Cohn, Jacob. The Royal Table - VWC: Faculty/Staff Web

76 THE ROYAL TABLE
the contents of the entire pot, and the pot itself, become
times as much meat in that
trejah unless there is sixty
as the volume of the forbidden
17
veins.
pot
is customary to cut between the knee joints,
In fowl it
as there is a
blood vessel there; and the vessels in the throat should be
removed or at least cut through a number of times.18
Blood in the flesh is prohibited only if it has left its
original seat (tPTBi? en), Fence raw meat may be eaten
with impunity. 19 In cooking the blood will certainly be
disturbed and leave its original seat; hence arises the neces-
sity of removing it in one of two ways, either by salting
or broiling. Before the meat is salted it should be thor-
oughly washed and soaked in water. 20 The reasons for this
preliminary soaking are variously stated by the leading
authorities. Rabbenu Nissim thinks that the chief object
is to soften the^meat so that the blood will be easily drawn
out. 21 Mordecai states that the purpose is to wash off the
blood which adheres to the surface, lest the salt become
drenched with this surface blood, and fail to draw aut the
inner blood. 22 A third opinion, held by the Great Book
of Commandments (SMaG),
is that unless the meat is
subjected to a preliminary washing, salting the meat will
produce an effect exactly opposite from the one de-
sired: instead of ridding the meat of its inner blood, it will
cause the surface blood to be absorbed. 23 A number of
other reasons have been advanced to justify the practice
1T Y D ibid. Ramah.
18
Ibid 3.
18
Hullin 14a; Ashen ad loc Y D. 67, 1. The veins, however,
must be removed and the meat washed of its surface blood, if the
meat should be eaten raw.
30
Hullin 113a; Y. D. 69, 1.
*
Rabbenu Nissim to Hullin 113a.
n
Mordecai to Hullin, Chapter "VHI.
88
Great Book of Commandments (SMaG), Negative Precepts, 134.