Position of the Animal during Shechita
Lying Down
15. The ideal way of doing shechita is with the animal lying on its back with the site of shechita on the neck facing up, such that the shochet holds the knife on the neck and shechts downward with the regular back-and-forth motion. This is how they shechted for many generations – with the animal lying on the ground.
16. Beis HaMikdash. It was this way in the Beis HaMikdash: there were rings affixed to the Azara floor to hold the animal’s head during shechita (מדות פ''ג מ''ה, גמ' סוטה דף מ''ח ע''א ). The rings were wider on the bottom and narrower on top (ירושלמי מע''ש פ''ה ה''ה ) based on the size of the animal’s neck in order to hold it down (פני משה שם ). In other words, the animal was lying on its back. Over the years, multiple ways of getting the animal to the ground have been used.
17. Knocking down by force. In earlier times, they would tie two or three of the animal’s legs and forcibly knock it to the ground. This did not cause concern for the treifa of “נפולה” which requires an animal to be inspected, as the animal would know they were going to try and knock it over so it would dig its feet into the ground to prevent that, thus breaking its fall (שו''ע יו''ד סי' נ''ח ס''י ). However, it is assur to tie all its feet, as that way it has no control whatsoever and there is a concern for נפולה (רמ''א שם ).
18. Tzaar baalei chaim. As the nations’ animal rights organizations grew in power throughout the world, they demanded some changes in the shechita process. Although they did not prevent shechita, in some places in the world they demanded improvements in the way the animal was laid down. As long as it does not interfere with or compromise any halachos or the actual manner of shechita passed down through the generations, tzaar baalei chaim should be minimized as much as possible (3).
19. Shackle and hoist. It used to be – and this is still the case in some places in the world, e.g., South America – that they laid the animal with the “shackle and hoist” method: The animal enters a pen and the door closes behind it; the animal’s hind leg or legs are bound with strong chains; the bottom of the side door of the pen opens; the animal is pulled out by the chains while it slides onto its side on metal rollers; the animal is lifted so that it is suspended from its feet to put it in the proper position. Then, the chains are lowered so that the front half of the animal is lying while its feet are still raised; its head is anchored downward using an iron rod with a half circle at the end to keep the animal’s neck straight and extended and to hold its head tight so that it does not move during shechita.
20. Many animal rights organizations came out against this method. The truth is, if there are alternative ways to lay the animal on its back for shechita, those should be sought out to minimize the animal’s pain, suffering, and discomfort from being suspended in the air by its hind legs, as at this stage, there is no concession on the halachos and minhagim of shechita.
21. Weinberg rotary pen. In light of this, many countries insist on only using the “rotary pen” method: The animal enters the pen, and the inner walls of the pen come up against the animal so that it is held on all sides. The animal’s head sticks out of a window and is held in place by a sort of yoke, which is a special apparatus that holds the head so that it does not move at all. Then, the pen is rotated mechanically or electronically 180 degrees until the animal is on its back. Then, the animal is shechted with its neck extended in the apparatus.
Standing Shechita
22. In some places in the world [e.g., England thirty years ago], requiring use of a rotary pen didn’t satisfy them. They were even stricter with legal shechita requirement and obligated use of a pen that does not rotate, but rather holds the animal standing upright, claiming the animal suffers more on its back. The animal enters the pen, the stomach is held by a metal “belly plate,” and the rest of the body is held between plates that stabilize it so it does not fall after shechita. The head sticks out and is held with a chin lift to keep the shechita site on the neck extended.
23. Shechita from the bottom upward. This law requires the shechita to be done in reverse. Instead of starting with the knife above the neck and shechting downward, the knife is held below the neck and the shechita is performed upward. This gets into shailos about the kashrus of the shechita in such a situation, as will be explained.
24. Concern for דרסה. The Gemara says (חולין דף ט''ז ע''ב ) that when the knife is held below the neck and the shechita is done upward, there is a concern for דרסה. Since the animal’s neck falls and weighs down on the knife during the shechita, what ends up happening is that the knife does not cut, but presses. This is one of the five pesulim of shechita (Issue 229, par. 30).
25. Chicken. The poskim hold that a chicken shechted from the bottom upward is kosher (ש''ך יו''ד סי' ו' סק''ח ) since its head is not so heavy. However, some say it is only mutar b’dieved (ש''ך שם ), while others hold it is even mutar l’chatchila (פמ''ג משב''ז סי' ז' סק''א, פלתי סק''ב ).
26. Animal. If a standing animal is shechted from the bottom upward and its head is not secured, some say it is assur l’chatchila but mutar b’dieved (ש''ך שם ), while others say it is even mutar l’chatchila (פר''ח סקי''א ). However, the Acharonim in shechita sefarim said this shechita is assur even b’dieved, as the weight of the animal’s neck is likely to make it fall onto the knife and cause דרסה (שמלה חדשה סי' ו' ס''ז, תבואות שור סקט''ו ).
27. Secured the head. However, most poskim agree that if the head was secured upward so that it cannot weigh down on the knife whatsoever, one may shecht an animal from the bottom upward even l’chatchila, as it is impossible for the neck to fall onto the knife (שמלה חדשה שם ס''ח, תבו''ש שם ).
28. However, some say even if the head is secured, one should only rely on shechting an animal from the bottom upward in a pressing situation, when there is no other option. However, if there is another option, l’chatchila this should not be relied on (דרך חיים, מנחת הזבח כלל ג' בעשרון סק''כ, ערוגת הבשם סי' ג', בית דוד סי' כ''ד י סוד הבית סק''ד, מו''ר בשו''ת קנה בשם ח''ב סי' ל''ג ).
29. Recertification. A shochet who begins shechting from the bottom upward must train his hand until he has control over the knife and the new method of shechita and gets used to it (שמלה חדשה ). It could be that when he begins shechting in this new way, he must also get recertified by a rav and shochet to ascertain that he is proficient in it (בשבילי אורייתא סי' ט''ז אות כ''ה ).
