Chullin 58

Sugya Map

• Issue: The status of eggs (or offspring) produced by a tereifa female.
• Core Question: Does the tereifa status of the mother contaminate the egg ab initio, or does the involvement of a kosher sire trigger the principle of zeh v'zeh gorem (permitted/prohibited causes)?
• Nafka Mina: Whether a tereifa bird is biologically capable of producing viable, permissible offspring post-injury.
• Primary Sources: Chullin 58a, Mishnah Eduyyot 5:1.

Text Snapshot

Chullin 58a: "The first clutch (shiḥala) of eggs... is prohibited... But as for any egg fertilized from this point forward, it is a case where both this and that cause it... and the joint result is permitted." Nuance: Rashi (s.v. shiḥala) identifies this as posta (the laying). The Gemara’s pivot from gadla (grew) to gamra (finished) underscores that if the process began pre-injury, the "finish" remains tainted by the initial prohibited state.

Readings

• Tosafot (s.v. zeh v'zeh gorem): Distinguishes this from the case of mules (parodot). In mules, the sire and dam don't create an "intertwined" cause because each could theoretically be permitted independently. Here, the prohibited status of the mother makes the male's contribution the only mechanism for potential permissibility.
• Steinsaltz: Highlights the underlying biological assumption. If the bird cannot produce eggs after becoming a tereifa, the "first clutch" is the only clutch, rendering the entire reproductive capacity of the tereifa moot.

Friction

• Kushya: If zeh v'zeh gorem permits the egg, why does Mishnah Eduyyot 5:1 state flatly that it is prohibited?
• Terutz: Ameimar qualifies the Mishnah: it refers to a bird "heated by the earth" (parthenogenesis/no male), where the tereifa mother is the sole cause. When there is no kosher sire to invoke zeh v'zeh gorem, the prohibition holds.

Intertext

• Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah 81:1: Codifies that the milk of a tereifa is prohibited, paralleling the status of the egg as a derivative of the mother’s internal state.

Psak/Practice

The halacha differentiates between the "first clutch" (pre-existing) and subsequent production. Practically, if an animal/bird is deemed a tereifa, we assume its current reproductive output is tainted unless evidence proves the biology of the specific tereifa condition permits continued function.

Takeaway

Prohibition follows the source of the biological process; if the process is initiated while the mother is healthy, the "finish" is irrelevant, but if a new process (fertilization) begins, the kosher sire can potentially "rescue" the output via zeh v'zeh gorem.