Chullin חולין

Tractate Hullin is part of the order of Kodashim, which is devoted almost in its entirety to the numerous aspects of the halakhot of consecrated items, including the mitzvot relating to the sacrifice of the various offerings, the manner in which offerings and other items designated for the Temple are consecrated, the procedures in the Temple, and the service performed therein. In contrast to the rest of the tractates in the order of Kodashim, Hullin is devoted entirely to halakhot that relate to the non-sacred. A significant portion of this tractate is dedicated to discussion of the slaughter of non-sacred animals, rendering their meat fit for consumption, and the distinction between food from living beings that is permitted and food from living beings that is forbidden. In addition, the tractate addresses a series of mitzvot that relate to living beings that lack the sanctity of sacrificial animals.

Although ostensibly the tractate addresses non-sacred matters exclusively, its placement in the order of Kodashim is not by happenstance. Not only do all of these issues relating to non-sacred matters have certain aspects that are parallel or similar to the halakhot of sacrificial animals, but their details also share characteristics with those of consecrated items. For example, the slaughter of non-sacred animals does not stand alone as a series of technical halakhot; rather, implicitly or explicitly, it is influenced by the halakhot relating to sacrificial animals. Concerning the slaughter of sacrificial animals, and likewise the slaughter of non-sacred animals, the tractate delineates the people fit to perform slaughter, with special attention given to the intent of the slaughterer. In general, most of the definitions and halakhot relate to mundane matters, but they all relate in some manner to sacrificial concepts.

In a more general sense, this is true with regard to all of the halakhot in the Torah. Even the most mundane halakhot, such as those relating to monetary law, which ostensibly deal with practical ordinances governing commerce, nevertheless contain an element of sanctity. Furthermore, not only do the mitzvot in the Torah affect every detail of life, they infuse each of those details with a uniqueness that underscores the idea that non-sacred does not mean completely secular but also indicates an element of sanctity. This is true of monetary matters, of marital life, and in particular of matters relating to food. These halakhot, as they relate to food that grows from the ground and all parts of the world of flora that mankind utilizes, constitute the topics covered in the order of Zera'im; the elements to which these halakhot apply are thereby imbued with various forms of sanctity. Tractate Hullin addresses matters from the world of fauna.

That the concept of non-sacred indicates an element of sanctity is already manifest in the language of the Torah, as in every place in the Torah where the kosher and non-kosher animals are enumerated, their mention is linked to the concept of sanctity: “Sanctify yourselves, and you will be holy” (Leviticus 11:44); “For you are a holy people unto the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 14:21). The lesson is that these halakhot are components of the structure of sanctity, meaning that the manifestation of sanctity and sanctification is not limited to the service performed in the Temple. Rather, even in life outside the Temple there is a certain aspect of sanctity, and the status of the entire Jewish people is that of attendants of sanctity. That is the reason the halakhot of slaughter and the halakhot of animals with a wound that will cause them to die within twelve months [tereifot], which constitute a central portion of this tractate, are structurally similar to the sacrificial service performed in the Temple. Obviously, actions performed in the Temple possess a more fixed ceremonial framework. With regard to non-sacred animals, this structure is maintained, although it is less ceremonial and its framework broader. For example, blemished animals may neither be sacrificed nor eaten in the Temple, and tereifot are forbidden to all. The conditions that render an animal a tereifa parallel the blemishes that disqualify a sacrificial animal; in both cases, the afflicted animal is deemed not fit for the holy people.

In a sense, tractate Hullin, with the various topics addressed therein, does not deal with true non-sacred matters but with matters of sanctity. The various prohibitions in this tractate have no obvious utility to people; rather, they are in essence arrays of halakhot relating to sanctity, which governs the lives of the sacred nation even outside of their most sacred space, the Temple. It is prohibited to consume, and in some cases even to derive benefit from, certain items, but these items are not intrinsically abhorrent. Whether their halakhic status is characterized as not valid, ritually impure, or forbidden in benefit, that is the case only vis-à-vis the conduct and lives of the Jewish people.

All of the prohibitions addressed in tractate Hullin, which relate primarily to the meat of living beings, are based on another essential concept, which is not explicit in the Torah, although it does inform those prohibitions, and there are biblical allusions to it in the language of the Torah in several places. The idea is that the very permission granted people to kill living beings and utilize them was not part of the original plan in the creation of humans (see Genesis 1:29). Although the Torah permitted slaughter and consumption of living beings, this was a mere allowance, and was not meant to be employed liberally. Therefore, there are numerous restrictions and guidelines governing how living beings are killed and how the meat and the limbs are treated thereafter. All these indicate that although living beings were permitted to people “as the green grass” (Genesis 9:3), there is a special obligation to take into consideration that they are living beings. Most of the halakhot addressed in this tractate are directly or indirectly related to the halakhot of slaughter. That is why in early generations the tractate was called Shehitat Hullin, the slaughter of non-sacred animals, in contrast to tractate Zevahim, which was called Shehitat Kodashim, the slaughter of sacrificial animals.

Nevertheless, in the course of analyzing certain halakhot related to slaughter, the tractate provides a broad treatment of topics that go beyond its purview. One topic is the halakhot of mixtures; tractate Hullin is one of the primary sources for numerous fundamental halakhot in that area. Similarly, there is a series of discussions primarily devoted to matters related to the order of Teharot, which addresses matters of ritual impurity, especially the halakhot of the impurity of foods.

Tractate Hullin contains significant derivations taken from halakhic midrash, with regard to both those halakhot that are the primary focus of this tractate and other associated topics. Although Hullin also contains certain aggadic segments, they do not comprise a significant portion of the tractate.

In tractate Hullin there are twelve chapters. Most of the chapters are self-contained, with each chapter addressing one or more clearly defined topics.

Chapter One deals with the halakhot of slaughter in general, and particularly with delineating who is permitted to slaughter an animal. The chapter includes a comprehensive outline of matters related to slaughter.

Chapter Two discusses the halakhot of slaughter relating to the knife used in slaughter, the place of slaughter, and various factors that are liable to invalidate the slaughter.

Chapter Three is a detailed treatment of all types of conditions that render an animal or a bird a tereifa. In addition, the chapter enumerates the species of kosher and non-kosher living beings.

Chapter Four is devoted primarily to the halakhot of a fetus that was in the womb of an animal at the time of the animals slaughter. The chapter then addresses the matter of a limb severed from a living being, which relates to that issue.

Chapter Five focuses on the prohibition against slaughtering an animal and its offspring on the same day.

Chapter Six discusses the mitzva by Torah law to cover the blood of undomesticated animals and birds but not the blood of domesticated animals. The details of the mitzva are also established, namely, how, when, and with what material one covers the blood.

Chapter Seven explores the prohibition against eating the sciatic nerve of an animal. A comprehensive discussion develops concerning the halakhot of permitted and forbidden mixtures.

Chapter Eight deals primarily with the prohibition against eating meat and milk together. The analysis expands into a fundamental discussion of the halakhot of mixtures and the cooking of forbidden and permitted food items together, how the mixtures are rendered prohibited, and in which cases a prohibited item is nullified in a mixture with permitted items.

Chapter Nine focuses on the halakhic status of the various components of the animal. When is their status that of meat in terms of both their ritual impurity and the prohibition against consuming them, and when is their status distinct and unlike that of meat?

Chapter Ten discusses the obligation to give the priests a gift of the foreleg, the jaw, and the maw from every non-sacred animal that is slaughtered.

Chapter Eleven deals with a single biblical mitzva: The obligation to give the priests a non-sacred gift of the first fleece shorn from one's sheep.

Chapter Twelve examines the mitzva by Torah law to release the mother bird from the nest when taking her chicks or eggs, which is a mitzva that applies exclusively to non-sacred birds.