1. The halachos of shechita are relevant in practice only to a small group of Klal Yisroel who serve as shochtim and rabbanim in charge of shechita houses; they are not at all relevant in practice to the general public. However, many people benefit from the activity of the shochtim; that applies to all of Klal Yisroel. Similarly, eating meat is relevant to everyone. Thus, we begin a series of issues detailing the principles and rules of the halachos of shechita and the shechita procedures common in shechita houses today so that the general public will know the fundamentals of hilchos shechita – it is Torah, and we must learn it.
2. It used to be essential for every rav to be knowledgeable in hilchos shechita. Unlike today, when all shechitos are done in shechita houses, shochtim used to go around and shecht for anyone who requested them to come to his house. Thus, all sorts of shailos arose, and people would come to the city or neighborhood rav to pasken shailos of neveilos and treifos.
3. Authority to pasken, 110 simanim. Thus, in olden-day Hungary and other places, a rav would not give a talmid authority to pasken until he learned the entire first section of Shulchan Aruch Yoreh Deiah, which contains, and is nicknamed, “110 simanim” [it actually has 111 simanim], covering the halachos of shechita, treifos, salting, basar b’chalav, ta’aruvos, and other small simanim regarding kashrus in the home.
4. Until recently, there were rabbanim from Hungarian descent [like Rav Shlomo Zalman Ullman; my rebbi, the Gaavad, author of Shaarei Tuvia; and others] who wouldn’t give semicha to talmidim or young rabbanim without testing them on the first section of Yoreh Deiah in its entirety, despite the fact that hilchos shechita and treifos are not so relevant to everyone like they used to be.
5. Today, hilchos shechita and treifos are seldomly learned in kollelim. Avreichim get semicha in Yoreh Deiah even without hilchos shechita and treifos, but rabbanim who give semicha sometimes require avreichim to be tested on another area in Yoreh Deiah to make up for the absence of hilchos shechita and treifos.
6. Because of this, there are few who learn and know hilchos shechita other than shochtim and rabbanim of shechita houses, who are involved in this holy profession. Thus, we saw a need to expose the general public to knowledge of hilchos shechita, as it is a portion of the Torah, and it is a mitzva to learn and know these halachos too.
7. It should be noted that obviously learning these pages about hilchos shechita will not make someone a shochet who can shecht. For that, there are many preconditions, e.g., being learned, expertise in hilchos shechita, and proficiency in the craft of shechita. A shochet must get a letter of approval from a rav, and primarily, he must have abundant yiras Shomayim, more than the average person (שמלה חדשה סי' א' ס''ו, סי' י''ח ס''ז, שו''ת שבט הלוי ח''ו סי' צ''ח ). Thus, our intention with this series of issues is not to make shochtim. It is just to open up concepts in hilchos shechita with things that appeal to everyone, things that the masses used to be more familiar with.
