The Torah in Parashat Mishpatim (Shemot 22:30) commands that we must not eat “Basar Ba’sadeh Terefa” – “meat of a devoured animal in the field.” This command prohibits eating meat of a kosher species of animal which was attacked by a beast and suffered a fatal injury. However, the Sages understood that this prohibition applies to an animal with any sort of fatal injury that is not expected to live for another year. The Torah gave the most common case of such an animal – where an animal was attacked out in the field – but the prohibition applies even to animals suffering from other fatal conditions, and they are all considered “Terefa” and hence forbidden for consumption. Additionally, the Gemara inferred from this verse that any meat which was taken “Ba’sadeh” – “into the field,” meaning, outside the boundaries of where it is supposed to remain, becomes forbidden for consumption. Namely, certain forms of sacrificial meat (“Kodasheh Kodashim”) are to be eaten specifically in the courtyard of the Bet Ha’mikdash, and other forms of sacrificial meat (“Kodasheh Kalim”) are to be eaten in the city of Jerusalem. The Sages inferred from this verse that sacrificial meat which was taken outside its boundaries – either outside the Bet Ha’mikdash, or outside Jerusalem, depending on which type of sacrifice it is – becomes forbidden for consumption. Another example is meat of the Korban Pesach, which is not to be removed from the Habura – the group which offered the sacrifice. Meat of the Korban Pesach which left its designated area has the status of “Terefa” and becomes forbidden for consumption. Explaining the reason behind the prohibition of “Terefa,” the Sefer Ha’hinuch writes that the Torah forbade activities which are detrimental to our physical health, as poor physical health adversely affects our minds. Therefore, the Torah forbade eating meat of a “Terefa,” which is detrimental to the body. The Sefer Ha’hinuch acknowledges that it is unknown why such meat has an adverse effect on a person’s physical wellbeing, but he insists that we must place our trust in G-d, the “dependable Healer,” who is infinitely wiser than us and medical experts. He has determined that meat of a “Terefa” is harmful, and for this reason He has commanded us to refrain from such meat. The Sefer Ha’hinuch then anticipates that some might wonder how an animal’s meat could suddenly be considered detrimental to one’s health upon developing a fatal condition. One moment, the meat is presumed perfectly healthful, and then the next moment – when the animal becomes a “Terefa” – it is deemed unhealthful, and some might question how this could happen. The Sefer Ha’hinuch dismisses this question, noting that “Le’chol Dabar Hat’hala” – every situation has a beginning point. If we acknowledge that food can be healthful at one time and be detrimental at a later time, then necessarily, we acknowledge that at one point this change occurs. And thus the Torah has determined that when an animal develops one of the conditions that render it a “Terefa,” from that moment its meat is presumed detrimental to our wellbeing and thus becomes forbidden. The Gemara in Masechet Hulin discusses the various kinds of physical conditions which render an animal a “Terefa,” listing 72 different forms of “Terefot.” There is also an additional condition which occurs in birds, and thus renders a bird a “Terefa.” Not coincidentally, the prohibition of “Terefa” is the 73 rd Biblical command, alluding to the 73 types of “Terefot.” This prohibition is applicable in all times and places, and to both men and women. Interestingly, the verse in the Book of Yehezkel (44:31) states, “Kol Nebela U’trefa…Lo Yochelu Ha’kohanim” – that Kohanim may not eat meat that is from a “Nebela” (carcass of an animal that perished without proper slaughtering) or a “Terefa.” Of course, these prohibitions apply to all Jews, and not only to Kohanim. The Sages explained that Yehezkel clarified that this prohibition applies also