Shabbat 144A

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Text Excerpt

שלא לרצון, שדם מגפתה טהור?! אמר להן: מחמיר אני בחלב מבדם, שהחולב לרפואה ⁠— טמא, והמקיז לרפואה ⁠— טהור. אמרו לו: סלי זיתים וענבים יוכיחו, שהמשקין היוצאין מהן לרצון ⁠— טמאין, שלא לרצון ⁠— טהורים.

if it was expressed unintentionally, as the blood of its wound is ritually pure, meaning that it does not render food susceptible to ritual impurity. R' Akiva said to them: I am more stringent with regard to milk than with regard to blood, as if one milks an animal for medicinal purposes, the milk renders food susceptible to ritual impurity, and if one lets blood for medicinal purposes, the status of the blood is not that of a liquid and is ritually pure, in the sense that it does not render food susceptible to ritual impurity. They said to him: The case of baskets of olives and grapes will prove that there is a difference between liquids that emerge of his own volition and those that do not, as liquid that seeps from them volitionally renders food susceptible to ritual impurity. However, liquid that seeps from them unvolitionally is ritually pure, i.e., it does not render food susceptible to ritual impurity. Apparently, liquid renders food susceptible to ritual impurity only if it emerged of its own volition.

מאי לאו ״לרצון״⁠ — דניחא ליה, ״שלא לרצון״⁠ — בסתמא. ומה זיתים וענבים דבני סחיטה נינהו, שלא לרצון ⁠— ולא כלום, תותים ורמונים, דלאו בני סחיטה נינהו, לא כל שכן?

The Talmud analyzes the terms of that Mishnah: What, is it not true that the term volitionally is referring to a situation where one is pleased with the emergence of liquids, and the term unvolitionally is referring to an indeterminate situation, where he expressed no preference? This leads to a conclusion with regard to our original topic of discussion. Just as in the case of olives and grapes, which are primarily designated for squeezing in order to extract oil and wine respectively, if liquid leaked from them unvolitionally, in the sense that one did not intend for the liquid to emerge, it has no significance and does not render food susceptible to ritual impurity; in the case of mulberries and pomegranates, which are not typically designated for squeezing, is it not all the more so that liquid that seeps from them unvolitionally does not render food susceptible to ritual impurity?

Text data via Sefaria: William Davidson Edition - English and William Davidson Edition - Vocalized Aramaic, CC-BY-NC; edition provenance: Koren. Display terminology has been modernized for readability.