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Bava Basra 146: Savlonos - Marganita
Jeffrey Levin asked:
In determining whether the chasan gives up his claim to return of sivlonot, the
gemara concludes from a baraita that we can learn that the chasan gives up his
claim even if we only drinks, and suggests that we can also learn that he gives
up his claim if the value is less than a dinar. Rav Ashi suggests that maybe
the drink was worth much more because it may have contained a ground-up
marganita (which Artscroll translates as a pearl). A pearl is the product of
an oyster or other shellfish, which is formed around a parasitic worm. Doesn't
this present a kashrut issue??
Jeffrey Levin, Wesley Hills, New York
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The Kollel replies:
This is a very interesting question and I have not found that any of the
commentaries ask it so I will attempt my own reply. I am going to assume that
the pearl is from a forbidden creature (even though it may be possible that
there exist pearls that do not originate from living creatures, but I will not
try to enter into that question), but nevertheless will explore the possibility
that there may be a permitted way of consuming this. I would stress that my
reply is an academic one merely to try and explain the Gemara and obviously no
Halachic conclusion should be drawn from it.
1. Firstly I would point out what Rashbam DH Man writes that it is the practice
of princes to drink hot liquid with the pearl ground up inside as a cure. I
want to suggest that there is a good reason why Rashbam writes that it is drunk
for medicinal reasons, namely in order to answer your question about the
kashrus issue. Rashbam may be telling us that for a healthy person indeed it is
forbidden to drink the powdered Marganita but rather the Heter is only for a
sick person.
2. If the sick person's life is in danger then clearly it is absolutely
permitted to drink the pearl if necessary because saving life overrides the
prohibition of forbidden foods.
3. However even if the sick person's life is not in danger (he is a "Choleh
she'Ein Bo Sakanah") it may still be permitted to drink the potion. This is
based on the Gemara Pesachim 25b which relates that Ravina smeared an ointment
made out of olives of "Orlah" onto his daughter. Even though it is forbidden to
derive benefit from fruit in the first three years of the tree, nevertheless
the Gemara states (in the second answer there) that since the olives were
administered in an unusual way (which is therefore only a Rabbinical
prohibition) this is permitted for a non-dangerously ill patient.
4. The Mordechai in Pesachim #544-5 (printed at the back of the Gemara) cites
Avi ha'Ezri who derives from this that it is permitted for a sick person to eat
any prohibition of the Torah if this is done in an unusual way. An example is
eating raw forbidden fats or burning a forbidden insect and consuming the ashes
for medical purposes.
5. I therefore suggest that grinding up a pearl and drinking the powder with
hot liquid is certainly not the usual usage of a pearl, so this may be why it
is permitted for a Choleh she'Ein Bo Sakanah which the Chasan in our Gemara may
have been.
6. In addition it may be that the pearl is not considered by the Halachah to be
part of the forbidden oyster (to get to the bottom of this question we would
have to do further research to find out exactly how the pearl is formed). This
may be similar to what the Gemara Bechoros 7b states that the placenta in which
a donkey is born (see Rashi DH Or) is permitted to eat. This is because it is
"Pirsha b'Alma" - it is waste material that emerges from the donkey and does
not possess the same status as the donkey itself. Similarly it may be that the
pearl is considered to have undergone a total change since it developed from
the oyster. This requires further thought.
Chodesh Tov,
Dovid Bloom
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