Study Yoma folio 36B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
בלאו דנבילה קא מיפלגי:
It is with regard to the prohibition against eating an unslaughtered animal carcass, and similar prohibitions, that they disagree. The Torah says: “You should not eat any unslaughtered animal carcass; give it to the stranger in your community to eat” (Deuteronomy 14:21). The dispute is whether this is a prohibition that after violation is transformed into a positive mitzva or whether it is a standard prohibition punishable by lashes.
רבי עקיבא סבר: לאו מעליא הוא. ורבי יוסי הגלילי סבר: לאו לאו מעליא הוא.
R' Akiva holds: It is a full-fledged prohibition, violators of which are flogged, as is the case with regard to violators of standard Torah prohibitions. In his opinion, this is not a case of a prohibition that after violation is transformed into a positive mitzva, as the positive mitzva: “Give it to the stranger in your community to eat,” in no way rectifies the prohibition that was violated. If the carcass was eaten, obviously it cannot then be given to the stranger. Apparently, the verse means that due to the prohibition against eating it, one should give it to the stranger. And R' Yosei HaGelili holds: It is not a full-fledged prohibition; rather, it is a prohibition that after violation is transformed into a positive mitzva. Because the positive command appears after the prohibition, it is tantamount to a prohibition that can be rectified.
Abaye said that everyone agrees that the prohibition of eating an unslaughtered animal carcass is a full-fledged prohibition, and it is not a prohibition that after violation is transformed into a positive mitzva, and here, it is with regard to the positive mitzva written after the prohibitions with regard to gleanings, forgotten sheaves, and pe’a that they disagree. The verse states: “And when you reap the harvest of your land, you should not wholly reap the corner of your field, neither should you gather the gleaning of your harvest. And you should not glean your vineyard, neither should you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you should leave them for the poor and for the stranger, I am YHWH your God (Leviticus 19:9–10). After listing the prohibitions: You should not wholly reap, you should not glean, and you should not gather, the Torah commands: You should leave them.