Chullin 105

On today’s daf, the Talmud offers eight statements made by the fourth-generation Babylonian amora Abaye. Each statement has the same structure: Abaye explains what he used to think was the reason behind a popular practice, then he recounts what “the master” — likely Rabbah bar Nahmani — taught him was the true reason behind it. For most of the statements, the Talmud then brings an anonymous story which supports the master’s explanation. Let’s look at one of these statements and stories: 

Abaye said: At first I would say the reason for this practice that people do not sit under a rainspout is because of the waste water. But the master said to me it is because demons are found there.

Abaye’s initial explanation for not sitting beneath rainspouts makes perfect empirical sense: Under a rainspout, you’ll likely get wet. His teacher’s concern for demons is far more mysterious and surprising. But, as we soon find out, it is the correct one. 

Certain porters were once carrying a barrel of wine. Wanting to rest, they placed the barrel under a rain spout. The barrel burst. They went before Mar bar Rav Ashi and he banned (the demon).

The demon came before Mar bar Rav Ashi and said to him: What should I have done to those men? For they placed the barrel on my ear! Mar bar Rav Ashi said to him: Even so, in a place where people are commonplace, you did not have the right! You acted improperly, now go and pay for the barrel of wine. The demon said to him: I do not have the money. Set a date on which I will pay. He set a date but the demon did not come on that day to pay for the barrel. When he came at a later date, Mar bar Rav Ashi said to him: Why did you not come on time? The demon said to him: We have no right to take anything that is tied up, sealed, collected, or counted, so we can only take things that are in a state of ownerlessness. 

This story is one of my favorites in the whole Talmud, because it emphasizes just how remarkable the rabbis’ thinking about demons really was. 

This demon is not some malevolent figure seeking out humans to harm. He’s just sitting quietly and invisibly, minding his own business under the rain spout. When the porters (accidentally) place a wine barrel on his ear, he bursts the barrel to free his ear. Note that he doesn’t attack the porters, or cause any harm other than financial.

Mar bar Rav Ashi’s judicial response — excommunication — further highlights the rabbis’ understanding of (at least some) demons as part of the rabbinic community. After all, you can’t excommunicate someone who isn’t a part of your community to begin with!

Adding to the sense that the demon is simply part of the community, we see that he makes himself visible and comes to court to defend himself against excommunication, and then agrees to the terms of restitution. He is late on payment only because he follows rabbinic limitations on what kinds of property demons can claim. As I wrote in my book, Demons in the Details: Rabbinic Culture and Demonic Discourse in Late Antique Babylonia, this story demonstrates that demons are responsible for disobeying the rabbis precisely because they are, overall, legally competent subjects of rabbinic law. Turns out, the rabbinic community had room for all kinds of people — even the non-human. 

Read all of Chullin 105 on Sefaria.

This piece originally appeared in a My Jewish Learning Daf Yomi email newsletter sent on August 13, 2026. If you are interested in receiving the newsletter, sign up here.