Is Shechita Cutting Organs or Killing from the Neck (4)

Is Shechita Cutting Organs or Killing an Animal from the Neck (4): Can Shechita be Valid if Only a Minority of the Siman was Cut

In the previous shiur, we discussed the concept of rubo ke-kulo as it applies to shechita. Whether rooted in the general principle of rubo ke-kulo or a special halakha unique to shechita, halakha only requires severing the majority of the siman for the shechita to be valid. This shiur will explore whether there are situations in which a valid shechita can be accomplished even without severing the majority of the siman.

The most extreme version of this idea is suggested by Rav in Chullin 28b. Rav claims that by severing only 50% of the circumference of the esophagus and the windpipe, shechita is successful. This is extremely peculiar because there are less than a handful of instances in halakha where 50% is sufficient. Presumably, this reflects a dramatically different view of shechita, and the 50% allowance is a distinct halakha pertaining to shechita.

One approach is to take Rav's shechita literally and claim that, for some reason, in the case of shechita, 50% is sufficient. However, there may be a slightly different way of understanding Rav's position. The Gemara justifies Rav's leniency of 50%, by citing the language of the halakha le-Moshe mi’Sinai. Hashem told Moshe "Don’t leave the majority of an uncut siman intact." By cutting exactly half of the siman, you have created a condition where only 50% of the healthy siman is left. Since the remaining part of the uncut siman does not exceed 50%, the shechita is valid.

This is a very unusual way to view shechita. Normally, shechita is defined as an act of incision performed either on the animal or on the simanim. The shiur or halakhic measurement should govern the action, namely the incision. Why, then, is Rav envisioning a shiur that governs the remaining part of the siman, not the part that actually underwent shechita?

Perhaps this position of Rav is the most radical expression of the view that shechita is not simply about cutting simanim. If shechita were about cutting simanim, a significant cut of the siman would be required, meaning that at least 51% of the siman should be cut. Instead, according to Rav, shechita is about weaking or killing the animal by cutting the animal in the area of the simanim. The act of shechita is oriented towards the animal, not primarily the siman. If the consequence of the shechita is that the remaining part of either the esophagus or windpipe is healthy enough - because it still retains 51% of its circumference - to somewhat support life, the act of killing hasn’t been completed, and the shechita is invalid. However, if as a consequence of a 50% incision, only 50% of the remaining windpipe or esophagus is intact, which cannot support life, the animal has effectively been killed through an incision in the area of the simanim and the shechita is valid.

Rav’s position allowing shechita of only half of the circumference of the simanim is therefore based on the understanding that shechita is not primarily about cutting the simanim but about negatively affecting or eliminating the life-sustaining capacity of the animal through an incision in the area of the simanim. As long as the remaining part of the esophagus and windpipe have been weakened to the point that they cannot allow air or food to flow, the life capacity of the animal has been eliminated, and shechita has been successful because the animal has been deprived of its ability to sustain life by an incision in the area of the simanim.

Ultimately, the Gemara does not accept Rav's position, requiring instead the cutting at least 51% of the circumference of the esophagus (kaneh) or the windpipe (veshet). However, there is a different position of Rav, which, depending on how the Rishonim understand it, may also reflect the idea that Rav viewed shechita not as the direct severing of the simanim, but rather as the act of killing the animal in the location of the simanim.

The Gemara in Chullin 30a cites Rav's position on a cryptic form of shechita called "shachat be-shtei u’shelosh mekomot" - someone who performed shechita in two or three locations. Rav validates this shechita while Shmuel invalidates it. It is unclear what specific type of shechita the Gemara is referring to and why Rav and Shmuel are debating this case.

Tosafot quote the position of the Sheiltot, which explains that the Gemara refers to a situation in which a person cut a small portion of the circumference of the esophagus or the windpipe at one point, then moved the knife slightly up along the rim of the siman and made another cut in a different part of the circumference. This process was repeated until all the respective incisions, when combined, represented 51% of the circumference of the kaneh or the veshet. However, the cuts are not all on the same level, so there is no continuous cut covering 51% of the circumference.

For obvious reasons, Shmuel disqualifies this shechita. If the shiur of shechita, namely the halakhic minimum necessary to constitute an act of cutting, is 51%, it has to be done in one continuous cut - similar to the shiur of a kezayit for eating, which has to be consumed in a single act, albeit within the timeframe of kedei achilat pras. When the cuts are made at different levels of the siman, the separate cuts do not combine to form one continuous 51% of the circumference.

By validating this shechita even without a continuous cutting representing the majority of the circumference, Rav may hold that the act of shechita is not strictly defined as cutting the siman. Instead, the act of shechita may be understood as weakening the animal by diminishing the life-sustaining capacity of the esophagus and windpipe. An act of cutting the siman hasn’t been fully performed if the entire shiur isn't continuous. However, by making multiple cuts along different levels and heights of the siman, you have weakened it to the point where it can no longer properly conduct food or air - depending on whether it’s the kaneh or the veshet - and thereby effectively performed a successful shechita.

The more radical version of Rav’s view is that since shechita is about killing the animal, it is enough to cut 50% of the siman as long as the remaining portion is also only 50% intact. Even if we reject this more lenient position and require cutting at least 51%, the cuts do not need to be aligned along the same level. As long as 51% of the siman has been cut, even in different places, the siman has been sufficiently weakened, and the animal has been put to death in accordance with the halakhic requirements of shechita.

A fascinating scenario in shechita where a valid halakhic act is achieved without cutting a full 51% of the circumference emerges from the Gemara's discussion of chatzi kaneh pagum - a situation where half of the esophagus is already severed before the shechita begins. Of course, if half or less of the windpipe is cut during shechita, the animal would be deemed a treifa and unfit for consumption. However, if half of the esophagus or kaneh is already cut, the animal can still survive. The Gemara validates a subsequent shechita on such an esophagus, raising an intriguing question: why is this shechita deemed kosher?

One interpretation suggests that the initial cut of the esophagus merges with the act of shechita. By cutting slightly more to bring the total cut beyond 51%, it is as if the shechita itself achieved the necessary 51% cut. Another approach, as proposed by the Imrei Moshe, posits that shechita doesn't inherently require cutting 51% of the circumference; rather, it requires what he calls the mi’ut ha-mashlim - the minimal additional cut needed to bring the existing cut from below 50% to above it. In this view, if the esophagus is already 50% severed, and the shochet cuts another 2%, even this minimal cut would suffice, as it completes the necessary majority.

These two perspectives may shed light on an intriguing debate among the Amoraim regarding a case where shechita is performed in three stages: the first 30% through gramma (an indirect cut), the next 33% properly, and the final 33% again through gramma. According to Rabbi Yehuda, this shechita is invalid, as only 33% was cut properly. Rav Huna, however, deems it valid.

The Imrei Moshe suggests that this debate may hinge on how to understand the case of chatzi kaneh pagum and whether its principles can extend to this scenario. Rabbi Yehuda likely holds that a valid shechita requires a proper cut of 51% of the circumference. In the case of chatzi kaneh pagum, the initial partial cut becomes part of the shechita because it would have been cut anyway, making the final act complete. However, he would not validate a case where only 33% was cut properly because there is no complete and proper shechita of more than 51%.

On the other hand, Rav Huna may argue that the leniency of chatzi kaneh pagum stems from the understanding that shechita only requires the additional cut necessary to achieve a majority. In his view, the second third of the shechita, which raises the cut from 33% to 66%, constitutes the mi’ut ha-mashlim, making the shechita valid even though the first and final thirds were performed through gramma. This act, having achieved a majority in a halakhically valid manner, suffices to render the shechita kosher.