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A footnote in this question states that the tongue is one of the parts of the animal which is given to Kohanim. This led me to wonder if a non-Kohein may purchase or eat tongue? I have seen tongue for sale at kosher butchers before.

Noach MiFrankfurt
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1 Answers1

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The tongue has no inherent holiness. The Kohein may sell it or even give it as a gift to whomever he wants (even a non-Jew). (ShA YD 61:13)

Kazi bácsi
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Double AA
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    Does the shochet or butchery need permission from a kohen to sell, seeing as it is his property. – Noach MiFrankfurt Jul 31 '14 at 21:11
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    @NoachmiFrankfurt If a seller has a Hashgacha worth its salt then it has ensured that there is no theft occurring. If you want to know upon which Halachik mechanism it relies you should ask the Hashgacha. – Double AA Jul 31 '14 at 21:24
  • Because it's not holy and strictly monetary, upon butchering a cow I can say "prove to me that you're a kohen and I'll give this to you." As no one is making such a claim, I can eat -- or sell -- the tongue. – Shalom Feb 20 '19 at 19:54
  • @Shalom similarly a Kohen can walk into a butcher shop, pick up the tongue on the shelf, and tell the owner to prove he's not a Kohen before walking out without paying... but seriously the real Halakha is you don't need to be a Kohen Meyuchas to claim the tongue so yes lots of people can claim it. – Double AA Feb 20 '19 at 19:58
  • @DoubleAA is that the same as Takfo Kohen? – Shalom Feb 20 '19 at 20:31
  • @Shalom It's a related case, not for sure identical (depending how you learn there, the fact that the safek is on the gavra not the cheftza could matter) – Double AA Feb 20 '19 at 20:57
  • @doubleaa I thought that there was no safeik on the Gavra on cohanim nowadays as he gets called up to the Torah and does bircas cohanim this is Chazaka and everyone else has a Chazaka to be a non Cohen. Chazaka is a status midoraisa like we see with negaim. – yosefkorn Feb 21 '19 at 14:19
  • @yosef I agree, but shalom was arguing according to the idea there is – Double AA Feb 21 '19 at 14:21