Chullin 102 – Limb Torn from a Live Animal

It is prohibited to eat a limb taken from an animal while it was alive. Even if the animal is later slaughtered, the limb retains its prohibited status. This applies to both kosher and non-kosher animals – so say Rabbi Yehudah and Rabbi Elazar, but the Sages say that this prohibition applies only to kosher animals.

Both opinions are derived from the same source. The Torah said, “Only be strong not to eat blood, for the blood is the life, you shall not eat the life with the flesh.” Just as blood is forbidden in kosher and non-kosher animals, so is the limb torn from a live animal – so say Rabbi Yehudah and Rabbi Elazar. And the Sages? They say that “You shall not eat the life with the flesh” indeed prohibits a limb, but it should be such an animal that “flesh without life” should be permitted – that is, a kosher animal, whose meat may be eaten.

How much of a limb one has to eat to transgress? – An olive's volume. Alternatively, a complete limb, a “creation,” even if smaller than an olive's volume, makes him liable also.

Art: Paolo Antonio Barbieri - Still Life With Plates, A Sack Filled With Olives, Game, Pomegranates, And Quince