rules that a lung resembling an ufta — a chip or block of wood — is a tereifa, and the Gemara preserves five traditions of what the comparison means: pale like wood in appearance, hard like wood to the touch, swollen, light, or completely smooth with no division into lobes. Because each version describes a different physical defect, all five became relevant in practical halakha. The common thread is that a lung which has lost its natural look, feel, or structure is presumed defective.

Key Terms:

• אוּפְתָּא (ufta) = a block or chip of wood
• חֲזוּתָא / גִּישְׁתָּא (chazuta / gishta) = appearance / feel — two of the five explanations
• חִיתּוּכָא דְאוּנֵּי (chittucha de-unnei) = the sectioning of the lobes — the natural divisions of the lung

Segment 3

TYPE: גמרא (מימרא דרבא)

Lung colors I: dark like kohl is kosher, black like ink is a tereifa

Hebrew/Aramaic:

אָמַר רָבָא: כְּכוּחְלָא – כְּשֵׁרָה, כִּדְיוֹתָא – טְרֵפָה, דְּאָמַר רַבִּי חֲנִינָא: שָׁחוֹר אָדוֹם הוּא, אֶלָּא שֶׁלָּקָה.

English Translation:

§ Rava says: If the lung assumed a dark color like eye shadow, the animal is kosher. If its color is black like ink, the animal is a tereifa. As Rabbi Ḥanina says: Menstrual blood that appears black is actually red, except that it decayed. Black color is therefore a sign of decay, and the lung is assumed to be defective.

קלאוד על הדף:

The daf turns from structure to color. Rava distinguishes a lung that darkened to the deep blue-black of kochla (eye shadow), which is kosher, from one that is black as ink, which is a tereifa. The reason is supplied from Rabbi Chanina’s principle in another context: black is really red that decayed. Ink-black tissue is therefore decayed tissue, and decay in the lung renders the animal a tereifa.

Key Terms:

• כּוּחְלָא (kuchla) = kohl — a dark blue-black cosmetic for the eyes
• דְּיוֹתָא (deyota) = ink — the deeper black that signals decay
• לָקָה (laka) = decayed, was stricken — the halachic marker of defective tissue

Segment 4

TYPE: ברייתא

Green and red are kosher — Rabbi Natan and the red infant

Hebrew/Aramaic:

יְרוּקָּה – כְּשֵׁרָה, מִדְּרַבִּי נָתָן. אֲדוּמָּה – כְּשֵׁרָה, מִדְּרַבִּי נָתָן. דְּתַנְיָא: רַבִּי נָתָן אוֹמֵר: פַּעַם אַחַת הָלַכְתִּי לִכְרַכֵּי הַיָּם, בָּאתָה אִשָּׁה אַחַת לְפָנַי שֶׁמָּלָה בְּנָהּ רִאשׁוֹן וָמֵת, שֵׁנִי וָמֵת, שְׁלִישִׁי – הֱבִיאַתּוּ לְפָנַי. רְאִיתִיו שֶׁהָיָה אָדוֹם, אָמַרְתִּי לָהּ: בִּתִּי, הַמְתִּינִי לוֹ עַד שֶׁיִּבָּלַע בּוֹ דָּמוֹ. הִמְתִּינָה לוֹ וּמָלָה אוֹתוֹ וְחָיָה, וְהָיוּ קוֹרִין אוֹתוֹ נָתָן הַבַּבְלִי עַל שְׁמִי.

English Translation:

The Gemara continues: If the lung was green, the animal is kosher, as can be derived from the episode of Rabbi Natan. And if it was red, it is kosher, as can be derived from the episode of Rabbi Natan. As it is taught in a baraita: Rabbi Natan says: Once I went to the cities overseas, where one woman came before me who circumcised her first son and he died, and she circumcised her second son and he died, and out of concern that circumcising her third son might cause him to die as well, she brought him before me. I saw that he was red, so I said to her: My daughter, wait for him until his blood is absorbed into him. She waited for him until his blood was absorbed into him and then circumcised him, and he survived. And they would call him Natan the Babylonian after my name. This incident indicates that a red lung can heal.

קלאוד על הדף:

Green and red lungs are declared kosher, and the proof is an extraordinary baraita about circumcision. Rabbi Natan relates that a woman who had lost two sons to circumcision brought him her third; seeing the infant was red, he told her to wait until the blood was absorbed, and the child survived — and was named Natan HaBavli after him. The Gemara reasons: just as redness in an infant is a temporary condition that passes, a red lung is a condition that can heal and is not an inherent defect. This baraita is also the classical source for delaying a brit when an infant’s health is in doubt.

Key Terms:

• כְּרַכֵּי הַיָּם (kerakei hayam) = the cities overseas — distant coastal lands
• שֶׁיִּבָּלַע בּוֹ דָּמוֹ = until his blood is absorbed in him — until the excess surface blood subsides
• נָתָן הַבַּבְלִי = Natan the Babylonian — the child named after Rabbi Natan

Segment 5

TYPE: ברייתא (המשך)

Rabbi Natan and the green infant of Cappadocia

Hebrew/Aramaic:

וְשׁוּב פַּעַם אַחַת הָלַכְתִּי לִמְדִינַת קַפּוֹטְקְיָא, בָּאתָה אִשָּׁה לְפָנַי, שֶׁמָּלָה בְּנָהּ רִאשׁוֹן וָמֵת, שֵׁנִי וָמֵת, שְׁלִישִׁי הֱבִיאַתּוּ לְפָנַי, רְאִיתִיו שֶׁהָיָה יָרוֹק, הֵצַצְתִּי בּוֹ וְלֹא הָיָה בּוֹ דַּם בְּרִית, אָמַרְתִּי לָהּ: בִּתִּי, הַמְתִּינִי לוֹ עַד שֶׁיִּפּוֹל בּוֹ דָּמוֹ, הִמְתִּינָה לוֹ וּמָלָה אוֹתוֹ וְחָיָה, וְהָיוּ קוֹרִין אוֹתוֹ נָתָן הַבַּבְלִי עַל שְׁמִי.

English Translation:

Rabbi Natan further related: And on another occasion I went to the state of Cappadocia, and a woman came before me who circumcised her first son and he died, and she circumcised her second son and he died. Out of concern that circumcising her third son might cause him to die as well, she brought him before me. I saw that he was green, i.e., pale. I looked at him and saw that he did not have the blood of circumcision in him, i.e., he had a deficiency of blood such that no blood would emerge from the circumcision. I said to her: My daughter, wait until his blood enters him. She waited for his blood to increase and then circumcised him, and he survived. And they would call his name Natan the Babylonian after my name. This incident indicates that a green lung can heal as well.

קלאוד על הדף:

The baraita continues with the parallel case: in Cappadocia, the same tragic pattern — two sons dead from circumcision — and this time the third infant was green (pale). Rabbi Natan saw that the child lacked the blood of circumcision and instructed the mother to wait until his blood increased; the child survived and was likewise named after him. Together the two stories prove that both red and green are reversible conditions, hence a red or green lung is kosher. They are also a model of medical caution embedded in halakha: mortal risk overrides the mitzvah’s normal schedule.

Key Terms:

• קַפּוֹטְקְיָא (Kapotkiya) = Cappadocia — a region in Asia Minor
• דַּם בְּרִית (dam berit) = the blood of the covenant — the blood that emerges at circumcision
• יָרוֹק (yarok) = green/pale — in Chazal’s usage a spectrum from yellow-pale to green

Segment 6

TYPE: גמרא (מימרא)

Lung colors II: like liver kosher, like flesh a tereifa

Hebrew/Aramaic:

אָמַר רַב כָּהֲנָא: כְּכַבְדָּא – כְּשֵׁרָה, כְּבִשְׂרָא – טְרֵפָה, וְסִימָנָיךְ: ״וּבָשָׂר בַּשָּׂדֶה טְרֵפָה״.

English Translation:

Rav Kahana says: If the lung has an appearance like the liver, the animal is kosher. If it has an appearance like flesh, the animal is a tereifa. And your mnemonic to remember that the latter is a tereifa is the verse: “You shall not eat any flesh that is torn of animals [tereifa] in the field” (Exodus 22:30).

קלאוד על הדף:

Rav Kahana adds another color test: a lung whose appearance is like liver — dark reddish-brown — is kosher, but one that looks like ordinary flesh is a tereifa. He attaches a Scriptural mnemonic: u-vasar ba-sadeh tereifa, ‘flesh torn in the field you shall not eat’ (Shemot 22:30) — basar (flesh) pairs with tereifa. The mnemonic marks how these rapid-fire color rules were taught and remembered in the study hall.

Key Terms:

• כְּכַבְדָּא (ke-chavda) = like the liver — a normal healthy lung color
• כְּבִשְׂרָא (ke-visra) = like flesh — an abnormal pallor indicating defect
• סִימָנָיךְ (simanech) = your mnemonic — a memory device anchoring the ruling

Segment 7

TYPE: גמרא (שקלא וטריא)

Which greens are tereifa and which green is kosher

Hebrew/Aramaic:

אָמַר רַב סַמָּא בְּרֵיהּ דְּרָבָא: הַאי רֵיאָה דְּדָמְיָא כִּכְשׁוּתָא, וּכְמוֹרִיקָא, וּכְגוֹן בֵּיעֲתָא – טְרֵפָה. אֶלָּא יְרוּקָּה דִּכְשֵׁרָה הֵיכִי דָּמְיָא? כְּכַרָּתֵי.

English Translation:

Rav Sama, son of Rava, says: This lung whose appearance resembles dodder, or saffron, or has a yellow color such as that of an egg yolk, renders the animal a tereifa. Since all of these appearances are various shades of green, the Gemara asks: But the green lung that is kosher, what is it like? The Gemara responds: It is like a leek.

קלאוד על הדף:

Rav Sama the son of Rava refines the ‘green is kosher’ rule: a lung the color of dodder (a yellowish vine), saffron, or egg yolk is a tereifa. Since all of these are shades of what Chazal call yarok, the Gemara asks what the kosher green of the earlier ruling looks like, and answers: leek-green. The deep green of a leek is a passing condition; the yellow-greens of dodder, saffron, and yolk indicate bile-related decay. Precision about color shades became central to practical lung inspection.

Key Terms:

• כְּשׁוּתָא (keshuta) = dodder — a yellowish parasitic vine, also used in brewing
• מוֹרִיקָא (morika) = saffron — orange-yellow
• כַּרָּתֵי (karatei) = leeks — the deep green that remains kosher

Segment 8

TYPE: גמרא (מימרא דרבינא)

Ravina: testing a sealed spot in the lung

Hebrew/Aramaic:

אָמַר רָבִינָא: אָטוּם בְּרֵיאָה, מַיְיתִינַן סַכִּינָא וְקָרְעִינַן לַהּ, אִי אִית בַּהּ מוּגְלָא – וַדַּאי מֵחֲמַת מוּגְלָא הוּא, וּכְשֵׁרָה, וְאִי לָא – מוֹתְבִינַן עֲלַהּ גַּדְפָּא אוֹ רוּקָּא, אִי מְבַצְבְּצָא – כְּשֵׁרָה, וְאִי לָא – טְרֵפָה.

English Translation:

§ Ravina says: If there was a sealed area in the lung that does not inflate, we bring a knife and tear it open. If there is pus in the sealed area, then it was definitely sealed due to the pus, and the animal is kosher. But if we do not find pus there, we lay a feather or saliva on the opening and inflate the lung. If the saliva bubbles or the feather moves, the animal is kosher, since some air does reach the area, and if not, there is some defect in the lung, and the animal is a tereifa.

קלאוד על הדף:

Ravina addresses an atum — an area of the lung that does not inflate. The protocol: cut it open with a knife; if pus is found, the blockage is explained and the animal is kosher. If not, place a feather or saliva over the spot and inflate the lung: if it bubbles or flutters, air reaches the area and the animal is kosher; if not, the tissue is dead and the animal is a tereifa. Note the inversion: here bubbling indicates kashrut (air flows where it should), whereas in the perforation tests below bubbling indicates a tereifa (air escapes where it should not).

Key Terms:

• אָטוּם (atum) = sealed — an area of lung that fails to inflate
• מוּגְלָא (mugla) = pus — an innocent explanation for the blockage
• מְבַצְבְּצָא (mevatzbetza) = bubbles/flutters — the sign that air is moving

Segment 9

TYPE: גמרא (תרי מימרי דרב יוסף)

A scab is not a membrane; locating a leak in a whistling lung

Hebrew/Aramaic:

אָמַר רַב יוֹסֵף: קְרוּם שֶׁעָלָה מֵחֲמַת מַכָּה בָּרֵיאָה – אֵינוֹ קְרוּם, וְאָמַר רַב יוֹסֵף: הַאי רֵיאָה דְּאָוְושָׁא, אִי יָדְעִינַן הֵיכָא אָוְושָׁא – מַנְּחִינַן עֲלַהּ גַּדְפָּא אוֹ גִילָא אוֹ רוּקָּא, אִי מְבַצְבְּצָא – טְרֵפָה, וְאִי לָא – כְּשֵׁרָה, וְאִי לָא יָדְעִינַן לַהּ – מַיְיתִינַן מְשִׁיכְלְתָא דְּמַיָּא פָּשׁוֹרֵי וּמוֹתְבִינַן לַהּ בְּגַוַּהּ.

English Translation:

Rav Yosef says: A membrane that appeared due to a wound in the lung, i.e., a scab that covered a perforation through the lung, is not considered a true membrane, since it does not last. And Rav Yosef says: With regard to this lung that emits a sound when inflated, if we know from where it emits a sound, we set a feather, or straw, or saliva on that point. If the saliva bubbles when the lung is inflated, the animal is a tereifa, since this proves that the lung is perforated through both membranes. And if not, the animal is kosher. And if we do not know from where it emits a sound, we bring a basin of tepid water and set the lung inside it.

קלאוד על הדף:

Rav Yosef teaches two rules. First, a membrane that grew over a wound in the lung is not a true membrane — a scab does not last, so it cannot save the animal from being a tereifa. Second, a lung that emits a sound when inflated is leaking air: if we know where, we place a feather, straw, or saliva there — bubbling proves the perforation passes through both membranes and the animal is a tereifa. If we cannot locate the sound, we submerge the lung in a basin of tepid water and watch for bubbles.

Key Terms:

• קְרוּם שֶׁעָלָה מֵחֲמַת מַכָּה = a membrane that arose from a wound — scar tissue, halachically not a membrane
• אָוְושָׁא (avsha) = emits a sound — a lung that hisses or whistles when inflated
• מְשִׁיכְלְתָא (meshichleta) = a basin — the vessel of water used for the immersion test

Segment 10

TYPE: גמרא (ביאור)

Why tepid water — and what a silent lung proves

Hebrew/Aramaic:

בְּחַמִּימֵי לָא – דְּכָוְוצִי, בְּקָרִירֵי לָא – דִּמְטָרְשִׁי, אֶלָּא בָּדְקִינַן לַהּ בְּפָשׁוֹרֵי. אִי מְבַצְבְּצָא – טְרֵפָה, וְאִי לָא – כְּשֵׁרָה. תַּתָּאָה אִינְּקִיב, עִילָּאָה לָא אִינְּקִיב, וְהַאי דְּאָוְושָׁא – זִיקָא דְּבֵינֵי וּבֵינֵי הוּא.

English Translation:

One cannot place it in hot water, as it causes the lung to contract, closing the perforation. And one cannot place it in cold water, as it hardens the lung and may cause it to crack. Rather, we check it in tepid water. If the water bubbles, the animal is a tereifa. And if not, the animal is kosher, since it is apparent that only the inner membrane is perforated and the outer membrane is not perforated, and the fact that it emits a sound is due to the air moving in the space between the two membranes.

קלאוד על הדף:

The Gemara explains the choice of tepid water: hot water contracts the tissue and seals the hole, hiding the defect; cold water hardens the lung and may itself cause cracking. In tepid water the test is reliable: bubbles mean a through-perforation and the animal is a tereifa; no bubbles mean only the inner membrane is perforated, while the outer membrane is intact — the sound was merely air moving between the two membranes, and the animal is kosher. This presumes the rule (46b) that the lung’s two membranes each suffice to seal it.

Key Terms:

• פָּשׁוֹרֵי (peshorei) = tepid water — neither contracting nor hardening
• דְּכָוְוצִי / דִּמְטָרְשִׁי = it contracts / it hardens — the defects of hot and cold water respectively
• תַּתָּאָה / עִילָּאָה (tata’a / ila’a) = the lower (inner) / upper (outer) membrane of the lung

Segment 11

TYPE: מימרא (עולא בשם רבי יוחנן)

A lung that pours like a jug is kosher — internal deficiency is not deficiency

Hebrew/Aramaic:

אָמַר עוּלָּא אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן: רֵיאָה שֶׁנִּשְׁפְּכָה כְּקִיתוֹן, כְּשֵׁרָה. אַלְמָא קָסָבַר: חִסָּרוֹן מִבִּפְנִים לָא שְׁמֵיהּ חִסָּרוֹן.

English Translation:

§ Ulla says that Rabbi Yoḥanan says: An animal with a lung that liquefied and can be poured out like water from a jug is kosher. The Gemara notes: Evidently, Rabbi Yoḥanan holds that a deficiency on the inside of an organ is not considered a deficiency. Only a deficiency in the wall or membrane of an organ renders an animal a tereifa.

קלאוד על הדף:

Ulla reports Rabbi Yochanan’s dramatic ruling: a lung whose flesh has liquefied so completely that it pours out like water from a jug — yet whose outer membrane is whole — leaves the animal kosher. The Gemara draws out the principle: chisaron mi-bifnim lo shemei chisaron, an internal deficiency is not halachically a ‘deficiency.’ Only a breach or lack in the organ’s wall or membrane renders the animal a tereifa; what happens inside a sealed, intact membrane does not.

Key Terms:

• נִשְׁפְּכָה כְּקִיתוֹן (nishpecha ke-kiton) = poured out like a jug — completely liquefied lung tissue
• חִסָּרוֹן מִבִּפְנִים (chisaron mi-bifnim) = an internal deficiency — missing substance inside an intact organ
• לָא שְׁמֵיהּ חִסָּרוֹן = is not called a deficiency — does not render the animal a tereifa

Segment 12

TYPE: קושיא

Rabbi Abba objects from the mishna

Hebrew/Aramaic:

אֵיתִיבֵיהּ רַבִּי אַבָּא לְעוּלָּא: ״הָרֵיאָה שֶׁנִּיקְּבָה אוֹ שֶׁחָסְרָה״. מַאי חָסְרָה? אִילֵימָא מִבַּחוּץ – הַיְינוּ נִיקְּבָה! אֶלָּא לָאו מִבִּפְנִים, וּשְׁמַע מִינַּהּ: חִסָּרוֹן מִבִּפְנִים שְׁמֵיהּ חִסָּרוֹן!

English Translation:

Rabbi Abba raised an objection to Ulla from the mishna, which states: The lung that was perforated or that was missing a piece renders the animal a tereifa. What is the case of a lung that was missing a piece? If we say that it was missing a piece on the outside, this is the same as if it was perforated, since any missing piece of the lung wall would constitute a perforation. Rather, is it not referring to a missing piece on the inside? If so, learn from the mishna that a deficiency on the inside of an organ is considered a deficiency to render the animal a tereifa.

קלאוד על הדף:

Rabbi Abba challenges Ulla from our mishna (42a), which lists ‘a lung that was perforated or that was missing’ as a tereifa. What can ‘missing’ add? If it means missing from the outside, that is simply a perforation, already stated. It must mean missing on the inside — proving that an internal deficiency is a deficiency, against Rabbi Yochanan. The objection turns on a classic interpretive axiom: no clause of the mishna may be redundant.

Key Terms:

• אֵיתִיבֵיהּ (eitiveih) = he raised an objection against him — from a tannaitic source
• הָרֵיאָה שֶׁנִּיקְּבָה אוֹ שֶׁחָסְרָה = the lung that was perforated or was missing — the mishna’s two clauses
• הַיְינוּ נִיקְּבָה (haynu nikva) = that is the same as perforated — the redundancy that drives the question

Segment 13

TYPE: תירוץ

The answer: ‘missing’ teaches a limit on Rabbi Shimon

Hebrew/Aramaic:

לָא, לְעוֹלָם מִבַּחוּץ, וּדְקָא אָמְרַתְּ הַיְינוּ נִיקְּבָה – לָא צְרִיכָא לְרַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן, דְּאָמַר: עַד שֶׁתִּנָּקֵב לְבֵית הַסִּמְפּוֹנוֹת. הָנֵי מִילֵּי נֶקֶב דְּלֵית בֵּיהּ חִסָּרוֹן, אֲבָל נֶקֶב דְּאִית בֵּיהּ חִסָּרוֹן – אֲפִילּוּ רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן מוֹדֶה.

English Translation:

The Gemara responds: No, the mishna actually is referring to a missing piece on the outside. And with regard to that which you said: This is the same as if it was perforated, one may respond that no, it is necessary to mention both cases to account for the opinion of Rabbi Shimon in the mishna, who says: It is not a tereifa until the lung is perforated through to the bronchi. By mentioning both cases, the mishna teaches that this statement of Rabbi Shimon applies only to a small perforation that does not constitute a deficiency. But in the case of a perforation so large that it constitutes a deficiency, even Rabbi Shimon concedes that it renders the animal a tereifa even if the perforation does not reach the bronchi.

קלאוד על הדף:

The Gemara deflects the proof: ‘missing’ indeed means missing on the outside, and it is not redundant — it is needed for Rabbi Shimon, who holds a lung perforation is not a tereifa until it reaches the bronchi (beit ha-simponot). The mishna teaches that Rabbi Shimon’s leniency applies only to a clean perforation with no missing tissue; a perforation that involves a deficiency renders the animal a tereifa even for Rabbi Shimon, wherever it is. Rabbi Yochanan’s principle about internal deficiency survives intact.

Key Terms:

• בֵּית הַסִּמְפּוֹנוֹת (beit ha-simponot) = the place of the bronchi — the major airways at the root of the lung
• נֶקֶב שֶׁיֵּשׁ בּוֹ חִסָּרוֹן = a perforation that involves missing tissue — stringent even per Rabbi Shimon
• לָא צְרִיכָא (la tzericha) = it is needed only for… — the formula introducing the non-redundant reading

Segment 14

TYPE: מעשה (עובדא)

The ruling at Rabbi Chananya’s sickbed

Hebrew/Aramaic:

רַבִּי חֲנַנְיָה חֲלַשׁ, עָל לְגַבֵּיהּ רַבִּי נָתָן וְכׇל גְּדוֹלֵי הַדּוֹר, אַיְיתוֹ קַמֵּיהּ רֵיאָה שֶׁנִּשְׁפְּכָה כְּקִיתוֹן, וְאַכְשְׁרַהּ.

English Translation:

The Gemara relates that Rabbi Ḥananya became sick. Rabbi Natan and all the eminent scholars of the generation entered before him to visit. They brought before him a lung that could be poured out like water from a jug, and he deemed the animal kosher.

קלאוד על הדף:

The Gemara corroborates Rabbi Yochanan with an incident: when Rabbi Chananya fell ill, Rabbi Natan and all the eminent scholars of the generation came to visit him, and a lung that poured out like a jug was brought before him — and he ruled it kosher. A ruling issued in the presence of the gedolei ha-dor carries the weight of collective assent. The sugya thus moves from abstract principle to attested practice.

Key Terms:

• חֲלַשׁ (chalash) = became ill
• גְּדוֹלֵי הַדּוֹר (gedolei ha-dor) = the eminent scholars of the generation
• אַכְשְׁרַהּ (achshera) = he ruled it kosher

Segment 15

TYPE: גמרא (אוקימתא ובדיקה)

Rava’s condition: the bronchi must survive — and Rav Ashi’s test

Hebrew/Aramaic:

אָמַר רָבָא: וְהוּא דְּקָיְימִי סִמְפּוֹנוֹת. אֲמַר לֵיהּ רַב אַחָא בְּרֵיהּ דְּרָבָא לְרַב אָשֵׁי: מְנָא יָדְעִינַן? אֲמַר לֵיהּ: מַיְיתִינַן צָעָא דְּקוּנְיָא, וְשָׁפְכִינַן לַהּ בְּגַוֵּיהּ. אִי אִית בַּהּ שׁוּרְיָיקֵי חִיוָּרֵי – טְרֵפָה, וְאִי לָא – כְּשֵׁרָה.

English Translation:

Rava said: This is the halakha only if the bronchi still exist and only the flesh of the lung has liquefied. Rav Aḥa, son of Rava, said to Rav Ashi: From where do we know whether the bronchi still exist? Rav Ashi said to him: We bring a glazed earthenware vessel with no cracks, so the contents can be observed, and we pour the lung into it. If there are white streaks in it, the animal is a tereifa, as the white streaks are remains of the liquefied bronchi. And if not, the animal is kosher.

קלאוד על הדף:

Rava qualifies the leniency: a liquefied lung is kosher only if the simponot (bronchi) still stand — if the airways themselves dissolved, the defect reaches the lung’s structure and the animal is a tereifa. Rav Acha son of Rava asks the practical question: how can we know? Rav Ashi prescribes pouring the liquefied contents into a glazed earthenware dish whose smooth surface shows the contents clearly: white streaks are the remains of dissolved bronchi and the animal is a tereifa; their absence means the bronchi are intact and the animal is kosher.

Key Terms:

• סִמְפּוֹנוֹת (simponot) = the bronchi — the branching airways of the lung
• צָעָא דְּקוּנְיָא (tza’a de-kunya) = a glazed earthenware dish — smooth and uncracked so contents are visible
• שׁוּרְיָיקֵי חִיוָּרֵי (shuryakei chivarei) = white streaks — the telltale residue of dissolved bronchi

Segment 16

TYPE: מימרא וברייתא

Rav Nachman: an atrophied lung with an intact membrane is kosher

Hebrew/Aramaic:

אָמַר רַב נַחְמָן: רֵיאָה שֶׁנִּימּוֹקָה וּקְרוּם שֶׁלָּהּ קַיָּים – כְּשֵׁרָה. תַּנְיָא נָמֵי הָכִי: רֵיאָה שֶׁנִּימּוֹקָה וּקְרוּם שֶׁלָּהּ קַיָּים, אֲפִילּוּ מַחְזֶקֶת רְבִיעִית – כְּשֵׁרָה. נִיטְּלָה

English Translation:

Rav Naḥman says: If the lung was partially atrophied and only part of the flesh remains, but its membrane still exists, the animal is kosher. The Gemara notes: This is also taught in a baraita: If the lung was atrophied, but its membrane still exists, even if the space vacated by the atrophied lung can hold a quarter-log of fluid, the animal is kosher.

קלאוד על הדף:

Rav Nachman closes the daf with a parallel ruling: a lung that atrophied (nimoka) — its flesh wasted away — is kosher so long as its membrane remains intact, and a baraita confirms it: even if the vacated space could hold a revi’it of fluid, the animal is kosher. This is the same principle as the poured-out lung: the intact membrane defines the organ’s integrity. The daf ends mid-word with נִיטְּלָה (‘if it was removed’) — the catchword opening the next sugya on 48a.

Key Terms:

• נִימּוֹקָה (nimoka) = atrophied, wasted away — lung flesh that decayed and shrank
• קְרוּם (kerum) = membrane — the outer envelope of the lung
• רְבִיעִית (revi’it) = a quarter-log — a standard halachic liquid measure (approx. 86ml)

📝 Summary

Overview

Chullin 47 continues the lung tereifot of perek Elu Treifot, moving through a rapid sequence of practical inspection rulings. Amud aleph treats cysts on the lung and the normative anatomy of five lobes — with the live case in which Mareimar rejects Rava’s stringency on an extra lobe — and ends with Rav Ashi learning from butchers about the einunita de-varda, the little rose lobe. Amud bet turns to the lung’s texture and color (wood-like lungs, kohl versus ink, leek-green versus saffron-yellow), prescribes empirical tests for sealed spots and whistling lungs, and culminates in Rabbi Yochanan’s principle that an internal deficiency is not a deficiency: a lung that liquefied or atrophied remains kosher so long as its outer membrane is intact.

Amud Aleph Highlights

• Rava: two adjacent cysts on the lung admit no inspection — the animal is a tereifa; one cyst that merely looks like two is pierced with a thorn, and if the fluids flow into each other it is one cyst and kosher.
• Rava’s anatomical baseline: the lung has five lobes — three on the examiner’s right, two on his left; missing, extra, or switched lobes render the animal a tereifa.
• Mareimar deems a lung with an extra lobe kosher, and when Rav Acha sends the case back in, declares: the halakha is not in accordance with Rava regarding an extra lobe (yiteret).
• The leniency holds only when the extra lobe stands in the row of lobes; one positioned between the two sides is a tereifa.
• Rav Ashi nearly forbids a between-the-sides lobe until Rav Huna Mar bar Avya testifies that all grazing animals have it — the butchers’ einunita de-varda — valid only on the lung’s inner face.

Amud Bet Highlights

• On the back of the lung, even a lobe as small as a myrtle leaf renders the animal a tereifa.
• Rafram: a lung resembling a chip of wood (ufta) is a tereifa — with five interpretations preserved: pale appearance, hard feel, swollen, light, or smooth without lobe divisions.
• Color rules: dark like kohl is kosher, black like ink is a tereifa (black is decayed red, per Rabbi Chanina); green and red are kosher, proven from Rabbi Natan’s two stories of delaying circumcision for a red infant and a green infant until each recovered; like liver is kosher, like flesh is a tereifa (Rav Kahana); dodder, saffron, or egg-yolk shades are tereifa, while kosher green means leek-green.
• Ravina’s test for a sealed spot: cut it open — pus explains the blockage and the animal is kosher; otherwise a feather or saliva that bubbles on inflation shows air flow.
• Rav Yosef: a membrane grown over a wound is not a true membrane; a whistling lung is tested with feather, straw, or saliva at the known spot, or submerged in tepid water — hot water contracts the hole and cold water cracks the tissue.
• Rabbi Yochanan (via Ulla): a lung that pours out like water from a jug is kosher — internal deficiency is not a deficiency; Rabbi Abba’s objection from the mishna is answered via Rabbi Shimon, and Rabbi Chananya ruled likewise on his sickbed before the gedolei ha-dor.
• Rava conditions the leniency on intact bronchi; Rav Ashi’s test pours the contents into a glazed dish — white streaks mean dissolved bronchi and a tereifa. Rav Nachman: an atrophied lung with an intact membrane is kosher, even if the void holds a revi’it.

Key Disputes

Conclusions

The halakha is not in accordance with Rava regarding an extra lobe, provided it stands in the row (or is the inner-face rose lobe). Rabbi Yochanan’s principle stands: internal deficiency is not a deficiency, so liquefied and atrophied lungs are kosher when the membrane and bronchi are intact. The daf leaves behind concrete inspection protocols — the thorn test, the feather/saliva test, the tepid-water basin, and the glazed-dish test.

Key Figures

Tannaim: Rabbi Natan, Rabbi Shimon, Rabbi Chananya Amoraim: Rava, Mareimar, Rav Acha, Rav Ashi, Rav Huna Mar bar Avya, Rafram, Rabbi Chanina, Rav Kahana, Rav Sama son of Rava, Ravina, Rav Yosef, Ulla, Rabbi Yochanan, Rabbi Abba, Rav Acha son of Rava, Rav Nachman

One-Line Takeaway

A lung is judged by its envelope, not its contents: so long as the outer membrane and bronchi are intact, even flesh that pours out like water leaves the animal kosher — and where doubt remains, the Gemara prescribes hands-on tests rather than presumption.

🎯 ELI5 (Explain Like I’m 5)

The Big Picture 🖼️

Today the rabbis put on their detective hats and inspect an animal’s lungs after slaughter. They’re doing quality control: checking lumps, counting lung sections, comparing colors, and even inventing clever water tests — all to answer one question: is this animal kosher, or is it a tereifa (an animal with a defect that means it’s not kosher to eat)?

The Two-Bump Mystery 🎈

Sometimes a lung has bu’ei (cysts — little fluid-filled blisters, like tiny water balloons on the lung’s surface). Rava says: if there are TWO blisters sitting right next to each other, that’s bad news — we assume there’s a hidden hole between them, and the animal is a tereifa. No test can save it.

But wait! What if it’s really ONE blister that just has a dent in the middle, so it LOOKS like two? Then we do an experiment: poke it with a thorn. If the liquid from both sides flows together, it was one blister all along — kosher!

Think of it like… two water balloons taped together versus one balloon with a belt squeezed around its middle. Poke the single belted balloon and all the water sloshes as one. Two separate balloons? The water stays apart.

The Simple Idea 💡: When you’re not sure if it’s one blister or two, don’t guess — do the thorn test and let the liquid tell you.

Counting Lung Lobes: The Rule of Five 🖐️

A healthy animal’s lung has five lobes (unnei — the big sections of the lung, like the fingers of a glove). Rava says: hang the animal facing you, and you should see three lobes on your right and two on your left. Missing one? Extra one? Switched sides? Tereifa!

But then real life walked in. A lung with an EXTRA lobe came before the sage Mareimar, and he said: kosher! The halacha (Jewish law) doesn’t follow Rava on extra lobes — as long as the extra one sits neatly in line with the others.

Think of it like… a hand with six fingers where the sixth finger grows right in the row with the others. Unusual? Yes. Broken? No.

The Simple Idea 💡: An extra lobe in the normal row is just a variation, not a defect — but one growing in a weird spot is a problem.

The Little Rose Lobe: Butchers Knew Best 🌹

Another case: a lung came to Rav Ashi with a small extra lobe right in the MIDDLE, between the two sides. Uh oh — that’s exactly the “weird spot” we just said was a problem! Rav Ashi was ready to say tereifa.

Then Rav Huna Mar bar Avya spoke up: hold on! ALL the animals that graze out in the fields have this little lobe. The butchers see it every single day — they even gave it a cute nickname: einunita de-varda, “the little rose lobe.”

Why does this matter? Because the people who handle hundreds of lungs know what “normal” looks like better than anyone. One catch: the rose lobe only counts as normal on the INSIDE of the lung, facing the heart. On the back of the lung, even a lobe as tiny as a myrtle leaf makes the animal a tereifa.

Think of it like… a mole on your arm — totally normal, doctors see them all the time. The same spot appearing somewhere it never belongs? That’s when you get it checked.

The Simple Idea 💡: Experience counts — what every healthy animal has can’t be a defect, but location still matters.

The Color Chart: Paint Swatches for Lungs 🎨

Next, the rabbis become color experts. A lung can change color, and some colors are fine while others mean the tissue is decaying inside. It’s like a traffic light system — except greens are tricky!

Why is ink-black bad but kohl-dark fine? Rabbi Chanina explains: black is really red that decayed. Deep ink-black means the tissue went bad. And not all “greens” are equal: deep leek-green is a passing condition, but yolky yellow-green signals real trouble.

Think of it like… paint swatches at the hardware store. “Forest green” and “mustard yellow” might both be called “greenish,” but they’re totally different swatches — and here, only one of them is kosher.

The Simple Idea 💡: The exact shade matters: some colors are temporary blushes, others are signs of decay.

Rabbi Natan and the Babies: Waiting Saves Lives 👶

Here’s the most amazing part of the daf. How do we know red and green lungs can heal? From two true stories about babies!

Rabbi Natan was traveling overseas when a mother came to him in despair. She had circumcised two sons, and both had died. Now she had a third baby boy. Rabbi Natan looked at the baby and saw he was unusually RED. He said: “My daughter, wait until his blood is absorbed.” She waited, then did the brit (circumcision) — and the baby lived! They named him Natan in his honor.

Later, in a place called Cappadocia, the same heartbreak: two babies lost. The third baby was GREEN — pale, without enough blood. Again Rabbi Natan said: wait until his blood builds up. Again the baby survived, and again he was named Natan!

The Gemara’s logic: if redness and paleness in a baby are temporary conditions that pass, then a red or green lung is also a passing condition — so the animal is kosher. And these stories became THE source for a huge rule: when a baby’s health is in doubt, we delay the brit, because protecting life comes first.

Think of it like… waiting for a scraped knee to heal before going back to football practice. The redness isn’t permanent damage — it just needs time.

The Simple Idea 💡: Some conditions look scary but pass on their own — and in Jewish law, saving a life always comes before keeping a schedule.

The Bubble Tests: Finding the Leak 🚲

Now for the coolest experiments on the daf. A lung is like a balloon — it has to hold air. So how do you find a hidden hole?

Test 1 (Ravina): if part of the lung won’t inflate (an atum — a sealed, blocked spot), cut it open. Find pus? Mystery solved, the pus was blocking it — kosher. No pus? Put a feather or a drop of saliva on the spot and blow up the lung. If the feather flutters or the saliva bubbles, air is reaching that area — kosher!

Test 2 (Rav Yosef): if the lung makes a whistling sound when inflated, it’s leaking somewhere. Know where? Put saliva on that spot — if it bubbles, there’s a hole through both layers: tereifa. Don’t know where the leak is? Dunk the whole lung in a basin of water and watch for bubbles!

Think of it like… finding a puncture in a bicycle tyre. You can’t see the tiny hole, so you dunk the tube in water and look for the stream of bubbles. The rabbis invented the exact same trick about 1,500 years before bike shops!

One clever detail: why LUKEWARM water? Hot water shrinks the lung and seals the hole (hiding the evidence!). Cold water hardens it and might crack it (creating fake evidence!). Lukewarm is just right. And here’s a twist: in Ravina’s test, bubbles mean KOSHER (air flows where it should), but in the leak test, bubbles mean TEREIFA (air escapes where it shouldn’t).

The Simple Idea 💡: When you can’t see the problem, design a test that makes the air show itself — bubbles never lie.

The Liquefied Lung: It’s the Wrapper That Counts 🥤

Ready for the most surprising rule of the whole daf? Rabbi Yochanan taught: if a lung’s insides have completely turned to liquid — so runny it pours out like water from a jug — but the outer membrane (the kerum, the thin skin wrapping the lung) is perfectly intact… the animal is KOSHER!

What?! How? The principle: an internal deficiency is not called a deficiency. The halacha cares about the organ’s wall and wrapper. As long as the envelope is whole and sealed, what happens inside doesn’t make the animal a tereifa.

But wait — there’s one condition. Rava says the simponot (the bronchi — the air tubes inside the lung) must still be intact. How do we check, if everything is liquid? Rav Ashi’s trick: pour the liquid into a smooth glazed dish and look. White streaks floating in there? Those are dissolved air tubes — tereifa. No streaks? Kosher!

This was even confirmed at a famous sickbed: when Rabbi Chananya was ill, all the great sages of the generation visited him, a poured-out lung was brought in, and he ruled it kosher in front of everyone.

Think of it like… a sealed juice pouch in your lunch bag. As long as the pouch has no holes, nothing leaks and nothing gets in — even though everything inside is liquid. The wrapper is doing its whole job.

The Simple Idea 💡: In halacha, the lung’s outer membrane defines the organ — if the wrapper is whole (and the air tubes survived), the animal is kosher.

The Super Simple Summary 🎯

• Two cysts side by side on a lung = tereifa; one cyst that just LOOKS like two gets the thorn test — if the liquid flows together, it’s kosher.
• A lung should have five lobes, but an extra one in the row is fine — and butchers taught the rabbis that the “little rose lobe” is totally normal in grazing animals.
• Lung colors work like paint swatches: kohl-dark, red, leek-green, and liver-colored are kosher; ink-black, yolk-yellow, and flesh-pale mean decay — tereifa.
• Rabbi Natan’s two baby stories prove red and pale are passing conditions — and taught forever that a risky brit gets delayed, because life comes first.
• To find a lung leak, use saliva, a feather, or a lukewarm-water dunk — just like finding a puncture in a bicycle tyre.
• A lung that turned completely to liquid inside an intact membrane is still kosher — it’s the wrapper (and the surviving air tubes) that count.

⚖️ Halacha

Adjacent Cysts on the Lung (Tartei Bu’ei di-Smichan)

Source in Daf: 47a, Segment 1

Rava rules that two cysts adjacent to one another admit no inspection — the animal is a tereifa — while a single cyst that merely looks like two can be tested by piercing it. Both halves of his ruling are codified verbatim.

Rambam — Hilkhot Shechita 7:11

Hebrew:

רֵאָה שֶׁנִּמְצְאוּ בָּהּ שְׁתֵּי אֲבַעְבּוּעוֹת סְמוּכוֹת זוֹ לָזוֹ טְרֵפָה. שֶׁהַדָּבָר קָרוֹב הַרְבֵּה שֶׁיֵּשׁ נֶקֶב בֵּינֵיהֶן וְאֵין לָהֶן דֶּרֶךְ בְּדִיקָה. הָיְתָה אַחַת וְנִרְאֶה כִּשְׁתַּיִם נוֹקְבִין הָאַחַת. אִם שָׁפְכָה לָהּ הָאַחֶרֶת אַחַת הִיא וּמֻתֶּרֶת וְאִם לָאו טְרֵפָה.

English:

When one discovers two boils on a lung close to each other, the animal is trefe, for it is very likely that there is a perforation between them and there is no way of checking the matter. If there is one which appears like two, one should perforate one; if the other flows into it, it is only one and the animal is permitted. If not, the animal is trefe.

Connection: This is Rava’s ruling word for word: adjacent cysts have no bedika (לֵית לְהוּ בְּדִיקוּתָא), and Rambam even supplies the reason the Gemara left implicit — we presume a perforation lies between them. The thorn test for one cyst that looks like two (pierce it and see whether the fluids flow into one another) becomes Rambam’s “one should perforate one; if the other flows into it, it is one.”

Shulchan Aruch — Yoreh De’ah 37:3

Hebrew:

אם יש בה שתי אבעבועות סמוכות זו לזו אסורה אפילו מלאות מים זכים. ואם היא אחת ונראית כשתים, נוקבים אותה באחד מצדיה, אם שופכות למקום אחד אחת היא וכשרה, ואם לאו שתים הם וטריפה. והני מילי כשיש בהם מוגלא או מים, אבל אם הם צמחים קשים — אף על גב דסמיכי אהדדי כשרה. הגה: ולא מיקרי סמיכי אלא שאין ביניהם כשני חוטי שער לאחר שנפחו הריאה.

English:

If the lung has two cysts adjacent to one another, it is forbidden, even if they are filled with clear water. But if it is one cyst that appears like two, we pierce it on one of its sides: if they pour into one place, it is one and the animal is kosher; and if not, they are two and it is a tereifa. This applies when they contain pus or fluid, but if they are hard growths, then even though they are adjacent to one another the animal is kosher. Rema: They are only called adjacent if there is not the breadth of two hairs between them after the lung has been inflated.

Connection: The Shulchan Aruch transfers Rava’s ruling into practical lung inspection, adding two refinements developed by the Rishonim: hard growths (tzemachim) are not suspect even when adjacent, since they do not form around perforations; and the Rema gives the working shochet a precise definition of “adjacent” — less than two hairsbreadths apart on the inflated lung. The piercing test is exactly Rava’s silva (thorn) procedure, performed today with a knife point.

The Five Lobes, the Extra Lobe, and the Einunita de-Varda

Source in Daf: 47a, Segments 2-5; 47b, Segment 1

Rava’s anatomy of the kosher lung (five lobes — three right, two left), Mareimar’s rejection of Rava’s stringency for an extra lobe, the limitation to a lobe standing in the row, and the rose lobe (einunita de-varda) all flow directly into the codes.

Rambam — Hilkhot Shechita 8:1

Hebrew:

חֲסֵרָה כֵּיצַד. שְׁנֵי אֵיבָרִים הֵן שֶׁאִם חָסֵר מִמִּנְיָנָם טְרֵפָה. וְאֵלּוּ הֵן. הָרֵאָה וְהָרַגְלַיִם. וְחָמֵשׁ אֻנּוֹת יֵשׁ לָרֵאָה כְּשֶׁיִּתְלֶה אוֹתָהּ אָדָם בְּיָדוֹ וּפְנֵי רֵאָה כְּנֶגֶד פָּנָיו. שָׁלֹשׁ מִן הַיָּמִין. וּשְׁתַּיִם מִן הַשְּׂמֹאל. וּבְצַד יָמִין מִמֶּנָּה כְּמוֹ אֹזֶן קְטַנָּה וְאֵינָהּ בְּצַד הָאֻנּוֹת וְיֵשׁ לָהּ כְּמוֹ כִּיס בִּפְנֵי עַצְמָהּ וְהִיא בְּתוֹךְ הַכִּיס. וְאֹזֶן זוֹ קְטַנָּה הִיא הַנִּקְרָא וַרְדָּא מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהִיא דּוֹמָה לְוֶרֶד וְאֵינָהּ מִן הַמִּנְיָן. לְפִיכָךְ אִם לֹא נִמְצֵאת הַוַּרְדָּא מֻתֶּרֶת. שֶׁכָּךְ הִיא דַּרְכָּהּ יֵשׁ בְּהֵמוֹת תִּמָּצֵא בָּהֶם וְיֵשׁ בְּהֵמוֹת לֹא תִּמָּצֵא בָּהֶם. וְאִם נִמְצֵאת נְקוּבָה אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁהַכִּיס שֶׁלָּהּ סוֹתֵם אֶת הַנֶּקֶב הֲרֵי זוֹ טְרֵפָה.

English:

What is meant by the term chasairah? There are two organs that render an animal trefe if it is lacking the proper number. They are the lungs and the feet. The lungs have five lobes. When a person will drape them over his hand with the inner portion of the lung facing his face, there will be three lobes on the right and two on the left. In addition, at the right of the lung, there is a small ear-like attachment. It is not in the row of the lobes. It has a pocket of its own and it is located in the pocket. This attachment is called a rose, because that is what it looks like. It is not counted as one of the number of lobes. Accordingly, if an animal does not possess this “rose,” it is permitted. For this is the pattern with regard to this organ: there are some animals in which it is found and some in which it is not found. If it is perforated, the animal is trefe even though its pocket seals it.

Connection: Rambam opens his treatment of chaseira with Rava’s five-lobe anatomy (47a Segment 2), oriented exactly per the Gemara’s אַפַּהּ כְּלַפֵּי גַּבְרָא. His “rose” is the einunita de-varda of Rav Huna Mar bar Avya (47a Segment 5): because “all animals of the field have it,” it is a normal variant — neither counted toward the five nor disqualifying when absent — precisely the empirical normalization the butchers taught Rav Ashi.

Rambam — Hilkhot Shechita 8:4

Hebrew:

נִתְוַסְּפוּ הָאֻנּוֹת בְּמִנְיָנָם אִם הָיְתָה הָאֹזֶן הַיְתֵרָה בְּצַד הָאֻנּוֹת אוֹ מִלִּפְנֵי הָרֵאָה שֶׁהוּא לְעֻמַּת הַלֵּב מֻתֶּרֶת. וְאִם הָיְתָה עַל גַּבָּהּ שֶׁהוּא לְעֻמַּת הַצְּלָעוֹת הֲרֵי זוֹ טְרֵפָה שֶׁהַיָּתֵר כְּחָסֵר. וְהוּא שֶׁתִּהְיֶה כְּמוֹ עָלֶה שֶׁל הֲדַס. אֲבָל פָּחוֹת מִזֶּה אֵינָהּ אֹזֶן וּמֻתֶּרֶת.

English:

The following rules apply if the number of lobes was increased. If the extra lobe was on the side of the other lobes or in front of the lungs on the side of the heart, the animal is permitted. If the extra lobe is on its back, near the ribs, the animal is trefe, for an extra organ is considered equivalent to one that is lacking. This applies provided it is at least the size of a myrtle leaf. If it is smaller than this, it is not considered as a lobe and the animal is permitted.

Connection: This halacha is a mosaic of the daf: Mareimar’s ruling that the halakha does not follow Rava regarding an extra lobe (Segment 3); the qualification that the leniency holds only for a lobe standing in the row — be-dara de-unnei — or on the inner face toward the heart (Segments 4-5); and the closing line of 47a/opening of 47b, that on the back of the lung even a lobe the size of a myrtle leaf (ke-tarpa de-asa) is a tereifa. Rambam reads the myrtle leaf as the minimum size to count as a lobe at all — smaller than that, even on the back, it is nothing.

Shulchan Aruch — Yoreh De’ah 35:2-3

Hebrew (35:2):

חמשה אוני (פי’ כעין אזנים) אית לריאה, תלתא מימינא ותרי משמאלא, כשהבהמה תלויה ברגליה ובני מעיה כלפי הטבח, שאז ימין הבהמה וימין הטבח אחד. ויש לה עוד בצד ימין אונה אחת קטנה ונקראת עינוניתא דורדא, ואינה עומדת בסדר האונות אלא מרוחקת מהם לצד פנים. ואם חסרה אחת מימין או מהשמאל, או שהיו שנים מימין ושלשה משמאל — טריפה… והורדא, אם חסרה או אם יש לה שתים או שנמצאת בצד שמאל — כשרה. הגה: ובמדינות אלו נהגו להטריף בין נמצאו ב’ ורדות או אם חסרה או ששינתה מקומה, והכי נהוג, כי יש רבוותא סוברין כן ואין לשנות המנהג.

Hebrew (35:3):

נתוספו האונות במנינם: אם היתה האונה היתרה בצד האונות או מלפני הריאה שהיא לעומת הלב — מותרת, ואם היתה על גבה שהוא לעומת הצלעות — הרי זו טריפה, והוא שתהיה כעלה של הדס אחר שנפחוה, אבל אם היא פחות מזה כשרה. הגה: ויש מחמירין לאסור כל יתרת שאינה בדרי דאוני… ובמדינות אלו המנהג להכשיר יתרת מקמא, ואין לשנות המנהג.

English:

(35:2) The lung has five lobes (i.e., ear-like sections), three on the right and two on the left — when the animal is hung by its legs with its intestines facing the slaughterer, so that the animal’s right and the slaughterer’s right are the same. It has an additional small lobe on the right side called the einunita de-varda, which does not stand in the row of lobes but is set apart from them toward the inner side. If one lobe is missing from the right or from the left, or if there were two on the right and three on the left, it is a tereifa… As for the varda: if it is missing, or if there are two of them, or if it is found on the left side — the animal is kosher. Rema: In these lands the custom is to declare it a tereifa whether two vardot were found, or it was missing, or it changed its place; and so is the practice, for there are great authorities who hold this way, and one may not change the custom.

(35:3) If the lobes were increased in number: if the extra lobe was at the side of the lobes, or at the front of the lung facing the heart, it is permitted; but if it was on its back, facing the ribs, it is a tereifa — provided it is the size of a myrtle leaf after the lung is inflated, but if it is less than this the animal is kosher. Rema: Some are stringent to forbid any extra lobe that does not stand in the row of lobes… but in these lands the custom is to permit an extra lobe on the front, and the custom is not to be changed.

Connection: The Shulchan Aruch’s lobe anatomy is Rava’s memra, complete with the Gemara’s orientation instruction (the animal hung by its legs facing the examiner). The extra-lobe rules follow Mareimar’s leniency as qualified by the sugya: in the row or facing the heart — kosher; on the back facing the ribs — tereifa, with the myrtle-leaf threshold of 47b Segment 1. Note the divergence on the varda: the Mechaber, following Rambam, treats it as a non-essential variant (missing, doubled, or misplaced — kosher), while the Rema records the famous Ashkenazi stringency to declare the animal a tereifa for any abnormality of the varda. This is a classic case of minhag hardening a Gemara-era observation about normal anatomy into a fixed standard.

A Lung Resembling a Block of Wood (Ufta)

Source in Daf: 47b, Segment 2

Rafram rules that a lung resembling an ufta (a chip or block of wood) is a tereifa, and the Gemara preserves five explanations: pale appearance, hard feel, swollen, light, or smooth without lobe divisions. Because each version describes a different defect, the poskim codify several of them as independent laws.

Rambam — Hilkhot Shechita 8:7-8

Hebrew:

נִמְצֵאת כֻּלָּהּ שְׁתֵּי עֲרוּגוֹת וְאֵין לָהּ חִתּוּךְ אָזְנַיִם טְרֵפָה… רֵאָה שֶׁנִּמְצֵאת נְפוּחָה כְּמוֹ עִקַּר חֲרָיוֹת שֶׁל דֶּקֶל אוֹסְרִין אוֹתָהּ מִסָּפֵק. שֶׁזּוֹ תּוֹסֶפֶת מְשֻׁנָּה בְּגוּפָהּ וְשֶׁמָּא הַתּוֹסֶפֶת בַּגּוּף כְּחִסָּרוֹן כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמַר בְּמִנְיָן.

English:

(8:7) If the entire lung appears like two rows and it is not divided into lobes, it is trefe… (8:8) When a lung was discovered to be inflated like the trunk of the branches of a date palm, we rule that it is forbidden because of the doubt involved. For this is an abnormal addition to its body, and perhaps an addition to its body is considered as equivalent to a lack in its body, as stated with regard to the number of lobes.

Connection: Rambam codifies two of the five readings of Rafram’s ufta: the lung that is completely smooth, “that it has no sectioning of lobes” (de-shia, de-leit lah chittucha de-unnei), becomes 8:7; and the swollen lung (di-nficha) becomes 8:8, where Rambam rules it forbidden only mi-safek — reflecting that the Gemara records the explanations as competing traditions rather than a single resolved ruling. The pale-as-wood appearance (chazuta) surfaces separately in the laws of lung colors (see Shulchan Aruch YD 38:1 below, “white like a block of wood”).

Shulchan Aruch — Yoreh De’ah 35:8

Hebrew:

ריאה שאין לה חתוכה דאונא — טריפה. ואם סדק כמראה הפרש ביניהם כשיעור עלה הדס, בין בעיקרן בין באמצען בין בסופן — כשרה.

English:

A lung that has no division of lobes is a tereifa. But if there is a fissure that looks like the normal separation between them, the size of a myrtle leaf — whether at their roots, at their middle, or at their ends — it is kosher.

Connection: The se’if rules like the final lashon in Rafram’s list — a lung with no chittucha de-unnei is a tereifa — and supplies the practical threshold (a myrtle-leaf-sized fissure suffices to count as division), borrowing the daf’s own unit of measure, the tarpa de-asa.

Lung Colors: Kosher and Tereifa Appearances

Source in Daf: 47b, Segments 3-7

Rava (kohl-dark kosher, ink-black tereifa), the baraita of Rabbi Natan (green and red are reversible and kosher), Rav Kahana (like liver kosher, like flesh tereifa), and Rav Sama son of Rava (dodder, saffron, and egg-yolk shades are tereifa; the kosher green is leek-green) are gathered by the codes into fixed lists of forbidden and permitted appearances.

Rambam — Hilkhot Shechita 7:17, 7:19

Hebrew:

וְחָמֵשׁ מַרְאוֹת אֲסוּרוֹת יֵשׁ בָּרֵאָה וְאֵלּוּ הֵן. שְׁחוֹרָה כִּדְיוֹ. אוֹ יְרֻקָּה כְּעֵין כְּשׁוּת. אוֹ כְּעֵין חֶלְמוֹן בֵּיצָה. אוֹ כְּעֵין חֲרִיעַ. אוֹ כְּמַרְאֵה הַבָּשָׂר. וַחֲרִיעַ הוּא הַצֶּבַע שֶׁצּוֹבְעִים בּוֹ הַבְּגָדִים וְהוּא דּוֹמֶה לִשְׂעָרוֹת אֲדֻמּוֹת מְעַט וְנוֹטוֹת לִירֻקָּה…

אַרְבַּע מַרְאוֹת מֻתָּרוֹת יֵשׁ בָּהּ וְאֵלּוּ הֵן. שְׁחוֹרָה כִּכְחוֹל. אוֹ יְרֻקָּה כְּחָצִיר. אוֹ אֲדֻמָּה. אוֹ כְּמַרְאֵה הַכָּבֵד. וַאֲפִלּוּ הָיְתָה הָרֵאָה כֻּלָּהּ טְלָאִים טְלָאִים נְקֻדּוֹת נְקֻדּוֹת מֵאַרְבַּע מַרְאוֹת אֵלּוּ הֲרֵי זוֹ מֻתֶּרֶת.

English:

(7:17) There are five forbidden hues for the lung: black like ink, greenish-yellow like hops (dodder), yellow like the yolk of an egg, or like safflower, or like the color of meat. Safflower is a color with which clothes are dyed; it is comparable to hairs that are slightly red, leaning towards gold…

(7:19) There are four permitted hues for the lung. They are: blackish-blue (like kohl), green like a leek, red, or the color of the liver. Even if the lung was entirely colored in these four hues, patch by patch, spot by spot, the animal is permitted.

Connection: Rambam’s two lists are a direct compilation of the daf. The forbidden five: ink-black is Rava’s ki-dyota; dodder (keshuta), egg yolk, and safflower (his reading of morika) are Rav Sama’s three tereifa-greens; and “the color of meat” is Rav Kahana’s ke-visra, complete with the Gemara’s mnemonic verse u-vasar ba-sadeh tereifa standing behind it. The permitted four: kohl-dark is Rava’s ke-kuchla; leek-green is the Gemara’s answer to “which green is kosher?” (ke-karatei); red and liver-colored are the baraita of Rabbi Natan and Rav Kahana’s ke-chavda. In 7:18 Rambam adds that a lung the color of palm branches is forbidden mi-safek, and in 7:14 (codifying the principle behind the test) that none of these colors disqualify until the lung is inflated and massaged by hand — if it reverts to a permitted color it is kosher, an extension of Rabbi Natan’s insight that surface discoloration can be a passing condition.

Shulchan Aruch — Yoreh De’ah 38:1-2, 38:4

Hebrew:

(לח:א) ריאה שנמצא בה אפילו כל שהוא שחור כדיו, או שהיא דומה למראה הבשר, או שהיא ירוקה… בין שהיא כמראה חלמון ביצה בין שהיא כמראה כרכום בין שהיא כמראה כשותא — טריפה. וכן אם היא כמראה הבקעת, שהיא לבנה כבקעת — אסורה. ויש מי שאומר דהיינו שהיא כעין חריות של דקל.

(לח:ב) כל אלו המראות אינם פוסלות עד שנופחים אותה וממרס בה בידו. אם נשתנית למראה המותר — מותרת, ואם עמדה בעינה — אסורה.

(לח:ד) אם אינה שחורה כדיו אלא כמראה הכחול, או ירוקה ככרתי, או שהיא כמראה הכבד, או שהיא אדומה אפילו בתכלית האודם — כשרה.

English:

(38:1) A lung in which there is found even the smallest spot black like ink, or that resembles the color of flesh, or that is yarok — whether like the color of egg yolk, or like the color of saffron, or like the color of dodder — is a tereifa. Likewise if it has the appearance of a block of wood, white like a wood chip, it is forbidden; and there is one who says this means it is like palm branches.

(38:2) None of these appearances disqualify until one inflates the lung and massages it by hand: if it changed to a permitted appearance it is permitted, and if it remained as it was, it is forbidden.

(38:4) If it is not black like ink but like the color of kohl-blue, or green like a leek, or like the color of the liver, or red — even the deepest red — it is kosher.

Connection: Siman 38 is the daf turned into a checklist for the bodek. Se’if 1 lists the tereifa colors of Rava, Rav Kahana, and Rav Sama — and explicitly folds in Rafram’s ufta under its chazuta interpretation (“white like a block of wood”). Se’if 4 lists the kosher colors: kohl, leek-green, liver, and red “even the deepest red” — the last anchored in Rabbi Natan’s red infant, whose condition resolved once “his blood was absorbed into him.” Se’if 2’s inflate-and-massage test institutionalizes the daf’s underlying logic that only a color which persists indicates decayed tissue (per Rabbi Chanina, “black is red that decayed”).

Inspection Tests: The Sealed Spot and the Whistling Lung

Source in Daf: 47b, Segments 8-10

Ravina’s protocol for an atum (a spot that does not inflate) and Rav Yosef’s two rulings — a scab-membrane over a wound is not a membrane, and the feather/saliva and tepid-water tests for a lung that emits a sound — are codified essentially unchanged.

Rambam — Hilkhot Shechita 7:6-7

Hebrew:

הָרֵאָה שֶׁנִּמְצָא בָּהּ מָקוֹם אָטוּם כָּל שֶׁהוּא שֶׁאֵין הָרוּחַ נִכְנֶסֶת בּוֹ וְאֵינוֹ נִתְפָּח הֲרֵי זוֹ כִּנְקוּבָה וּטְרֵפָה. וְכֵיצַד בּוֹדְקִין אוֹתוֹ. קוֹרְעִין הַמָּקוֹם שֶׁלֹּא נִתְפַּח בִּשְׁעַת נְפִיחָה. אִם נִמְצֵאת בּוֹ לֵחָה מֻתֶּרֶת שֶׁמֵּחֲמַת הַלֵּחָה לֹא נִכְנְסָה שָׁם הָרוּחַ. וְאִם לֹא נִמְצֵאת בּוֹ לֵחָה נוֹתְנִין עָלָיו מְעַט רֹק אוֹ תֶּבֶן אוֹ כָּנָף וְכַיּוֹצֵא בָּהֶן וְנוֹפְחִין אוֹתָהּ אִם נִתְנַדְנֵד כְּשֵׁרָה וְאִם לָאו טְרֵפָה שֶׁאֵין הָרוּחַ נִכְנֶסֶת לְשָׁם.

רֵאָה שֶׁתִּשָּׁמַע בָּהּ הֲבָרָה כְּשֶׁנּוֹפְחִין אוֹתָהּ אִם נִכָּר הַמָּקוֹם שֶׁמִּמֶּנּוּ תִּשָּׁמַע הַהֲבָרָה מוֹשִׁיבִין עָלָיו רֹק אוֹ תֶּבֶן וְכַיּוֹצֵא בּוֹ. אִם נִתְנַדְנֵד בְּיָדוּעַ שֶׁהִיא נְקוּבָה וּטְרֵפָה. וְאִם לֹא נִכַּר הַמָּקוֹם מוֹשִׁיבִין אוֹתָהּ בְּמַיִם פּוֹשְׁרִין וְנוֹפְחִין אוֹתָהּ. אִם בִּקְבֵּק הַמַּיִם טְרֵפָה. וְאִם לָאו בְּיָדוּעַ שֶׁקְּרוּם הַתַּחְתּוֹן בִּלְבַד נִקַּב וְהָרוּחַ תְּנַהֵג בֵּין שְׁנֵי הַקְּרוּמוֹת וּמִפְּנֵי זֶה יִשָּׁמַע בָּהּ קוֹל דְּמָמָה בִּשְׁעַת נְפִיחָה.

English:

(7:6) When it is discovered that there is a closed place in the lung which air does not enter and it does not inflate, it is as if it had been perforated and the animal is trefe. How do we inspect it? We tear open the portion that would not inflate when air was blown into the lung. If fluid was discovered within it, it is permitted, because it was due to the fluid that the air did not enter. If no fluid is found within, we put some saliva, a straw, a feather or the like over it and blow air into it. If they move, the animal is kosher. If not, it is trefe, because air does not enter that portion of the lung.

(7:7) The following rules apply when a sound is heard when a lung is inflated. If the place from which the sound emanates can be detected, saliva, a straw, or the like should be placed over it. If they flutter, it is apparent that the lung is perforated and the animal is trefe. If the place cannot be detected, the lung should be placed in lukewarm water and blown. If the water bubbles, the animal is trefe. If not, it is apparent that only the lower membrane has been perforated and the air is moving between the two membranes; for this reason a hushed sound is heard when it is inflated.

Connection: 7:6 is Ravina’s atum protocol step for step — cut open the sealed spot, look for fluid (mugla/leicha), and if none, apply a feather or saliva and inflate: movement means air reaches the tissue and the animal is kosher. 7:7 is Rav Yosef’s whistling-lung procedure, including the Gemara’s diagnosis that a silent water test proves only the inner membrane is perforated and “the sound is the air moving between the two membranes” (zika de-veinei u-veinei). In 7:8 Rambam elevates the daf’s water test into “a great encompassing principle: whenever a lung is inflated in lukewarm water and the water does not bubble, it is intact, without any perforation.” Note the inversion the Gemara itself sets up: at the atum, bubbling/fluttering indicates kashrut (air flows where it should); at the whistling lung, bubbling indicates a tereifa (air escapes where it should not).

Shulchan Aruch — Yoreh De’ah 36:3-4, 36:9

Hebrew:

(לו:ג) ניקבה ועלה בו קרום ונסתם — טריפה.

(לו:ד) ריאה שנשמע בה הברה כשנופחין אותה: אם ניכר המקום שממנו נשמע ההברה, מושיבין עליו רוק או תבן וכיוצא בו, אם יתנדנד בידוע שהיא נקובה וטריפה. ואם לא ניכר המקום, מושיבין אותה במים פושרין ונופחין אותה, אם בצבץ המים טריפה, ואם לאו בידוע שקרום התחתון בלבד ניקב והרוח מהלך בין שני הקרומים, ומפני זה ישמע בה קול הברה בשעת נפיחה, וכשרה. הגה: ואם שמו אותה פעם אחת במים חמין או קרים, שוב אין לה בדיקה אפילו בפושרין.

(לו:ט) הריאה שנמצא בה מקום אטום כל שהוא, שאין הרוח נכנס בו ואינו עולה בנפיחה, מביאין סכין וקורעין סמוך ממש למקום האטום: אם נמצא בו ליחה — מותרת, שמחמת הליחה לא נכנס שם הרוח. ואם לא נמצא בו ליחה, נותנין עליו מעט רוק או תבן או נוצה: אם נתנדנד — כשרה, שהרי הרוח בא שם, ואם לאו — טריפה.

English:

(36:3) If the lung was perforated and a membrane arose over it and sealed it, the animal is a tereifa.

(36:4) A lung in which a sound is heard when it is inflated: if the place from which the sound is heard is identifiable, one places saliva or straw or the like upon it; if it flutters, it is known that the lung is perforated and it is a tereifa. And if the place is not identifiable, one places the lung in tepid water and inflates it: if the water bubbles, it is a tereifa; and if not, it is known that only the lower membrane was perforated and the air travels between the two membranes — which is why a sound is heard at inflation — and it is kosher. Rema: And if it was placed once in hot or cold water, it can no longer be inspected, even in tepid water.

(36:9) A lung in which a sealed spot of any size is found, into which air does not enter and which does not rise when inflated: we bring a knife and tear immediately adjacent to the sealed place. If fluid is found in it, the animal is permitted, for it was because of the fluid that the air did not enter there. And if no fluid is found, one places upon it a little saliva, or straw, or a feather: if it flutters, the animal is kosher, for the air does reach there; and if not, it is a tereifa.

Connection: Se’if 3 codifies Rav Yosef’s first ruling — kerum she’ala machmat makka eino kerum: a scab that grew over a lung wound does not count as a sealing membrane, so the perforation stands and the animal remains a tereifa. Se’if 4 is his whistling-lung test, and the Rema there encodes the daf’s reasoning about water temperature as a practical disqualifier: since hot water contracts the tissue (de-kavtzi) and cold water hardens it (di-mtarshei), a lung that was once dipped in hot or cold water can never again be tested reliably. Se’if 9 is Ravina’s sealed-spot test, with the Rishonim’s refinement (noted in the gloss there) that one tears only the membrane. More broadly, the Rema’s repeated warnings in these simanim that “nowadays we are not expert” in the Gemara’s inspections (e.g., his gloss to 36:5 on comparing perforations) drive the well-known Ashkenazi tendency to forgo bedikot and rule tereifa in cases the Gemara would have tested — the same caution that underlies the stricter standards of lung inspection (and the premium on adhesion-free, “glatt” lungs) in practice today.

The Liquefied Lung and the Atrophied Lung

Source in Daf: 47b, Segments 11-16

Rabbi Yochanan’s ruling that a lung which pours out like a jug is kosher (internal deficiency is not a deficiency), Rava’s condition that the bronchi must remain intact, Rav Ashi’s glazed-dish test for white streaks, and Rav Nachman’s atrophied lung with an intact membrane all enter the codes as one body of law.

Rambam — Hilkhot Shechita 7:9

Hebrew:

רֵאָה שֶׁנִּשְׁפְּכָה כְּקִיתוֹן וּקְרוּם הָעֶלְיוֹן שֶׁלָּהּ קַיָּם שָׁלֵם בְּלֹא נֶקֶב. אִם הַסִּמְפּוֹנוֹת עוֹמְדִים בִּמְקוֹמָם וְלֹא נִמּוֹחוּ כְּשֵׁרָה. וְאִם נִמּוֹחַ אֲפִלּוּ סִמְפּוֹן אֶחָד טְרֵפָה. כֵּיצַד עוֹשִׂין. נוֹקְבִין אוֹתָהּ וְשׁוֹפְכִין אוֹתָהּ בִּכְלִי שֶׁהוּא שׁוֹעַ בַּאֲבָר וְכַיּוֹצֵא בּוֹ. אִם נִרְאֶה בָּהּ חוּטִין לְבָנִין בְּיָדוּעַ שֶׁנִּמֹּקּוּ הַסִּמְפּוֹנוֹת וּטְרֵפָה. וְאִם לָאו בְּשַׂר הָרֵאָה בִּלְבַד הוּא שֶׁנִּמּוֹק וּכְשֵׁרָה.

English:

When the insides of a lung can be poured out like water from a pitcher, but the outer membrane is intact, without a perforation: if the bronchioles remain in their place and have not degenerated, it is acceptable. If even one of the bronchioles has degenerated, it is trefe. What should be done? We perforate the membrane and pour it out into a container glazed with lead or the like. If white strands can be seen, it is apparent that the bronchioles have degenerated and it is trefe. If not, it is only the flesh of the lung that has degenerated and the animal is acceptable.

Connection: Every element of the sugya appears: Rabbi Yochanan’s re’ah she-nishpecha ke-kiton kesheira, conditioned (per the Gemara’s resolution of Rabbi Abba’s objection) on the outer membrane being whole; Rava’s ve-hu de-kaymei simponot — even one dissolved bronchus renders it a tereifa; and Rav Ashi’s test, the tza’a de-kunya (glazed dish), into which the contents are poured to look for shuryakei chivarei, the telltale white streaks of dissolved bronchi. The corroborating story of the ruling issued before Rabbi Chananya and the gedolei ha-dor stands behind the confidence of this codification.

Shulchan Aruch — Yoreh De’ah 36:7-8

Hebrew:

(לו:ז) הריאה שנשפכה כקיתון וקרום העליון שלה קיים שלם בלא נקב: אם הסמפונות עומדים במקומם ולא נמוחו — כשרה, ואם נמוק אפילו סימפון אחד — טריפה. כיצד עושים, נוקבים אותה ושופכין אותה בכלי שהוא שוע באבר: אם נראה בה חוטים לבנים, בידוע שנמוקו הסמפונות וטריפה, ואם לאו, בשר הריאה בלבד הוא שנימוק וכשרה. והוא שיהא מחוי המים זך, אבל אם הם עכורים או סרוחים — טריפה. הגה: ויש מכשירין אפילו בעכורים וסרוחים, ומי שהוא בקי לבדוק שלא נמוחו הסמפונות יכול לסמוך עלייהו לצורך הפסד מרובה.

(לו:ח, הגה) …וכל זה כשנראה החסרון מבחוץ לאחר הנפיחה, אבל אם היא מבחוץ כשאר ריאה אלא שנחסר מבשרה מבפנים, אפילו מחזיק החסרון עד כדי רביעית — כשרה, יתר מכאן — טריפה.

English:

(36:7) A lung that pours out like a jug while its outer membrane remains whole without a perforation: if the bronchi stand in their place and have not dissolved, it is kosher; and if even one bronchus dissolved, it is a tereifa. What does one do? One pierces it and pours it out into a vessel glazed with lead: if white strands are seen in it, it is known that the bronchi dissolved and it is a tereifa; and if not, only the flesh of the lung dissolved, and it is kosher. This is provided the poured fluid is clear; but if it is murky or putrid, it is a tereifa. Rema: And some rule it kosher even when murky or putrid; and one who is expert in checking that the bronchi have not dissolved may rely on them where a great loss is involved.

(36:8, Rema) …All this is when the deficiency is visible from the outside after inflation; but if from the outside it is like any other lung, only that flesh is missing from within — even if the cavity could hold up to a revi’it, it is kosher; more than this, it is a tereifa.

Connection: Se’if 7 carries Rabbi Yochanan, Rava, and Rav Ashi into practice verbatim, down to the lead-glazed vessel. The Mechaber adds the Rishonim’s requirement that the fluid be clear (not putrid) — a stringency the Rema mitigates for an expert in cases of great loss. The Rema in se’if 8 codifies the principle the Gemara articulated as chisaron mi-bifnim lo shemei chisaron, together with Rav Nachman’s closing case and its baraita: a lung whose membrane and outer form are intact is kosher even if the internal cavity holds a revi’it — the Rema converting the baraita’s “even a revi’it” into the outer limit of the leniency.

Summary of Rulings