Wednesday 23 January 2019

Chullin 57: Intestines Outside of the Body

If a bird's intestines are protruding from its body, they must not be jumbled to be kosher.  Devarim (32:6) teaches that our bodies are ordered in a particular way by G-d.  The Gemara applies this to animals as well as humans.  Tosafot explain that twisted intestines are bound to become injured and thus the animal should be called a tereifa.  

We are told the story of a Roman who saw a man fall from a roof causing his stomach to burst open and his intestines were visible.  The Roman brought the man's son and pretended that he slaughtered the son.  The father fainted, went limp, and his intestines were drawn in.  He was then stitched up.

Rashi teaches that the the Roman must have known about our teaching and was hesitant to touch the man's intestines to help him, afraid he would cause his death.  The trick was to cause the father to be horrified and draw in his own intestines.  This would ensure that the Roman did not have to touch the man's intestines.

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