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. Genesis 1:21–22, for example.