1)

(a)The Mishnah rules that, whereas a fetus whose mother having difficulty giving birth (See Tosfos Yom Tov) which is subsequently Shechted, and which stretches out its foreleg from her womb and withdraws it - may subsequently be eaten, one which stretches out its head and withdraws it - may not.

(b)The part of the leg that it stretched out - is in any case forbidden.

(c)The Din will differ where the fetus stretches out its foreleg and does not withdraw it - inasmuch as the location of the cut will then be forbidden, unless one cuts off part of the leg that did not protrude.

2)

(a)We learn ...

1. ... the first of the previous rulings from the Pasuk in Mishpatim "u'Basar ba'Sadeh T'reifah Lo Socheilu" - which teaches us that any animal (or part of an animal) that leaves its borders becomes a T'reifah (See Tosfos Yom Tov).

2. ... the second of the previous rulings from the Pasuk in Re'ei "ve'Chol ... bi'Veheimah Tocheilu" - because it implies that an animal that is inside an animal is Kasher (See Tosfos Yom Tov).

3)

(a)The fetus ...

1. ... is permitted in the former cases (where the animal stretched out its foreleg) - on the basis of its mother's Shechitah.

2. ... is forbidden in the latter case (where it stretched out its head) - because it is considered to be born, in which case it does not become permitted by the Shechitah of its mother.

(b)It will be permitted in the latter case - if its head emerges after the Shechitah.

4)

(a)One is permitted to eat a piece of the fetus that one cuts off whilst it is still inside its mother's womb - on the basis of its mother's Shechitah.

(b)If one cuts off a piece of spleen or kidney of the mother itself - it is forbidden.

(c)The Tana mentions specifically spleen or kidney - since they do not render the animal a T'reifah (See Tosfos Yom Tov).

(d)The Mishnah finally cites the principle (that governs this distinction) that - whatever is not part of the mother is permitted via the mother's Shechitah, whereas whatever is - is not.

5)

(a)A firstborn animal that is stillborn or that dies - must be buried (See Tosfos Yom Tov).

(b)The Mishnah rules in a case where an animal that is having difficulty giving birth to a firstborn baby - that one may cut off each limb as it emerges and feed it to the dogs ...

(c)... because it does not have the Kedushah of a B'chor ...

(d)... until most of it has been born.

6)

(a)We learn from the Pasuk in Re'ei "Kol ha'Bechor asher Yivaled" that - once an animal or the majority of it has been born in one go - it has the Din of a B'chor.

(b)The baby that is born after it is considered a B'chor - in the previous case (if one fed it to the dogs before the majority emerged).

7)

(a)The Tana Kama rules that a shepherd who stretches his hand into the womb of an animal and touches the dead fetus inside it - remains Tahor, even if the animal is a Tamei (non-Kasher) one.

(b)According to Rebbi Yossi ha'Gelili - if the animal is a non-Kasher one, he becomes Tamei.

(c)They learn the Din by a Kasher animal via a Kal va'Chomer - from the fact that the same fetus may be eaten following the mother's Shechitah.

8)

(a)The Tana Kama learns from the Pasuk in Sheminin "ve'Chi Yamus min ha'Beheimah (with reference to a non-Kasher Beheimah) asher hi lachem le'Ochlah" (with reference to a Kasher animal) that - just as the fetus of the Kasher animal is Tahor, so too is that of the non-Kasher animal (See Tosfos Yom Tov).

(b)The problem with the words "O be'Nivlas Beheimah Teme'ah" (in the Pasuk in Vayikra "O Nefesh asher Tiga be'Chol Davar Tamei O be'Nivlas Chayah Teme'ah O be'Nivlas Beheimah Teme'ah") is that - the Neveilah of a Kasher animal is just as much Tamei as that of a Tamei animal.

(c)Consequently - Rebbi Yossi ha'Gelili establishes the Pasuk by the fetus of a non-Kasher animal, which is Metamei, even though that of a Kasher animal is not (See Tosfos Yom Tov) ...

(d)... because he does not hold of the Tana Kama's Hekesh.

(e)The Halachah is - like the Tana Kama.

9)

(a)The Mishnah now discusses a case where a (human) fetus dies inside its mother's stomach and the midwife places her hand inside the womb and touches it. The Tana - declares the midwife Tamei for seven days and even though the woman herself remains Tahor.

(b)Even though the baby has not yet been born, he declares the midwife Tamei - mi'de'Rabbanan, in case the baby emerges from the womb, and she doesn't realize it.

(c)The Mishnah nevertheless rules ...

1. ... that the woman herself remains Tahor - because she knows when the fetus sticks out its head from the womb, and is not likely to err.

2. ... later that a shepherd who places his hand inside the womb of an animal and touches the dead fetus inside it remains Tahor - because an animal's womb is more open than that of a woman and it is easy to tell when the baby's head protrudes from it.

10)

(a)In a case where a pregnant animal that is having difficulty giving birth, the fetus sticks out its foot, and the owner cuts it off and Shechts the mother - the Mishnah declares the fetus Tahor ...

(b)... because a live animal (See Tosfos Yom Tov) is not subject to Tum'ah.

(c)In the reverse case, where he first Shechts the mother and then cuts off the foot, Rebbi Meir declares the fetus - Tamei Neveilah ...

(d)... because it touched the foot, which is Eiver min ha'Chai, and therefore has the Din of Neveilah, which is Metamei (See Tosfos Yom Tov) ...

11)

(a)The Chachamim disagree with him - inasmuch as they attribute to the fetus the status of a Maga T'reifah (See Tosfos Yom Tov [which is only Metamei Kodshim, mi'de'Rabbanan, but not Chulin]) ...

(b)... because, although the Shechitah does not permit the foot to be eaten, it does render it Tahor from Tum'as Neveilah.

(c)Rebbi Meir, who concedes that the Shechitah of a T'reifah removes the Tum'ah of Neveilah, objects to the Chachamim's ruling - because the severed foot is an independent limb that is not an intrinsic part of the animal.

(d)The Halachah is - like the Chachamim.

12)

(a)We would have thought that the Shechitah does not render a T'reifah, Tahor - based on the precedent of a non-Kasher animal, which remains Tamei even though it has been Shechted.

(b)Nevertheless, it does render it Tahor - because, unlike the non-Kasher animal, it had a Sha'as ha'Kosher (before it became a T'reifah), and it therefore remains within the realm of sheep and cattle (See Tosfos Yom Tov).

(c)We learn from the Pasuk in Shemini "le'Chol ha'Beheimah asher hi Mafreses Parsah ... Kol ha'No'ge'a bahem Yitma" - that a non-Kasher animal remains Tamei even after it has been Shechted.

13)

(a)The Tana rejects the S'vara of 'Sha'as ha'Kosher' - from an animal that is born a T'reifah, which ought then to become Tamei after it has been Shechted.

(b)The Mishnah ultimately learns that after Shechitah, a T'reifah remains in the realm of sheep and cattle, and is therefore Tahor - from the S'vara that, unlike a non-Kasher animal, a T'reifah belongs to the species of animal that is subject to Shechitah.

(c)The Mishnah rules that the Shechitah of an eighth-month baby that has been Shechted - does not render it Tahor (even though it was alive before the Shechitah) ...

(d)... because there is nothing in the same species that is subject to Shechitah.

14)

(a)The Mishnah now discusses a case where, after Shechting an animal, one finds a dead fetus inside it. Irrespective of whether they find ...

1. ... an eight-months old baby alive or dead or ...

2. ... a ninth-month old baby that is dead - it may be eaten on the basis of its mother's Shechitah (Note: it is called a 'ben Peku'ah').

(b)Its ...

1. ... blood is Asur and must be drained, whereas ...

2. ... its Cheilev is permitted.

15)

(a)The problem with the Pasuk in Tzav, which forbids the Cheilev of a Korban Asham is that - we already know it ...

(b)... via a Kal va'Chomer from a Korban Shelamim - which only sometimes requires the Alyah (the fat-tail) to be brought, whereas the Asham always does.

(c)We therefore learn from there that - just as the Isur of Cheilev and the two kidneys is not applicable to the Sh'lil (the fetus) of an Asham (since it is always a male), so too, do they not apply to the Sh'lil of other Korbanos.

(d)And since the Cheilev of the Sh'lil of a Korban is not brought on the Mizbe'ach, that of the Sh'lil of a Chulin animal is permitted.

(e)The blood is nevertheless forbidden - since there is no Pasuk that suggests otherwise.

16)

(a)If, in the previous case, one finds a live nine-month old baby inside the Shechted mother, according to Rebbi Meir, it requires an independent Shechitah. It is not included in the Pasuk "mi'Kol ba'Beheimah Tocheilu", which permits all the previous cases to be eaten without Shechitah - because once it attains the age of nine months, it is considered an independent animal.

(b)He also rules that - it is subject to the La'av of 'Oso ve'es B'no' and may not therefore be Shechted on the same day as its mother.

(c)According to the Chachamim - it is permitted via the Shechitah of its mother ...

(d)... because they maintain that, in order to attain the status of an independent animal, it requires both age and birth.

17)

(a)Rebbi Shimon Shezuri says that - one is even permitted to eat an eight-year old ben Peku'ah that is plowing in the field via the Shechitah of its mother (in which case one merely needs to tear it open).

(b)The Chachamim hold - that once a ben Peku'ah walks on the ground, it requires Shechitah, mi'de'Rabbanan ...

(c)... in case one comes to allow all animals to be eaten without Shechitah.

(d)The Halachah is - like the Chachamim.

(e)The Mishnah finally rules that, in a case where one tears open an animal and finds a live nine-month old baby inside - the baby requires Shechitah (See Tosfos Yom Tov).

18)

(a)The Mishnah now discusses an animal whose legs have been cut off. The Tana is talking about - the hind legs.

(b)If they have been cut off below the knee - the animal is Kasher; above the knee - it is T'reifah.

(c)Of the three bones in the leg, the Mishnah is discussing the lowest one, which is generally sold - together with the head.

(d)The highest bone is the thigh-bone (the femur). 'Above the knee' refers to the calf (the middle) bone at the foot of which lies - the 'Tzomas ha'Gidin' (the nerve-junction).

19)

(a)If the Tzomas ha'Gidin is missing - the animal is T'reifah ...

(b)... irrespective of whether the calf-bone is broken or not.

(c)If the flesh above the Tzomas ha'Gidin is 'broke'n - the Din is the same as the removal of the Tzomas ha'Gidin.

20)

(a)The Rif and the Rambam explain the Mishnah differently. According to them, if the area between the Tzomes and the Kulyas (the thigh-bone) is fractured - the animal remains Kasher ...

(b)... because such is the Din of T'reifus; If one cuts from one place it is Kasher, from another place, it is a T'reifah.

(c)According to them - this T'reifus is not defined as 'a broken leg, but 'a severed Tzomes'.

(d)The exact definition of 'Tzomas ha'Gidin' is - from the area that is white and hard up to the area that turns red and soft.

21)

(a)The Tzomes comprises three white 'cords', one of them thick, the others, thin. The removal - of at least two of them, including the thick one, renders the animal a T'reifah.

(b)For the animal to be a T'reifah - a majority of each one must be removed or broken.

(c)A bird, whose Tzomes comprises sixteen 'cords' - becomes a T'reifah even if one of them is fractured.

22)

(a)We just learned earlier that if the bone below the knee is fractured, it does not render the animal a T'reifah. The Shechitah of the animal permits the limb itself to be eaten - provided the majority remains intact ('Rov Basar Kayam').

(b)'Rov Basar Kayam' means - both of the thickness and of the circumference.

(c)It is possible to have one without the other - because the bone is not completely round, but wider at one end and narrower at the other (See Tosfos Yom Tov).

(d)It is forbidden to eat it if Rov Basar is not intact - due to the Pasuk in Mishpatim "u'Basar ba'Sadeh T'reifah Lo Socheilu", which incorporates a loose limb and loose flesh.

(e)By the same token, the animal is Kasher even if the bone above the knee is fractured - if the Basar is still intact.

23)

(a)'Shilya' is - a placenta.

(b)Most people would not eat it - because it is disgusting.

(c)The Mishnah therefore states that if one finds a Shilya inside a Shechted animal - someone who is not disgusted by it may eat it.

24)

(a)It is not Metamei Tum'as ...

1. ... Ochlin - because it is not considered a food.

2. ... Neveilos even if the animal dies - because it is not considered Basar ...

(b)If one has in mind to eat it - it is Metamei Tum'as Ochlin but not Tum'as Neveilos.

(c)It is not Metamei Tum'as Neveilos - because, even though it is now considered food, it is not considered Basar (as we just explained).

25)

(a)The Mishnah rules that a Shilya, some of which (even if it is a minority) emerges from the animal's womb - may not be eaten ...

(b)... in case part of the melted baby emerged with it.

(c)Even though the entire fetus cannot possible have emerged, it is nevertheless forbidden - due to the possibility that the head emerged, In which case it is considered born).

(d)And when the Tana says 'Si'man V'lad be'Ishah, Si'man V'lad bi'Veheimah' (See Tosfos Yom Tov), he means that - a placenta that emerges, both of a woman and of an animal) is a sign that a birth has taken place (See Tiferes Yisrael).

26)

(a)Even if this is the animal's first baby, one is permitted to throw the Shilya that emerged to the dogs - because it does not have the Din of Kedushas B'chor.

(b)In spite of the fact that there is no Shilya without a baby, it is not forbidden - because, bearing in mind that it might be a female or a Nidmeh (See Tosfos Yom Tov, neither of which is subject to the Din of Bechorah), it is probably not a B'chor.

(c)If it is a Hekdesh animal however - one is obligated to bury it.

(d)Bearing in mind that Hekdesh refers to a Shelamim, this Din is different than the previous one - inasmuch as a female animal too can be a Shelamim.

27)

(a)The Tana forbids ...

1. ... burying the Shilya of Kodshim by the crossroads or ...

2. ... hanging it on a tree - because they used to divine in that way and Nichush (divining) is Asur min ha'Torah.

(b)We learn it from the Pasuk in Acharei-Mos - "u'che'Ma'aseh Eretz Mitzrayim Lo Sa'asu" (See Tosfos Yom Tov).