Zarzynanie zwierząt na użytek własny w świetle wybranych fragmentów Miszny
Slaughtering Animals for Personal Use in the Light of Selected Fragments of the Mishnah

Summary/Abstract: Slaughtering animals in Judaism during ancient times is typically associatedwith offering them as sacrifices in the T emple in Jerusalem. This is likely due to the fact thatthe T orah devotes significant attention to the practice of offering animals in the T emple,while providing relatively limited commentary on slaughtering animals for private, secular purposes. The T orah’s commandment: “You may slaughter from your cattle and sheep, whichthe Lord your God has given you, as I have commanded you…” (Deuteronomy 12:21), whichspecifies the proper method of slaughter, has also been interpreted as permitting the slaughterof animals for personal, secular use. The main provisions of the T orah served as a foundation forelaboration on this subject in rabbinic literature, particularly in the Mishnah.The aim of this article is to introduce Polish readers to issues related to the slaughter of animalsfor personal use. These topics, rooted in the Bible, are further developed in the tractate Hullin(Nonsacral Things). The article focuses on the subject of slaughter and addresses related issuessuch as the validity of slaughter, the suitability of individuals and tools; various aspects of theritual; differing rules depending on changing circumstances; the method of slaughter; injuriesrendering an animal terefah (unfit for consumption); the slaughter of a pregnant animal andthe legal status of a fetus found in its womb after slaughter; as well as the prohibition againstslaughtering domestic animals and their young on the same day. Due to the breadth of thetopic, other issues covered in the tractate Hullin are omitted, such as covering the blood; theprohibition against consuming the sciatic nerve; the prohibition against mixing milk and meat;the prohibition against consuming blood and fat; the impurity of food and carcasses; priestlydues; and the commandment to shoo away a mother bird before taking her eggs or chicks.

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