Kiddushin, Daf Nun Zayin, Part 4
Introduction
The Talmud continues to discuss the permission to eat the bird set free.
דבי ר’ ישמעאל תנא דאמר קרא (ויקרא יד, ז) ושלח על פני השדה כשדה מה שדה מותרת אף האי נמי מותרת
The School of R. Ishmael taught: For the verse says, "And he shall send the living bird out to the open field (Leviticus 14:7): just as the field is permitted, so too is this [bird] permitted.
The School of R. Ishmael derives that the bird is prohibited from the word field used in the verse.
האי שדה להכי הוא דאתא ההוא מיבעי ליה לכדתניא שדה שלא יעמוד ביפו ויזרקנה לים בגבת ויזרקנה למדבר ושלא יעמוד חוץ לעיר ויזרקנה בתוך העיר אלא כל שעומד בעיר ויזרקנה חוץ לחומה
Does field come to teach this? But it is required for what was taught. Field [teaches] that one must not stand in Yaffo and cast it into the sea, or in Gevat and cast it to the wilderness, or stand without the city and throw it into the city; rather he must stand within the city and throw it beyond the wall.
The Talmud argues that the word field teaches that he must cast the bird out of a city towards an open field not into the sea or wilderness. It does not teach that if one finds the bird one may eat it.
ואידך א"כ ניכתוב קרא שדה מאי השדה שמע מינה תרתי
And the other? If so, Scripture should write, field : why the field ? Learn from this two things.
The School of R. Yishmael can learn two things from one word because of the word the.
רבא אמר לא אמרה תורה שלח לתקלה
Rava said: The Torah did not say, Send it away, for it to be a stumbling block.
Rava offers a practical resolution to the problem if this bird was prohibited how would we know which bird it is. Someone might come and eat it! The Torah did not give this instruction so that people would accidentally sin. Therefore, we know it must be permitted.