Chullin 86 – Shechitah by a Deaf-mute, Deranged, or Minor

Rabbi Chiya's flax was attacked by moths, and Rabbi Yehudah the Prince told him to kill a bird in a way which would make it a terefah; the moths will smell the blood and abandon the flax. Why not kill it outright? – That would also work, but even making it a terefah would allow him not to cover its blood.

But could it really happen? When Rabbi Chiya and his sons came to Israel, there ceased to be earthquakes and violent winds, the wine did not sour and the flax was not afflicted, since their merit protected everybody!? – Yes, it protected everybody but not them.

If a deaf-mute, a deranged person, or a minor slaughtered a wild beast or a bird, with others observing them, this is kosher, but the observer is the one obligated to cover the blood. If nobody saw them, their shechitah is surely bungled, and one need not cover the blood. The same applies for “it and its offspring,” - these are the words of Rabbi Meir, but the Sages disagree. Actually, the Sages disagree about covering the blood also, but they waited for Rabbi Meir to finish his words.

Art: John William Waterhouse - Windswept