Large Land Animals

Leviticus 11:1–8; Deuteronomy 14:4–9

Bison: a biblically clean animalThe Hebrew term behemah (בהמה) refers to any of various large land animals, typically mammals. Large land animals are clean if they meet two criteria:

• The animal must have split hooves.
• The animal must chew (literally, "bring up") the cud. This means that the animal ruminates, regurgitating semi-digested food in order to chew it again.

Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 offer these examples of disqualified animals: camel, rock badger, hare, and pig. Deuteronomy 14 also offers these examples of clean animals: ox, sheep, goat, deer, gazelle, roebuck, wild goat, ibex, antelope, and mountain sheep.

The requirement of split hooves is actually a double requirement:

1. it must have hooves, as opposed to toes or paws, for example, and
2. the hooves must be split in the middle, rather than being one solid piece.

Following the prescribed pattern, we could safely identify several other clean species. For example: bison, elk, giraffe, yak, and water buffalo all meet the requirements. Dogs, horses, kangaroos, and llamas do not.

We would do well not to take this simple kosher law for granted, since it can have complex implications. Most of the time, when eating red meat, it is easy to tell that it came from a kosher species. There is not normally any reasonable concern that if you order a steak at a restaurant you may unknowingly receive a pork chop instead. However, pork products appear in many prepared foods, even those that do not appear to contain meat. In some cuisines, lard (pork fat) is often used in place of butter and is a common ingredient in pastries and pie crusts. It is experiencing a resurgence in popularity due to the health warnings concerning trans-fat oils.1 Bacon and pork stock are sometimes used as a flavoring. Gelatin, which can be found in an incredible range of foods, is typically made from pig hide.2 "All beef" sausages may have pork casings.3 And believe it or not, ground beef from the supermarket may very well have small but significant amounts of other meats:

Dateline NBC conducted an investigation in 1998 to determine if what was being sold as pure ground beef was really that. They submitted 100 samples from different stores to an USDA recognized lab with 29 of those samples testing positive for meats other than ground beef. Even health food stores like Fresh Fields and Wild Oats sold adulterated ground beef.4

Restaurants are notorious in this regard, and this issue is compounded by the fact that ingredient lists are not always easily available. Vegetable soup often has a meat broth. In many restaurant recipes, ham and bacon are secret ingredients that give dishes a savory zest.5 Think the bean burritos are safe? Refried beans are quite often cooked with lard.6 All of these factors are significant and must be considered if one is to keep a biblical standard of kosher.

1. 1. Kummer, Corby "High on the Hog" The New York Times 08/12/2005 http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/12/opinion/12kummer.html?ex=1281499200&en...
2. 2. "First-Class Raw Materials are a Matter of Course" Gelatin Manufacturers of Europe. http://www.gelatine.org/en/gelatine/production/137.htm
3. 3. Vienna® Beef Franks and Sausages http://www.viennabeef.com/products/category.asp?CATEGORY_ID=2
4. 4. Herrman, Matt. "Do you know what’s on your plate?" The Michigan Daily 09/26/2001 http://www.michigandaily.com/content/do-you-know-whats-your-plate
5. 5. For an example, see the onion rings mentioned on the review of Dahlia Lounge at http://www.nwsource.com/ae/scr/nws_rev.cfm?c=r&rtype=v&id=11589
6. 6. "refried beans." Food Lover's Companion. Barron's Educational Series, Inc, 2001. Answers.com 24 Dec. 2008. http://www.answers.com/topic/refried-beans

Water Animals

Leviticus 11:9–12; Deuteronomy 14:9–10

Manta ray: technically has scales, but is it kosher?Water animals are simply referred to in Scripture as "all that is in the water," or kol asher bamayim (כל אשר במים).

Marine life, no matter how it is classified biologically, is subject to two conditions in order to be kosher:

• The animal must have fins.
• The animal must have scales.

Historically, this has been taken to refer to the typical type of fins and scales you find on most fish. All crustaceans and cephalopods are unclean, as well as smooth-skinned sharks, eels, and catfish. Common kosher fish include salmon, tilapia, trout, tuna, walleye, bass, cod, and mahi-mahi.

There is some uncertainty about what actually qualifies as a scale. Sturgeons, for example, have scale-like bony plates on their skin, but they are different from those of other fish. In cases like this, we need more information about what is meant by a "scale" (Hebrew: kaskeset, קשקשת) in order to determine whether or not the fish is kosher.

It is important to remember that the biblical understanding of a word or concept may not match the scientific definition of its English translation. Thus, it is pointless to look at English dictionaries or biology textbooks to determine what is or is not a "scale" as it pertains to biblical kosher law. According to a strictly scientific standard, even sharks and rays have scales.1

It is sometimes helpful to look at a word's etymology (linguistic historical origin) to determine its meaning, but that can also be misleading, as the meanings of words change over time and sometimes have little or nothing to do with their etymological roots.2 It is occasionally helpful to compare the words with related terms in other languages, but this can also lead one astray, since words can drastically change meaning as they go from one people group to another.3 The safest way to define a word is to consider how the culture has defined the term historically.

Jewish law has come to a specific definition of a scale. If it can be removed from the animal's skin without causing significant damage, then it qualifies as a scale as it pertains to kosher law.4 By this definition, a sturgeon would not be kosher.

Carp: a kosher bottom feederPeople often note that unclean fish frequently tend to be "bottom feeders." However, it is important to note that the text does not base a marine animal's kosher status on where or what it eats. A fish may very well be a bottom feeder, yet perfectly meet the requirements for kosher status. Carp is one example of such a fish.

Just as in the case of pork, non-kosher marine animals frequently find their way into processed foods. Vegetable stir fry at an Asian restaurant may very well have a non-kosher fish sauce. One cannot assume that fish sandwiches are necessarily a kosher species. For example, McDonalds' famous Filet-O-Fish includes hoki (also known as blue grenadier or blue hake), which is not kosher.5

Once a fish has been skinned and filleted, the species cannot be positively identified. Many non-kosher fish fillets look identical to kosher fillets, so it is entirely possible that a fish may be misidentified or mislabeled at a store. One way to be certain that the species is correctly identified is to purchase fillets that still have at least a small amount of skin.

Fish are often called by several common names, which may also lead to mistaken identity. For example, although true salmon is kosher, "rock salmon" is a common term for the flesh of the spiny dogfish, a non-kosher fish often used in fish-and-chips shops in the United Kingdom.6

1. 1. "Placoid Scales" Australian Museum http://www.austmus.gov.au/fishes/what/scales/placoid.htm
2. 2. For example, the etymological root of the English word "seminary" comes from the Latin words for "seed" and "room."
3. 3. For example, although the French word demande is related to the English word "demand," it means "request, propose" without any urgent or forceful implication.
4. 4. Ramban, commentary on Leviticus 11:9.
5. 5. McDonald's USA Filet-O-Fish, http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/bagamcmeal/itemDetailInfo.do?itemID=5926&...
6. 6. "Rock Salmon" Shark Trust. http://www.sharktrust.org/content.asp?did=29370

Birds

Leviticus 11:13–19; Deuteronomy 14:11–18

Bat: the Bible calls it a bird"Birds" is a case in point in regards to biblical definitions. While modern biology does not include bats among the taxonomic class of birds, the Bible groups them together into one category. The term in Hebrew used here for birds (ohf, עוף) comes from a verbal root meaning "to fly," although some of the species of birds listed cannot actually fly.1

In each of the other categories of animals, the Bible gives us general rules by which we can determine whether or not a species of animal is kosher. With birds, no such rule is given. People often look at the list of species prohibited by the Bible and note that many of them appear to be birds of prey or scavengers; however, it is critical to note that Scripture never mentions such a pattern. Rather, the text seems to indicate that there is a considerable but finite list of non-kosher birds. It would appear that all other birds may be eaten, regardless of their physical characteristics or diet.

However, we are presented with a serious problem regarding the list of non-kosher birds. Jewish tradition is uncertain about the exact identity of many of the twenty birds that are proscribed. Most of the time we take for granted the important role Jewish tradition plays in preserving the meanings of Hebrew words. If it had not been for Jewish tradition, Hebrew would be as obscure as the language of the ancient Mayans. It is only because of Jewish tradition that we can read and translate the Hebrew Bible.The meanings of many words (such as tzitzit, ציצית) would be a complete mystery. The vocalization of the text (i.e. the placement of vowels and accents), which can have a significant impact on meaning, could only be speculated since it was preserved orally until about one millennium ago. For that matter, it was Jewish tradition that decided what books are authoritative and included in the canon in the first place. But in this case, we are at a loss because tradition is unable to provide us with answers.

Pigeons: a kosher species of bird (source)Our English translations, unfortunately, do not typically communicate that uncertainty. They do their best to find a likely candidate for each bird named and leave it at that. This is particularly the case in Christian translations, where the editors would see no practical reason for someone to need to know the exact identity of each bird, since they believe that kosher law no longer applies.2 Among Jewish Bibles, the JPS Tanakh (Jewish Publication Society) mentions in a footnote that "a number of these cannot be identified with certainty," and the Stone Edition Tanach (ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications) leaves many of them untranslated with suggestions in footnotes.

As a result of that uncertainty, the Jewish community has taken the approach that to be safe, one must only eat birds for which there is a reliable tradition that it is kosher. This may seem like a drastic measure, but it is the only way to be certain to avoid the species that are off-limits.

Some of the birds that are considered "safe" are chicken, ducks, geese, turkeys,3 pheasants, doves, and pigeons. Most birds typically eaten in Western cultures fall into this category, although recently ostrich and emu farms (both non-kosher) have become more mainstream.4

1. 1. ArtScroll cites R' Saadia and Chizkuni in identifying the bat haya'anah (בת היענה) as the ostrich. Scherman, Nosson and Zlotowitz, Meir. The Stone Edition Tanach. Mesorah Publications. 1998.
2. 2. "Among the fowls - The true signification of the following Hebrew words is now lost, as the Jews at this day confess; which not falling out without God's singular providence may intimate the cessation of this law, the exact observation whereof since Christ came is become impossible" (John Wesley’s Notes on the Bible, Leviticus 11:13). "From our imperfect knowledge of the natural history of Palestine, Arabia, and the contiguous countries at that time, it is not easy to determine exactly what some of the prohibited birds were; although they must have been all well known among the people to whom these laws were given" (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary, Leviticus 11:13–19).
3. 3. There is some dispute about the turkey, but there is a general consensus that it is safe.
4. 4. Yi, Matthew. Bird meat gaining popularity Associated Press. 09/23/1998. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-19528749.html

Teeming Creatures

Leviticus 11:20–23, 29–31, 41–45; Deuteronomy 14:19–20

Fried insects: a delicacy in China (source)The Torah speaks of another distinct class of animals known as "teeming creatures" (sheretz, שרץ). This term is translated differently depending on the circumstances, but generally refers to small, crawling animals. In some cases, it is translated as "insects," but it is important to note that it is irrelevant whether or not the animal meets the scientific definition of an insect. The term sheretz includes bugs of all kinds, worms, rodents, amphibians, and reptiles. Any kind of creepy-crawly creature can be called a sheretz. An all-inclusive translation of the term might be "vermin."

The Torah divides this group into two categories: those that fly and those on the ground. (In other contexts, the term is used of creatures in the water as well,1 but in this section those animals have already been dealt with under the category of "all that is in the water.")

The Torah goes to great lengths to underscore the uncleanness of a sheretz. The Torah goes back and forth between the instructions not to eat them and descriptions of the uncleanness that they transfer.

There is a certain exception, however. In the laws of Leviticus, the Torah explains that flying "insects" are permitted for food if they have large jumping legs, and mentions by name four permitted types. Ashkenazi (Eastern European) Jewish communities seem to have lost interest in the tradition as to the identities of these species, although Sephardi (Mediterranean and Middle Eastern) Jewish communities have retained that knowledge.

In practical terms, it is not likely in Western culture that one will have to turn down a dish of lizards or mice. Nonetheless, one important lesson from this passage is that gnats that drop into our soup are just as forbidden as camel-meat sandwiches, and we must abstain from both. See the chapter "Straining at Gnats" for more on this topic.

1. 1. Genesis 1:21–22, for example.