Kosher Chronicles: Six Talmudic Tales of Fish, Spice, and the Quest for Techelet (Avodah Zarah 39a)
The Talmudic passage discusses various incidents involving sages making rulings about the kosher status of different types of fish and other items under Jewish dietary laws. The final story is about techelet, the Tyrian purple dye required by the Torah to be placed together with the tzitzit on the corners of a shawl.
Outline
R’ Akiva Served Fish in Ginzak
Rav Ashi Served Fish in Tamduria
Rav Ashi Served Fish in an unnamed location
Rabba bar bar Ḥana Served Fish in Akra DeAgma
Buying a spice from R’ Levi’s slave
Buying Tekhelet from Rav Amram the Pious’s Wife
The passage
R’ Akiva Served Fish in Ginzak
R’ Akiva visited (איקלע)1 the Median town of Ganzak (גינזק).2
There, he examined a fish resembling a ḥippusha, a non-kosher creature.3
By observing that it shed scales when struggling in a basket, he deemed it kosher (the presence of scales is a criterion for kosher fish).
רבי עקיבא איקלע לגינזק
אייתו לקמיה ההוא נונא, דהוה דמי לחיפושא
חפייה בדיקולא, חזא ביה קלפי, ושרייה
R' Akiva happened to come to Ginzak.
and they brought before him a certain fish that was similar to a ḥippusha, a non-kosher aquatic creature.
When he enclosed it in a basket he saw that it had scales which it shed as it struggled to escape from the basket, and he permitted it on that basis.
Rav Ashi Served Fish in Tamduria
Rav Ashi visited an otherwise unknown place called “Tamduria”. There, he identified thin scales on a fish similar to an eel (tzelofḥa) by holding it against the light, and thus permitted it as kosher.
רב אשי איקלע לטמדוריא
אייתו לקמיה ההוא נונא, דהוה דמי לצלופחא
נקטיה להדי יומא, חזא דהוה ביה צימחי, ושרייה
Rav Ashi happened to come to Tamduria
where they brought before him a certain fish that was similar to an eel [tzelofḥa].
He took it out and held it against the light of day, and saw that there were thin scales on it, and he permitted it.
Rav Ashi Served Fish in an unnamed location
Rav Ashi visited an unnamed place. There, he noticed a fish resembling a shefar-nuna (שפר-נונא - literally: “beautiful fish”) shed dark scales in a white vessel, allowing the scales to be easily seen, leading to his approval of its kosher status.
רב אשי איקלע לההוא אתרא
אייתו לקמיה נונא, דהוי דמי לשפרנונא
חפייה במשיכלי חיורי, חזא ביה קלפי, ושרייה
Rav Ashi also happened to come to a certain land
where they brought before him a fish that was similar to a shefarnuna.
He enclosed it in a white vessel and saw that it shed dark scales, which he could see against the white background of the container, and he permitted it.
Rabba bar bar Ḥana Served Fish in Akra DeAgma
Rabba bar bar Ḥana visited Akra DeAgma.4 There, upon hearing a dish called tzaḥanta referred to by the name "batei," which is associated with non-kosher sea creatures, he suspected--and later confirmed--the presence of non-kosher elements in the dish.
רבה בר בר חנה איקלע לאקרא דאגמא
קריבו ליה צחנתא
שמעיה לההוא גברא דהוה קרי ליה "באטי"
אמר, מדקא קרי ליה "באטי", ש"מ דבר טמא אית ביה
לא אכל מיניה
לצפרא, עיין בה, אשכח ביה דבר טמא
קרי אנפשיה: (משלי יב, כא) "לא יאונה לצדיק כל און"
Rabba bar bar Ḥana happened to come to Akra DeAgma
and they brought him some tzaḥanta, a dish prepared from small fish.
He heard a certain man calling it batei, the name of a non-kosher sea creature.
Rabba bar bar Ḥana said to himself: From the fact that he called it batei, I can conclude from here that there is a non-kosher substance in the tzaḥanta.
And he did not eat from it that night.
In the morning, he examined the dish and in fact found a non-kosher substance in it.
He read the following verse about himself: “No sin shall befall the righteous” (Proverbs 12:21).
Buying a spice from R’ Levi’s slave
The Mishna (Avodah Zarah 2:6) states that while consuming a sliver of ḥiltit5 obtained from a non-Jew is prohibited, deriving benefit from it is allowed.
The Talmud recounts an incident involving the gentile slave of R' Levi (a 2nd/3rd generation Babylonian amora), who sold ḥiltit during R' Levi's lifetime, and it was permissible to buy from him due to his association with a Sage.
After R' Levi's death, a question arose about the continued permissibility of purchasing ḥiltit from this non-Jewish slave. R' Yoḥanan clarified that a slave who served a ḥaver6 is considered like a ḥaver himself, and thus, it remained permissible to buy ḥiltit from him.
והקורט של חילתית:
[...]
עבדיה דר' לוי הוה קא מזבין חילתיתא
כי נח נפשיה דר' לוי, אתו לקמיה דרבי יוחנן
אמרו ליה: מהו למיזבן מיניה?
אמר להו: עבדו של חבר הרי הוא כחבר
The mishna teaches: And a sliver of ḥiltit may not be consumed, although one may derive benefit from it.
[...]
The Gemara relates that the gentile slave of R' Levi would sell ḥiltit, and it was permitted to purchase it from him as he was the slave of a Sage.
When R' Levi passed away, they came before R' Yoḥanan and said to him: Now that R' Levi has passed, what is the halakha with regard to whether or not it is permitted to purchase ḥiltit from his gentile slave?
R' Yoḥanan said to them: The slave of a ḥaver, one devoted to the meticulous observance of mitzvot, especially halakhot of ritual purity, teruma, and tithes, is as a ḥaver himself, and therefore it is permitted to buy ḥiltit from him.
Story of Buying Tekhelet from Rav Amram the Pious’s Wife
This Talmudic passage delves into the issue of trustworthiness concerning the purchase of tekhelet (the sky-blue dye used for tzitzit, which is prone to counterfeiting) from the wife of a sage. The story focuses on Rav Huna bar Minyumi (רב הונא בר מניומי, an otherwise-unknown sage), who buys the dye from the wife of Rav Amram the Pious (רב עמרם חסידא - a 2nd generation Babylonian amora)7 and seeks to verify its authenticity for religious use.
Rav Huna bar Minyumi approaches Rav Yosef to confirm if the dye is genuinely usable for the mitzvah, but Rav Yosef is unable to provide an answer.
Ḥanan the Tailor (חנן חייטא, an otherwise-unknown person) happens to bump into Rav Yosef, and shares his similar experience of buying tekhelet from the wife of a sage (the wife of Rabena’a, brother of R' Ḥiyya bar Abba, an otherwise-unknown sage), and also facing uncertainty when consulting sages.
The resolution comes when Ḥanan consults Rav Yehuda of Hagronya (an otherwise-unknown sage),8 who finally provides clarity based on the teachings of Shmuel: the wife of a ḥaver is considered as trustworthy as a ḥaver himself.9 Therefore, one can rely on the wife’s statement regarding the authenticity of the tekhelet.
רב הונא בר מניומי זבן תכילתא מאנשי דביתיה דרב עמרם חסידא
אתא לקמיה דרב יוסף
לא הוה בידיה
פגע ביה חנן חייטא
א"ל: יוסף עניא מנא ליה?!
בדידי הוה עובדא, דזביני תכילתא מאנשי דביתיה דרבנאה אחוה דר' חייא בר אבא,
ואתאי לקמיה דרב מתנא
לא הוה בידיה
אתאי לקמיה דרב יהודה מהגרוניא
אמר לי: נפלת ליד
הכי אמר שמואל: אשת חבר הרי היא כחבר
The Gemara relates another incident that involves the status of a ḥaver and his household. Rav Huna bar Minyumi purchased sky-blue dye [tekhelta] from the people of the household, i.e., the wife, of Rav Amram the pious. One may purchase sky-blue dye for ritual fringes only from a reliable individual, as it is easy to counterfeit it.
Rav Huna then came before Rav Yosef to ask if he could rely on her assurance that it was usable for the mitzva. The answer was not available to Rav Yosef.
Later, Ḥanan the tailor happened to meet Rav Huna, and he said to him: From where could poor Rav Yosef have known the answer to this question?!
Ḥanan continued: There was an incident in which I was involved, as I purchased sky-blue dye from the people of the household, i.e., the wife, of Rabena’a, brother of R' Ḥiyya bar Abba,
and I came before Rav Mattana to ask him the same question, and the answer was not available to him either.
I then came before Rav Yehuda of Hagronya,
who said to me: You have fallen into my hand, i.e., I am the only one who can answer your question.
This is what Shmuel says: The wife of a ḥaver is herself considered like a ḥaver, and you may therefore rely on her statement.
I believe that the Aramaic word ikla - אקלע - may be better translated as simply “arrived in, visited”. See short proof here.
Jastrow translates it as “mud fish”, meaning, fish that live in muddy conditions, like marshes and other muddy areas. Relevant fish might be eel or carp. (An eel - tzelofḥa - is mentioned in the next story as well.)
This place in Babylonia is mentioned in another four places in the Talmud, including as the place where part of the material for the creation of Adam’s buttocks (עגבותיו) came from, in Sanhedrin.38b.1.
The name literally means "fortress of the swamp/pond". The word hakra is likely a loanword from Greek acra, see Acra (fortress) - Wikipedia, and see the paper cited in my piece “Toponyms” on the Babylonian place called Akronia.
חילתית - Jastrow:
assa foetida, an umbelliferous plant used, as a resin or in leaves, for a spice and for medicinal purposes.
‘haver’ here has the general meaning of ‘scholar’.
See my recent piece for another story about Rav Amram the Pious.
On the city of Hagronia, see Dr. Henry Abramson, “Hagronia Kesuvos 109” - Jewish History in Daf Yomi - OU Torah.
Similary to the previous story, where R’ Yohanan said that “The slave of a ḥaver is as a ḥaver”. This story is quoted by association to the previous story.