Continued Transition

[debka_notion]

I feel like I'm in transition from somewhere to somewhere else, only I don't know where that is. It's rather frustrating. But this time last year certainly seems like a long time ago- much longer than a year. This time last year I was looking forward to spending the first days of Sukkot with Nathan and his family. That feels rather like a completely separate me. A year isn't so long a time... In some ways I feel more connected with the me of freshman year or so, and especially the me that exists outside of the school atmosphere than last years' me. I think much of this is a lingering result of today's fast, which although very easy left me rather disoriented, as I posted before. I spent significantly too much time today alone with my books and computer. I'm really not sure at this point what portion of life will recomense tomorrow. Whatever it is should be exciting. I guess.

Really dumb and out there question of the night: Which is less brave, a kosher or a non-kosher chicken?

Comments

[belu.livejournal.com]

Which is less brave, a kosher or a non-kosher chicken?

Buh?

If I knew what was required of a chicken to be kosher, then I'd probably be able to give a better answer.

Masechta edible creatures

[nuqotw.livejournal.com]

Mishna: From what kind of animal do we make a feast before fighting the Canaanites? From the goat and the chicken for they are brave, but not of the fighting armadillo. Rabbi Yehoshua says power bars. The Sages say this is anachronistic.

Gemara: How do we know that the goat is brave? Because it is offered to H''QBH. Rabbi Akiba says the ram is also offered. But the goat is for Yom HaKippurim, hence brave. Brave is the Azazel goat that is hurled backwards from a cliff. It was taught in a baraita: two for two bring atonement. Others: as many as are needed to feed the soldiers, for it is no fun to fight Canaanites on an empty stomach. Rabbi Yehoshua says two goats and fresh vegetables.

But the chicken is not offered, so why do we eat? Because the chicken is whirled for atonement, and whirling requires courage. Rabbi Yehoshua says the chicken is light meat and more nutritious than the goat.

We do not eat the armadillo because it is treif. Rabbi Akiba asked what about the chicken? If the chicken is treif, does it nullify the whirling? The Sages say only the braver chickens may be whirled, for we do not traumatize a chicken unnecessarily. Since the chicken is eaten it must be kosher. Rabbi Yehoshua says it is treif only after the killing. Rabbi Akiba says it must be shechted.

[tirerim.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Well, the kosher chicken probably stops moving pretty fast, whereas the non-kosher chicken may keep running around for a little while with its head cut off, which seems like it at least takes some gumption...

[skyblue-dreamer.livejournal.com]

Except if the chicken is sick/likely to die of something else besides being killed (in which case it's not kosher), it's not kosher or unkosher until it's killed. (It has to be shechted, but there are lots of important things that are related to properly killing it.)

[belu.livejournal.com]

Then I suppose there's no difference in bravery between kosher and unkosher chickens. Can't much be any sort of brave if you're dead....

[debka-notion.livejournal.com]

Who says? What about undead chickens? Can't they be brave? I'd think they'd be braver- it must be awfully hard to be a vampire chicken, let alone a zombie- how do you keep little chicken legs properly wrapped?