Large Land Animals

Leviticus 11:1–8; Deuteronomy 14:4–9

Bison: a biblically clean animalBison: 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