חולין לז

A village butcher who sold chickens would travel to town to consult the רב whenever he had a question about the kashrut of his poultry. One particularly cold and windy day, as the butcher was getting on his horse, a customer asked where he was going on such a blustery day. The butcher explained that he needed to ask a שאלה whether certain of the chickens were kosher or treif. “For this you are traveling to town on a day like this?” the customer asked. “I have a suggestion for you,” he said. “The תורה states ובשר בשדה טרפה לא תאכלו – לכלב תשליכון אותו.” From now on, whenever you have a question of kashrut, place the chicken in front of the dog and if he eats it, it’s a סימן that it’s treif and if not, it’s a סימן that it’s kosher.” The village butcher liked the idea and followed through on it. However, he quickly became disillusioned as the dog ate everything that was put before him. Before long, he returned to the רב. “Where have you been?” the רב asked. Haven’t you had any שאלות?” “Yes,” the butcher responded. “But to avoid having to travel to town, I brought the questions to the dog and he was פוסק for me.” The רב was momentarily at a loss for words. But with a smile, he asked “So what brings you to me now?” The butcher responded: “The dog is a fanatic. He is always מחמיר. He never rules anything kosher. For him it’s all treif.”

06/10/2021