Study Megillah folio 28A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
And I never recited Grace after Meals in the presence of a priest, but rather I gave him the privilege to lead. And I never ate from an animal whose priestly portions, i.e., the foreleg, the jaw, and the maw, had not already been set aside.
Another example of R' Perida’s meticulous behavior is based on that which R' Yitzḥak said that R' Yoḥanan said: It is prohibited to eat meat from an animal whose priestly portions have not been set aside. And R' Yitzḥak said: Anyone who eats meat from an animal whose priestly portions have not been
The Talmud considers another of R' Perida’s actions: He said: And I never blessed Grace after Meals in the presence of a priest, but rather I gave him the privilege to lead.
Is this to say that doing so is especially virtuous? But hasn’t R' Yoḥanan said: Any Torah scholar who allows someone else to bless Grace after Meals in his presence, i.e., to lead for him, even if that person is a High Priest who is an am ha'aretz, then that Torah scholar is liable to receive the
The Talmud answers: When R' Perida says this, he was speaking of people of equal stature. He was particular to honor the priesthood only when the priest was also a Torah scholar.