הָעוֹר, וְהָרֹטֶב, וְהַקִּפָּה, וְהָאֱלָל, וְהָעֲצָמוֹת, וְהַגִּידִין, וְהַקַּרְנַיִם, וְהַטְּלָפַיִם, מִצְטָרְפִין לְטַמֵּא טֻמְאַת אֳכָלִים, אֲבָל לֹא טֻמְאַת נְבֵלוֹת. כַּיּוֹצֵא בוֹ, הַשּׁוֹחֵט בְּהֵמָה טְמֵאָה לְנָכְרִי וּמְפַרְכֶּסֶת, מְטַמְּאָה טֻמְאַת אֳכָלִין, אֲבָל לֹא טֻמְאַת נְבֵלוֹת, עַד שֶׁתָּמוּת אוֹ עַד שֶׁיַּתִּיז אֶת רֹאשָׁהּ. רִבָּה לְטַמֵּא טֻמְאַת אֳכָלִין מִמַּה שֶׁרִבָּה לְטַמֵּא טֻמְאַת נְבֵלוֹת. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, הָאֱלָל הַמְכֻנָּס, אִם יֶשׁ בּוֹ כַזַּיִת בְּמָקוֹם אֶחָד, חַיָּב עָלָיו:
The skin [of a slaughtered animal], the broth, the meat dissolved by boiling, that which adheres to the bottom of a saucepan, the fragments of meat adhering to the skin when it is removed from the animal, bones [containing marrow], sinews, horns and hoofs, are computed together to form [with the edible matter or flesh in them] the quantity of the size of an egg, when they are liable to contract and communicate pollution to other edibles, but not the pollution of Nebelah. Thus also, if a person slaughters an unclean animal for a heathen, it pollutes edibles while it struggles, but it does not communicate the pollution of a dead body till life is extinct, or, if its head had been quite chopped off. There are consequently more cases in which edibles contract pollution than there are in respect to pollution by Nebelah. R. Jehudah saith, in reference to the fragments of meat adhering to the skin, "If any of these, when computed together, are of the size of an olive in any one place, guilt is thereby incurred."
Tosefta Chullin
Rabbi Yehuda says, [inedible] meat residue (האלל) that collects [together] and contains an olive's bulk, behold, it is liable [to convey impurity (see Hul. 9:1)]. The hide of the hooves of a small animal, behold, it is like its flesh, and [with regard to] all of these [skins] which were tanned, or trodden in order to tan them [afterwards], they are [ritually] pure if [these acts are done] for the purpose of the skin, but [ritually] impure if for the purpose of the flesh -- except for the skin of a person, which always imparts impurity. From this they said, [with respect to] a legion (ligyon) passing from place to place, [if a member of the legion] stands over it (i.e., the skin of a human corpse), behold, he is impure. There is no legion [whose soldiers do not carry around] scalps, and [indeed] all of them choose to do so. Rabbi Yehuda says, the lizard (leta'ah) does not have skin. Rabbi Yochanan ben Nuri says, the eight sheratzim (i.e., creeping or swarming creatures, of which the leta'ah is one, see Lev. 11:29-30) all have skin, [and] one who traps them or kills them or wounds them, or one who leaves a mark on them [causing discoloration (=חבורה, see Jastrow)], behold, he is liable. But the Sages say, there is no [creature that is considered to have] skin except those which the Sages enumerated. One who flays a domesticated animal or a wild animal or an impure animal, or a small animal, or a large animal, in order to [use the skin as a] carpet, [its halakhic status remains that of flesh until he has flayed] a sufficient quantity to grasp it. And how much is "sufficient quantity to grasp it"? Two handbreadths. [With respect to] one who flays this amount, one who [then] touches the flayed skin is pure, [but one who touches] the skin of the neck is impure. Rabbi Yochanan ben Nuri says, one who touches the skin of the neck is pure, as he did nothing but separate them (i.e., the flayed skin from the skin of the neck). Rabbi Dostai ben Yehuda says in the name of Rabbi Shimon, one who flays [any of the] sheratzim, all [of the skin is considered] to be connected [for purposes of impurity]. Rabbi Yehuda says, [with respect to flayed] skin that has an olive's-bulk of flesh [connected to it], one who touches the [area of the] skin which is connected to the flesh on the other side, is impure. [With respect to] the egg of a sheretz in which [fetal] tissue developed, [one who touches it is] impure. And how much [fetal] tissue must develop? [Large] enough that one can see a sheretz inside of it. [But if the egg] is perforated, no matter how small, [one who touches the egg is] impure. And how large must be the perforation? The size of a hairbreadth. A limb or a piece of flesh that hangs down from a [live] animal is susceptible to food-impurity. Rabbi Shimon says, it is not susceptible to food-impurity.
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