Rav Shmuel Salant ZT”L (1816 – 1909) was the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem for almost 70 years. He was a world-renowned Posaik (Halachic authority) known for his encyclopedic knowledge of the Talmud and Halacha.
The “Period of Restoration” (1660-1688) was a time in British history that became highly influential for its satirical literature as well as for giving birth to the idea of “repartee” in general conversation.
Repartee is conversation or speech characterized by quick, witty comments or replies. One such conversation was had by Rav Shmuel and an unlikely party. Rav Shmuel once said, “Only once in my life have I been bested in conversation, and that was by a four year-old girl.”
The late 1800’s was a time of world-wide poverty, especially in Israel. A woman had a Halachic question regarding the Kosher status of a chicken that had been Shechted (ritually slaughtered). The chicken appeared to have been injured with noticeable bruising and the pooling of blood. Chickens that have been injured in such a fashion may not be Kosher even if Shechted correctly. The woman knew that this was a question that should be brought to Rav Shmuel to determine whether it was Kosher. However, being that it was the eve of Shabbos, and she was busy with Shabbos preparations, she sent her four-year-old daughter to Rav Shmuel to ask the question. Rav Shmuel looked at the chicken and determined that the chicken was indeed Treif (not Kosher). The protocol for the Rav in these cases, is usually to return the chicken to the family so the family could potentially return the chicken to the merchant to get their money back or to feed it to the dogs (see Exodus 22:30) However, he was concerned that due to the combination of the girl’s young age, and the poverty that her family was experiencing, her desire to eat the chicken may have caused her to lie to her mother and say that the Rabbi said that the chicken was Kosher. Therefore, Rav Shmuel kept the chicken and instructed her to tell her mother to send an older sibling (so that he could return the chicken to him or her). The young girl took leave of Rav Shmuel.
Ten minutes later, there was a knock on Rav Shmuel’s door. Lo and behold, it was the very same girl!
Rav Salant began to gently admonish her for not following his instructions. She responded, “But Rebbe, you told me to bring an older sibling and that was 10 minutes ago. I am older now!”
