Today’s daf continues the discussion from yesterday’s mishnah, which deals with the ben pekua, an animal fetus removed after its mother was slaughtered.
Recall that in that mishnah, the anonymous opinion is that the slaughter of the nine-month-old ben pekua’s mother renders the fetus kosher. (While not all animals gestate for nine months, the rabbis use “nine-months-old” to mean “fully developed.”) The Gemara identifies this anonymous opinion as that of Rabbi Yehuda. Rabbi Meir, in contrast, holds that even if its mother was slaughtered while it was still unborn, the nine-month-old ben pekua requires its own kosher slaughter.
On today’s daf, the Gemara asks several follow-up questions about the status of the ben pekua. One of these questions is what happens if the pregnant mother animal is a treifa — unfit for kosher slaughter:
Rabbi Ami said: With regard to one who slaughtered a treifaand found inside it a live nine-month-old fetus: According to the statement of Rabbi Meir, who prohibits, if the fetus is found inside a treifa, he permits it. But according to the statement that permits, if it is found inside a treifa, he prohibits it.
Rabbi Ami claims that if a person slaughtered a treifa and found a nine-month-old fetus inside, the positions in our mishnah would be reversed. Rabbi Meir, who holds the stringent view in the mishnah that a nine-month fetus found inside a kosher animal still requires its own slaughter, more leniently permits the fetus of a treifa to be slaughtered and eaten. In other words, the fetus does not assume the identity of its mother and is not considered a treifa. Meanwhile, Rabbi Yehuda, whose position in the mishnah is that a ben pekua whose mother is slaughtered doesn’t itself require kosher slaughter, in this scenario holds that the fetus of a treifa is prohibited forever, on account of its mother having been a treifa. In other words, he thinks that the fetus is considered to be like a limb of the treifa mother, and thus may never be eaten.
Rava, though, disagrees with Rabbi Ami:
Rava said: According to the statement of Rabbi Yehuda, who permits a nine-month-old fetus found inside a kosher animal by virtue of the slaughter of its mother, he also permits it if it is found inside a treifa, once the fetus itself is slaughtered. The reason is that the Merciful One considers four simanim to be fit for slaughter.
According to Rava, even Rabbi Yehuda would permit the nine-month-old fetus inside of the treifa to be slaughtered and eaten, just like any other kosher animal. His rationale is based on the requirement to cut two simanim, the two organs that must be severed in order to render a slaughter kosher. Rava notes that the Torah would permit the fetus to be eaten based on the fact that two simanim must be cut — and they were! Whether the simanim of the fetus were cut, or those of the treifa mother, the fetus is rendered kosher through that cutting.
Both Rabbi Ami and Rava see possibilities for a treifa to produce a kosher offspring. This may sound surprising. How is it that we can ever permit eating a living being created by an animal that itself is prohibited for kosher slaughter? This is the difficulty expressed by Rabbi Yehuda, according to Rabbi Ami.
The answer may be that we shouldn’t think of a treifa’s fetus as being part of the treifa itself, but rather as an independent being. If that’s the case, there is no prior history that necessarily disqualifies the fetus. Instead, the fetus has a status of its own, unencumbered by the status of its mother.
Read all of Chullin 75 on Sefaria.
This piece originally appeared in a My Jewish Learning Daf Yomi email newsletter sent on July 14, 2026. If you are interested in receiving the newsletter, sign up here.
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