Daf 133 — Chullin 133 Summary

Chullin 133 – Good Morning Raboisai Dividing the Matanos How Many Kohanim Can Receive Them? Rav Chisda discusses how the three Matanos – Zero’a, Lechayayim and Keivah – should be distributed. Normally: • Zero’a – to one Kohen • Keivah – to one Kohen • Lechayayim – can be divided between two Kohanim. The main principle is: • Nesinah Chashuvah – each Kohen must receive a respectable, meaningful gift. A Large Animal Is Different A Beraisa seems to allow even the Zero’a to be divided. The Gemara answers: • Hasam b’tora – that case is discussing a large bull. A bull's Zero’a contains: • Far more meat. Therefore it can be divided while each Kohen still receives: • A Nesinah Chashuvah. With a smaller animal: • The Zero’a should normally go to one Kohen. So the determining factor is: • The size and significance of each portion. How Should Matanos Kehunah Be Eaten? Like a King The Gemara discusses the proper way for a Kohen to eat the Matanos. The preferred manner is: • Tzli – roasted • With mustard. Why? The Torah gives these gifts: • L’mashchah – for distinction and importance. They should be eaten: • K’derech shehamelachim ochlim – in the manner of kings. What If the Kohen Prefers Something Else? This does not mean every Kohen must personally eat them: • Roasted • With mustard. If he genuinely prefers: • Cooked • Boiled • Or another preparation he may eat them: • In the way he enjoys most. The idea of L’mashchah is: • To enjoy the gift in a distinguished manner. If all methods are equally enjoyable to him: • Roasting is preferred as Derech Gedulah. Who Deserves Matnos Kehunah? Must the Kohen Know All the Halachos? Rav Chisda discusses a Kohen who is: • Not baki in the Matanos. At first this sounds as though: • A Kohen who doesn't know the detailed Halachos should not receive them. For example, perhaps he does not know: • The preferred way to prepare and eat them. But the Gemara clarifies: • Lack of knowledge alone does not disqualify him. A Kohen Who Rejects the Avodah The real problem is a Kohen who: • Does not acknowledge one of the Avodos. If he rejects part of: • The Torah's system of Kehunah and Avodah he should not receive: • The gifts arising from that Avodah. The principle is learned from: • Hamakriv – the Kohen who accepts and performs the Avodah receives his portion. The Avodos The Gemara Reviews the Avodos The Daf gives a long list of Avodos and procedures, including: • Yetzikah – pouring the oil • Belilah – mixing • Petisah – breaking the Minchah into pieces • Melichah – salting • Tenufah – waving • Hagashah – bringing the Minchah to the Mizbeach • Kemitzah – taking the Kometz • Haktarah – burning it on the Mizbeach • Melikah – the special procedure for a bird Korban • Kabbalas HaDam – receiving the blood • Haza’ah – sprinkling the blood. The Gemara also includes other forms of Avodah and Kehunah. Other Kohen Functions These include involvement in: • Sotah • Eglah Arufah • Taharas Metzora • Nesias Kapayim – Bircas Kohanim and other services: • Inside and outside the Beis Hamikdash. The point is not that a Kohen must personally perform every one. Rather: • He must acknowledge the legitimacy of the Torah's Avodah. An Am Ha’aretz Kohen Can Still Receive Therefore: A Kohen who simply: • Does not know all the details can still receive: • Matnos Kehunah. The disqualification applies when he: • Rejects or denies the Avodah itself. Blood in the Lechayayim The Blood Vessels Must Be Treated Properly The Lechayayim contain: • Significant blood vessels. Therefore care must be taken before eating them. If they are: • Roasted the roasting can draw out the blood. If they are: • Cooked additional preparation is necessary. Cutting and Salting Because these blood vessels contain considerable blood: • The meat should be cut • And properly salted so that: • The blood can escape. This is an additional practical Halachah regarding: • Preparing the Lechayayim for eating. Should a Kohen Grab the Matanos? Rav Yosef Tests His Talmidim Rav Yosef asked: Should a Kohen: • Grab Matnos Kehunah to demonstrate: • Chavivus Mitzvah – his love for the Mitzvah? Or should he: • Wait until they are given to him? “V’Nasan” – They Must Be Given The conclusion comes from: • V’nasan. The Yisrael is supposed: • To give the Matanos. The Kohen should not: • Simply take them himself. Therefore: • V’lo sheyitol me’atzmo – he should not take them on his own. First He Stopped Grabbing The Gemara describes a progression. Initially: • The Kohen would grab the Matanos because of Chavivus Mitzvah. After learning “V’nasan”: • He stopped grabbing. But he would still: • Ask people to give them to him. Then He Stopped Asking Later he learned about: • The sons of Shmuel who were criticized for: • Demanding their portions. Even where someone is entitled to a gift: • He should not pressure the owner into giving it specifically to him. Therefore: • He stopped even asking. If someone chose to give it to him: • He would accept it. The Tznuim Would Refrain The Gemara says: • Tznuim – modest Kohanim – would refrain from taking. • The more forceful people would take. Therefore there is value in: • Restraint. A Kohen should not create the impression that: • He is chasing after the gifts. Abaye on Erev Yom Kippur Why Abaye Would Accept Matanos Abaye generally refrained from taking Matanos. However: • On Erev Yom Kippur he would accept them. Why? Because there was: • A large amount of Shechitah and therefore plenty of Matanos available. More importantly, accepting them demonstrated publicly: • That Abaye was a Kohen. Why Not Prove It With Bircas Kohanim? The Gemara asks: If Abaye wanted everyone to know he was a Kohen: • Let him perform Bircas Kohanim! The Gemara explains why: • He was unable to regularly demonstrate his Kehunah through Nesias Kapayim. The transcript gives explanations including: • His constant involvement in teaching • Or a physical ailment that prevented him from doing so. Therefore Erev Yom Kippur provided: • Another public indication that he was a Kohen. Giving the Matanos Directly to Someone Else A Kohen Who Regularly Receives Gifts Suppose everyone knows that: • A particular Kohen regularly receives the Matanos. The Kohen knows: • A poor Talmid Chacham who could benefit from them. Can he tell the owner: • “Instead of giving them to me, give them directly to that person”? The Gemara allows such an arrangement: • Under certain conditions. Why This Can Work Since the Kohen is: • Makirei Kehunah – the recognized regular recipient there is a strong expectation that: • These Matanos would be given to him. He can therefore arrange: • For them to be directed to another appropriate recipient. But the Gemara qualifies this carefully. Rava and Rav Safra The Meal Rava and Rav Safra visited: • The home of a wealthy person. They were served: • High - quality meat. A Kohen who worked there regularly received: • The Matanos. Rava told the Kohen: • Zachi lan b’matnasa. He asked him to acquire the Matanos for them because: • He wanted to eat tongue with mustard. Rav Safra Refused to Eat The Kohen agreed. Rava ate: • From the Matanos. But Rav Safra: • Refused. Later Rav Safra had: • A troubling dream and went to Rav Yosef to understand: • Whether he had acted incorrectly. Was Rav Safra Too Machmir? Rav Safra wondered: Perhaps Rav Yosef had already taught: • That such an arrangement can be valid. Maybe he had been: • Improperly Machmir by refusing to eat. The Gemara teaches an important point: • One should not invent a Chumrah where one's Rebbe has ruled that something is permitted. But Rav Yosef explains: • This case was different. Rava Put Pressure on the Kohen The problem was: • Rava was an extremely prominent person. • The Kohen was in a much weaker position. When Rava said: • “Give the Matanos to us” the Kohen could hardly: • Refuse. That is not the voluntary giving: • The Torah intends. A person cannot use his stature: • To pressure a Kohen into giving away his Matanah. The Recipient Should Need It There was another issue. The arrangement discussed earlier was: • To benefit a Talmid Chacham who needed the assistance. Rava: • Was not in that category. Therefore the earlier Heter: • Did not apply straightforwardly to his case. Teaching an Improper Student The Dream The dream involved a Pasuk associated with: • Giving something valuable where it does not belong. The Gemara connects this to teaching Torah to: • A Talmid she’eino hagun – an improper student. Teaching Torah to someone unworthy is compared to: • Misusing something precious. Like Serving Avodah Zarah The Gemara gives a particularly strong comparison: Teaching Torah to: • A Talmid she’eino hagun is compared to: • Throwing a stone to Markulis, an Avodah Zarah. The message is: • Torah must be transmitted to someone capable of receiving it appropriately. Partnership With a Kohen or Non - Jew A Recognizable Sign Returning to the Mishnah: If a Yisrael owns an animal in partnership with: • A Kohen • Or a non - Jew there can be an exemption from Matanos. But sometimes: • A recognizable sign must be placed on the meat. Why? So observers know: • There is a legitimate exemption. Otherwise they may think: • The owner is simply refusing to give Matanos. When No Sign Is Needed If the non - Jewish partner is visibly: • Running the business • Sitting at the register • Or actively involving himself as an owner then everyone can see: • He is a genuine partner. In that situation: • A separate sign is unnecessary. The Gemara discusses how to distinguish: • A real partner • From an ordinary customer. Pesulei HaMukdashim No Matanos An animal that had genuine Kedushas HaGuf, developed a permanent Mum and was redeemed becomes: • Pesulei HaMukdashim. When it is shechted: • Zero’a, Lechayayim and Keivah are not given. This follows the earlier rule that: • Its previous Kedushah continues to affect its status even after Pidyon. Partnership in Only Part of the Animal The Kohen Owns the Head Rav Huna discusses a partnership where the Kohen owns: • Only a particular part of the animal. For example: If the Kohen is a partner in: • The head that affects: • The Lechayayim. If he is a partner in: • The foreleg that affects: • The Zero’a. If he is a partner in: • The innards that affects: • The Keivah. Rav Huna vs Rebbe Yochanan The Gemara discusses whether partnership in: • One relevant part exempts only: • That particular Matanah or whether it exempts: • All three Matanos. One view treats: • Each Matanah independently. The other connects: • The three Matanos together for this Halachah. A Beraisa Clarifies the Case The Gemara brings a Beraisa: If the Kohen says: • “The head is mine and the rest is yours” the exemption applies specifically to: • The Lechayayim. The other Matanos: • Remain obligated. This supports the view that: • Partnership in one part does not automatically exempt all three. Each Matanah is examined: • According to the ownership of its own part. Key Chazarah • The Matanos may be divided among Kohanim only if each receives a Nesinah Chashuvah. • Normally the Zero’a and Keivah go to one Kohen each, while the Lechayayim can be divided; a large bull allows further division. • Matanos should be eaten L’mashchah – in a distinguished manner, preferably roasted with mustard when that is the Kohen's preferred way. • A Kohen who lacks knowledge of the Halachos may still receive Matanos; one who rejects the legitimacy of the Avodah does not. • The Gemara reviews many Avodos including Yetzikah, Belilah, Kemitzah, Haktarah, Melikah, Kabbalas HaDam, Haza’ah, Sotah, Eglah Arufah, Taharas Metzora and Nesias Kapayim. • The Lechayayim require care because of their large blood vessels; when cooking them, cutting and salting are necessary. • “V’nasan” teaches that the Kohen should be given the Matanos rather than grabbing them himself. • The Gemara goes further: a Kohen should not pressure people by asking that the gifts specifically be given to him. • Tznuim would often refrain from taking, while forceful people would take. • Abaye accepted Matanos on Erev Yom Kippur partly to publicize that he was a Kohen. • A recognized Kohen can sometimes arrange for expected Matanos to be given directly to a needy Talmid Chacham. • Rava's case was different because his stature placed pressure on the Kohen and the intended recipient was not needy. • The Gemara strongly criticizes teaching Torah to a Talmid she’eino hagun. • A Kohen or non - Jewish partnership may require a visible sign so people know why Matanos are not being given. • If the partner's ownership is already obvious from his active role in the business, no additional sign is needed. • Pesulei HaMukdashim remain exempt from Matanos even after Pidyon. • If a Kohen owns only the head, foreleg or innards, the Gemara discusses which specific Matanah is exempt. • The Beraisa supports treating each Matanah separately: partnership in one relevant part does not automatically exempt the others. 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