Hullin or Chullin (Hebrew: חולין, romanized: ḥullin lit. "Ordinary" or "Mundane") is the third tractate of the Mishnah in the Order of Kodashim and deals with the laws of ritual slaughter of animals and birds for meat in ordinary or non-consecrated use (as opposed to sacred use), and with the Jewish dietary laws in general, such as the laws governing the prohibition of mixing of meat and dairy.
 While it is included in the Order Kodashim, it mainly discusses non-consecrated things and things used as the ordinary human food, particularly meats; it is therefore sometimes called "Shehitat Hullin" ("Slaughtering of Non-Consecrated Animals"). It comprises twelve chapters, dealing with the laws for the slaughtering of animals and birds for meat for ordinary as opposed to sacred use, with other rules relating to the eating of meat, and with the dietary laws in general.
 The rules prescribed for kosher slaughtering, known as shechita, include five things which must be avoided: there must be no delay; no pressure may be exerted on the knife's moving backwards and forwards; the knife must not be allowed to slip beyond a certain area of throat; there must be no thrusting of the knife under the skin or between the gullet and windpipe; the gullet or windpipe must not be torn out of position in the course of slaughtering.
 The contents of the Mishnah's twelve chapters may be summarized as follows:
 The Tosefta and the Mishnah correspond in the first seven chapters. Chapter 8 Tosefta corresponds to chapters 8-9 Mishnah; chapter 9 to chapter 10; and 10 to 11-12. On the other hand, the Tosefta is more prolix than its older sister compilation, and sometimes cites episodes from the lives of great men in connection with the subject-matter. Thus, speaking of the forbidding of meat prepared for idolatrous purposes, it quotes the reports of Eleazar b. Dama's last illness and alleged apostasy (see Ben Dama; Eliezer Ben Hyrcanus).
 The Mishnah of Hullin is but rarely cited in the Jerusalem Talmud; in fact, only 15 of the 75 mishnayot from the treatise are quoted in the entire Jerusalem Talmud. This is not so in the Babylonian Gemara, which discusses and explains every section of the Mishnah and also much of the Tosefta. It affords a clear insight into the main object of the provisions of this treatise—the prevention of cruelty and pain, and the draining of every drop of blood from the body in order to render the flesh wholesome.
 An example of the humanitarian motive of this treatise is that Samuel of Nehardea established the following rule: "When the tabach [butcher] is not familiar with the regulations concerning shechitah, one must not eat anything slaughtered by him". Samuel summed up the laws of shechita in the following five mishnaic words: "shehiyyah" (delaying), "derasah" (chopping), "chaladah" (sticking the knife in under the veins), "hagramah" (cutting in another than the proper part of the animal), and "ikkur" (tearing; Hullin 1:2; 2:3,4), against all of which one must guard himself.
 As in other tractates, halakhic discussions are interspersed with instructive and entertaining aggadot. In a statement of the marks by which kosher are distinguished from non-kosher animals, a unicorn is mentioned, and is said to be the gazelle of Bei-Ilai. The mention of the latter suggests the "lion of Bei-Ilai," and thereupon the compiler proceeds to tell an elaborate story of Caesar (the emperor) and Joshua ben Hananiah (59b et seq.).
  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "ḤULLIN". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.