Talking Talmud

When a kosher animal is clawed by a non-kosher animal - when do we take it as a given that it will be considered a treyfa -- or really to the contrary? What if the animal is a cat? Or a fox? Or a hawk? Why is the question what animal did the clawing, as compared to asking what damage has been caused? Plus, determining what happened to the clawed animal, when nothing was really seen. Where the clawing animal's claws poisonous? If so, doesn't that harm lead to the animal becoming a treyfa? The sages are establishing rules of thumb so that they can make assumptions about the clawed animal, rather then investigating every case.

A majority of broken ribs -- seems to be a treyfa. But what is the way in which they were broken? Does having been attached to the vertabrae make the process that much more challenging? If the ribs are dislocated and the spine is not damaged. Also, an animal that is clawed by a wolf (or a predator of that size or larger) will render the victim animal a treyfa (and predator birds from a "netz." But what about a small animal, like a cat?

If/when an animal falls from a roof -- if it breaks its limbs, the question shifts to focus on whether the injury is common (like rheumatism) or unusual, like a broken spine. And the concern here is only for the common case. Also, a bird that fundamentally crashes on water is considered fine if it can swim the length of its body -- upstream. Plus, what if a bird falls into all kinds of other substances?

Perforated intestines are likely to be sealed by internal mucous, which would leave the animal kosher. The Gemara then traces Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel's statement on this point - namely, that it would be kosher. And Rabbi Shimon's view on mourning -- that a mourner who first hears about the death late will join the count with the family that is sitting shiva if he is close enough to join them (and then continue his own count afterwards). Until the end of the discussion, when Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel's approach is rejected, and Rabbi Shimon's is upheld. Also, the inner and outer paunch - with a lot of detail regarding what needs to be intact to be able to call the animal kosher. But the sages themselves have a lot of questions here.

If there's a perforation in the 4th stomach of a cow, the kohanim were accustomed to treat it as permitted. Which leads to lots of discussion and tracing back. With a mnemonic about the blessing of the kohanim. And that blessing pertaining specifically to the meat. Also, the implications of the forbidden fat -- in contrast to the permitted fat. Plus, what if the impetus to be lenient puts others at risk, for example? Also, unguarded honey, and the possible kashrut issues, as compared to a risk in ancient honey..