That one must be Jewish to shecht an animal is not necessarily obvious. One might have argued that as long as the meat is slaughtered…
Chulin 10: Watch the Water
When I mention to people that it is likely worse to smoke than to eat pork, I often get strange looks. And usually the more observant the person, the…
Chulin 9: Practical Rabbinics
There are few, if any, semicha programs that require their students to learn shechita or safrut, and even fewer that require good…
Chulin7: Pass the Pork
One of the questions I am often asked by those of my students who do not keep kosher, is have you really never eaten non-kosher food? I generally…
Chulin 7: The Idolatrous Snake
Over and over again the Torah warns us not to allow avodah zara, idolatry, in the Land of Israel. Yet, as is often the case, things are not always…
Chulin 7: Time for Something New
"It was for this reason that man was first created as one person [Adam]…to teach that no man is the same as another; therefore, every…
Chulin 5: The Stroke of a Pen
In the fall of 1860, Rav Yaakov Ettlinger penned what is likely the most revolutionary responsa of modern times; one that opened the door to allowing…
Chulin 4: The Idolatrous Shochet
Some years back I attended a talk by Rabbi Dr. M.D. Tendler who spoke about the most important teshuvot written by his father-in-law, Rav Moshe…
Chulin 3: Meet the Shochet
That the role of a modern rabbi in the Western World is far different than that of the rabbi of Eastern Europe is rather obvious. The typical 19th…
An Introduction and Overview of Masechet Chulin
Masechet Chulin, a derivative of the word chol, translates as “The Secular Tractate”, and stands in contrast to the first two…