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Hullin 40: Not in the Name of the Mountain, the River, the Sea!

June 11, 2026 | כ״ו בסיון תשפ״ו

A new mishnah! One who slaughters an animal in the name of worship of natural bodies (mountains, rivers, seas, etc.), then the slaughtering is not kosher shechitah. Even if two people are doing the slaughtering together and one of them has correct “kosher” intent, the shechitah is still not valid. But it’s also not fully idolatry either – except for a beraita that presents comparable cases as being idolatry (with slight differences that make room to say they are different). Also, if one’s animal is lying in front of idolatry, then the moment one cuts that animal, it’s prohibited – because it smacks of idolatry, even if it was not intended as such (live, the animal isn’t a concern of idolatry, or not until a physical act is done to it). But does that really work? To make another person’s animal problematic? The distinction is drawn between a “zevach” (or a shelamim/peace-offering) and a “chatat” – sin-offering.

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Anne and Yardaena

Anne Gordon is the deputy editor of Ops & Blogs at The Times of Israel. She is a veteran educator, having taught in high school and post-high school institutions in Israel and America for several decades. Yardaena Osband is a pediatrician and teaches in her community and online. They both hail from Boston, proud alumna of Maimonides School, where they first learned Gemara. Talking Talmud is their conversation (via podcast) on the daf yomi. They say: “Learning the daf? We have something for you to think about. Not learning the daf? We have something for you to think about! (Along with a taste of the daf…) Join the conversation with us!”

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