Sunday 25 August 2019

Karetot 4: Consuming Blood and Fat, Karet and Context

The Gemara looks our our last Mishna's statement about what is punishable by karet, a shortened life or the loss of a child or a spiritual loss.  In particular, they consider the Torah and rabbinical prohibitions regarding eating the fat of an ox, goat or sheep and the consumption of blood.

The fat referred to here is a layer on top of the muscles of each animal.  These are discrete and easy to cut away.  Some rabbis consider these to be the best parts of an animal and thus they are given to G-d for G-d's enjoyment first.  The rabbis discuss why these animals are alike and different from each other, how their sacrifices are understood within their kosher/non-kosher, domesticated/non-domesticated contexts.

Regarding the consumption of blood, the rabbis consider different stages of blood removal and how the consumption of blood is also dependent on context. Our Mishna's prohibition concerns sacrificial animals.  In Steinsaltz's notes, we learn more about three different times that we might consume an animal's blood.  The first is dam ha'nefesh, blood of the body.  This refers to the blood that is pumped out of the body at the time of slaughter.  The second is dam ha'tamzit, draining blood, which continues to flow from the arteries after the animal's heart has stopped beating.  Finally, we are prohibited from consuming the dam ha'eivarin, blood drained from the animal's limbs.

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