Kosher animals are those that comply with regulations for Kosher food in Jewish religion. These food regulations form the main aspect of kashrut, and ultimately derive from various passages in the Torah. Various modifications, additions, and clarifications, have subsequently been added to these biblical rules by halakha (traditional Jewish law).
Contents |
Leviticus 11:3-8 and Deuteronomy 14:4-8 both give the same general set of rules for identifying which land animals (Hebrew: בהמות Behemoth) are ritually clean. According to these, anything that chews the cud and has a cloven hoof would be ritually clean, but those animals that only chew the cud, or only have cloven hooves would be unclean[1][2]; this includes all ruminant even-toed ungulates (the ruminantians: cattle, deer, goats, etc.) among the clean, but excludes the Suiforms (pigs, hippos etc.). Technically, the Ceratomorphs (Tapirs, Rhinoceros, etc.) also have cloven hoofs, with three toes, although they are not normally considered to fall under the cloven hoof description.
Both documents explicitly list four animals as being ritually impure, due to this general rule:
Unlike the biblical descriptions, the Tylopods (camels etc.) are actually both even-toed ungulates and ruminants, although their feet aren't hooves at all, instead being two toes with a pad. Similarly, although the bible portrays them as ruminants, the hyrax, hare, and coney, are all coprophages, and do not ruminate and lack a rumen. These obvious discrepancies, and the question of whether there is a way to resolve them, have been investigated by various authors, most recently by Rabbi Natan Slifkin, in a book, etitled The Camel, the Hare, and the Hyrax[10]
Unlike Leviticus 11:3-8, Deuteronomy 14:4-8 also explicitly names 10 animals considered ritually pure:
The general rule does not explicitly forbid anything that is neither cloven hoofed, nor ruminant. The Deuteronomic passages mention no further land beasts as being clean or unclean, seemingly suggesting that the status of the remaining land beasts can be extrapolated from the given rules. By contrast, the Levitical rules later go on to add that all quadrupeds with paws should be considered ritually unclean[16], something not explicitly stated by the Deuteronomic passages; the only quadrupeds with paws are the carnivorans (dogs, wolves, cats, lions, hyenas, bears, etc.), and all carnivorans fall under this description.
The Leviticus passages thus cover all the large land animals that naturally live in Canaan, except for Primates, which (besides humans) are not mentioned by the Bible at all, and, except for the Equids (horses, zebras, etc.), which are not mentioned in Leviticus as being either ritually clean or unclean, despite their importance in warfare and society, and their mention elsewhere in Leviticus.
In an attempt to help identify animals of ambiguous appearance, the Talmud, in a similar manner to Aristotle's earlier Historia Animalium[17], argued that animals without upper teeth would always chew the cud and have split hoofs (thus being ritually clean), and that no animal with upper teeth would do so; the Talmud makes an exception for the case of the camel (which, like the other ruminant even-toed ungulates, is without upper teeth)[18]. The Talmud also argues that the meat from the legs of clean animals can be torn lengthwise as well as across, unlike that of unclean animals, thus aiding to identify the status of meat from uncertain origin[18].
Biblical scholars believe that the classification of animals was created to explain pre-existing taboos[19]. Beginning with Said al-Fayyumi, several Jewish commentators started to explain these taboos rationalistically; Said himself expresses an argument similar to that of totemism - that the unclean animals were declared so because they were worshipped by other cultures[20]. Due to comparatively recent discoveries about the cultures adjacent to the Israelites, it has become possible to investigate whether such principles could underlie some of the food laws.
Egyptian priests would only eat the meat of artiodactyls (swine, camelids, and ruminantians), and Rhinoceros[21]. Like the Egyptian priests, Vedic India (and presumably the Persians also) allowed the meat of Rhinoceros and Ruminantians, although cattle were excluded from this, since they were seemingly taboo in Vedic India[22][23][24]; in a particular parallel with the Israelite list, Vedic India explicitly forbade the consumption of camelids and domestic pigs (but not boar)[22][23][24]. However, unlike the biblical rules, Vedic India did allow the consumption of hare and porcupine[22][23][24], but Harran did not, and was even more similar to the Israelite regulations, allowing all ruminants, but not other land beasts, and expressly forbidding the meat of camels[18][25].
Historically, health concerns were the main argument against the consumption of pigs, and Nachmanides comments that many non-Jewish physicians maintained objections against eating pork[26]. In recent times, the concern has been that pork can easily harbour trichinosis, as well as bringing a significant risk of cirrhosis[27].
The late anthropologist Marvin Harris instead proposed that the regulation results from mundane socio-economic concerns. Pigs are not biologically suited to living in the arid climate of the Middle East, requiring far more water to keep cool than animals native to the region. Although wild pigs forage in the forests, there are no such environments for them in the region that was Canaan, and consequently they must instead be fed grain; however, the grain pigs food is also eaten by people, so the pigs would compete with humans for survival during years of bad harvest. As such, raising pigs could have been seen as wasteful and decadent; Harris cites examples of similar ecological reasons for religious practices, including prohibitions against pork, in other religions of the world[28].
In 1966, British cultural anthropologist Mary Douglas published the influential study Purity and Danger, which made the first proposal that the prohibited foods were those that were liminal; for example, she argued that Leviticus declared pigs unclean because the place of pigs in the natural order is superficially ambiguous, since they shared the cloven hoof of the ungulates, but do not chew cud[29].
Like Said al-Fayyumi, biblical scholars view totemism as the significant factor in the origin of the pig taboo. The denizens of Harran wouldn't eat pigs, because they were sacred to Sin[30], the Levantine lunar deity, which scholars suspect Mount Sinai was sacred to, hence its name[19][30][31]; Ibn al-Nadim reports that pigs were only eaten once a year in Harran, at an annual sacrifice[30].
Despite the large range of kosher mammals, in practice, adherents to kashrut largely restrict their choice of meat to beef (including veal) and mutton (including lamb); goats are universally accepted as kosher, but are rarely eaten in the western world.
Despite the urban legend that giraffes cannot be eaten because the proper area of the neck that must be cut is unknown, the makom shechitah (region of the neck in which ritual slaughter is valid) on a giraffe is precisely defined by halachah, just as it is for all animals. The impediments to producing giraffe meat relate primarily to practical considerations such as cost. (They are among the most difficult animals to restrain.)[32]
In addition to meeting the restrictions as defined by the Torah, there is also the issue of mesorah (tradition). In general, animals are eaten only if there is a mesorah that has been passed down from generations ago that clearly indicates that these animals are acceptable. For instance, there was considerable debate as to the kosher status of zebu and bison among the rabbinical authorities when they first became known and available for consumption; the Orthodox Union permits bison, as can be attested to by the menus of some of the more upscale kosher restaurants in New York City.
Leviticus 11:9-12 and Deuteronomy 14:9-10 both state that anything residing in the waters (which Leviticus specifies as being the seas and rivers) is ritually pure if it has both fins and scales[33][34], in contrast to anything residing in the waters with neither fins nor scales[35][36]; the latter class of animals is only described as ritually impure by Deuteronomy[36], but the Leviticus is much harsher, describing them as filth[35][35] (Hebrew: sheqets, sometimes translated as abomination; abomination is also sometimes used to translate piggul and toebah). Although these biblical rules do not specify the status of animals in the waters with fins but no scales, or vice versa, it has traditionally been assumed that these animals are also excluded from the ranks of the ritually clean.
These rules restrict the permissible seafood to stereotypical fish, prohibiting the unusual forms such as the eel, lamprey, hagfish, and lancelet. In addition, these rules exclude non-fish marine creatures, such as crustaceans (lobster, crab, prawn, shrimp, barnacle, etc.), molluscs (squid, octopus, oyster, periwinkle, etc.), sea cucumbers, and the cnids (jellyfish etc.); other creatures living in the sea and rivers that would be prohibited by the rules, but are not normally considered seafood, include the Cetaceans (dolphin, whale, etc.), Crocodilians (alligator, crocodile etc.), Turtles, and all amphibians.
Sharks are sometimes regarded as being among the ritually unclean foods according to these regulations, as they appear to have a smooth skin; however, sharks do have scales, they are just placoid scales, which are denser and appear smooth if rubbed in one direction, in contrast to leptoid scales, ganoid scales, and cosmoid scales. The Sturgeon, and related fish, are also sometimes included among the ritually impure foods, as their surfaces are covered in scutes, which are bony armoured nodules; however, fish scutes are actually just hardened and enlarged scales. Scales has thus been traditionally interpreted along the lines of[37] Nahmanides's proposal that qasqeseth (scales) must refer specifically to scales that can be detached, by hand or with a knife, without ripping the skin. In practice this excludes all but ctenoid and cycloid scales[38]. A minor controversy arises from the fact that the appearance of the scales of sturgeon, swordfish, and catfish, is heavily affected by the ageing process - their young satisfy Nahmanides' rule, but when they reach adulthood they do not.
Traditionally fins has been interpreted as referring to translucent fins. The Mishnah claims that all fish with scales will also have fins, but that the reverse is not always true[39]; for the latter case, the Talmud argues that ritually clean fish have a distinct spinal column and flatish face, while ritually unclean fish don't have spinal columns and have pointy heads[40], which would define the Shark and Sturgeon (and related fish) as ritually unclean. Nevertheless, Aaron Chorin, a prominent 19th-century rabbi and reformer, declared that the Sturgeon was actually ritually pure, and hence permissible to eat[18]. Many Conservative rabbis now view these particular fish as being kosher[41], but most Orthodox rabbis do not[37]. The question for sturgeon is particularly significant as most caviar consists of sturgeon eggs, and therefore cannot be kosher if the sturgeon itself is not.
As it may not be easy to identify fins and scales on any kind of fish, it may be more convenient to refer to the following Kosher fish list.
Nachmanides believed that the restrictions against certain fish also addressed health concerns, arguing that fish with fins and scales (and hence ritually clean) typically live in shallower waters than those without fins or scales (i.e., those that were ritually impure), and consequently the latter were much colder and more humid, qualities he believed made their flesh toxic[26]. It is clearly plausible for fish to become toxic due to the food they consume; shellfish, for example, are notorious for their potential toxicity due to their gradual accumulation of harmful parasites and toxins. However, these toxicity risks can usually be reduced to insignificance simply by ensuring the meat is properly cooked.
The academic perception is that natural repugnance from weird-looking fish is a significant factor in the origin of the restrictions[42][30][43][44][45]. Vedic India (and presumably the Persians also) exhibit such repugnance, generally allowing fish, but forbidding weird looking fish and exclusively carnivorous fish[22][23][24]; in Egypt, another significant and influential culture near to the Israelites, the priests avoided all fish completely[21].
In regard to birds, no general rule is given, and instead Leviticus 11:13-19 and Deuteronomy 14:11-18 explicitly list the prohibited birds: The masoretic text lists the birds as:
|
The list in Deuteronomy has an additional bird, the dayyah[48], which seems to be a combination of da'ah and ayyah, and may be a scribal error; the Talmud regards it as a duplication of ayyah[60]. This, and the other terms are vague and difficult to translate, but there are a few further descriptions, of some of these birds, elsewhere in the Bible:
The septuagint versions of the lists are more helpful, as in almost all cases the bird is clearly identifiable:
Although the first ten of the birds identified by the Septuagint seem to fit the descriptions of the masoretic text, the ossifrage (Latin for bone breaker) being a good example, the correspondence is less clear for most of the remaining birds; it is also obvious that the list in Leviticus, or the list in Deuteronomy, or both, are in a different order in the Septuagint, compared to the masoretic text[81]. Attempting to determine the correspondence is problematic; for example, the pelican may correspond to qa'at (vomiting), in reference to the pelican's characteristic behaviour, but it may also correspond to kos (cup), as a reference to the pelican's jaw pouch. An additional complexity arises from the fact that the porphyrion has not yet been identified, and classical Greek literature merely identifies a number of species that are not the porphyrion, including the peacock, grouse, and robin, and implies that the porphyrion is the cousin of the kingfisher; from these meagre clarifications, the porphyrion can only be identified as anything from the Lilac-breasted Roller, Indian Roller, or Northern Carmine Bee-eater, to the flamingo.
During the Middle Ages, classical descriptions of the hoopoe were mistaken for descriptions of the lapwing, on account of the lapwing's prominent crest, and the hoopoe's rarity in England, resulting in lapwing being listed in certain bible translations instead of hoopoe; similarly the sea eagle has historically been confused with the osprey, and translations have often used the latter bird in place of the former. Because strouthos (ostrich) was also used in Greek for the sparrow, a few translations have placed the sparrow among the list. In Arabic, the Egyptian Vulture is often referred to as rachami[82], and therefore a number of translations render racham as gier eagle, the old name for the Egyptian Vulture.
Variations arise when translations follow other ancient versions of the Bible, rather than the Septuagint, where they differ. Rather than vulture (gyps), the Vulgate has milvus, meaning Red Kite, which historically has been called the glede, on account of its gliding flight; similarly, the Syriac Peshitta has owl rather than ibis. Other variations arise from attempting to base translations primarily on the masoretic text; these translations generally interpret some of the more ambiguous birds as being various different kinds of vulture and owl. All of these variations mean that most translations arrive at a list of 20 birds from among the following:
|
|
|
|
Despite being listed among the birds by the bible, bats are not birds, and are in fact mammals. Most of the remaining animals on the list are either birds of prey or birds living on water, and the majority of the latter in the list also eat fish or other seafood. The Septuagint's version of the list comprehensively lists most of the birds of Canaan that fall into these categories. The conclusion of modern scholars is that, generally, ritually unclean birds were those clearly observed to eat other animals[83].
Although it does regard all birds of prey as being forbidden, the Talmud is uncertain of there being a general rule, and instead gives detailed descriptions of the features that distinguish a bird as being ritually clean. The Talmud argues that clean birds would have craws, an easily separated double-skin, and would eat food by placing it on the ground (rather than holding it on the ground) and tearing it with their bills before eating it[84][85][86]; however, the Talmud also argues that only the birds in the biblical list are actually forbidden - these distinguishing features were only for cases when there was any uncertainty in the bird's identity[86]
The earliest rationalistic explanations of the laws against eating certain birds focused on symbolic interpretations; the first indication of this view can be found in the 1st century BC Letter of Aristeas, which argues that this prohibition is a lesson to teach justice, and is also about not injuring others[87]. Such allegorical explanations were abandoned by most Jewish and Christian theologians after a few centuries, and later writers instead sought to find medical explanations for the rules; Nachmanides, for example, claimed that the black and thickened blood of birds of prey would cause psychological damage, making people much more inclined to cruelty[26].
However, other cultures treated the meat of certain carnivorous birds as having medical benefits, the Romans viewing Owl meat as being able to ease the pain of insect bites, for example; conversely, modern scientific studies have discovered very toxic birds such as the Pitohui, which are neither birds of prey nor water birds, and therefore the biblical regulations allow them to be eaten. Laws against eating any carnivorous birds also existed in Vedic India[22][23][24] and Harran[18][25], and the Egyptian priests also refused to eat carnivorous birds[21].
Due to the difficulty of identification, religious authorities have restricted consumption to specific birds for which Jews have passed down a tradition or permissibility from generation to generation. Birds for whom there has been a tradition of their being kosher include: the sparrow[88][89], pigeon, turtle dove, quail[90][91], the European and Middle Eastern partridges, the pheasant[92], ducks, geese, chickens, guineafowl[93] among others. As a general principle, scavenging birds such as vultures and birds of prey such as hawks and eagles (which eat carrion when they find it) are not kosher. Turkey does not have a tradition, but because so many Orthodox Jews have come to eat it and it possesses the simanim (signs) required to render it a kosher bird, an exception is made, but with all other birds a Mesorah (tradition) is required.
Birds such as songbirds, which are consumed as delicacies in many societies, may be kosher in theory, but are not eaten in kosher homes as there is no tradition of them being eaten as such. Pigeons and doves are known to be kosher based on their permissible status as sacrificial offerings in the Temple. Likewise, though swans are kosher in theory if kosher-slaughtered, there is no Jewish tradition of eating them.
The Laws of Deuteronomy specify that all flying creeping things were to be considered ritually impure[94], and those of Leviticus go further, describing all flying creeping things as filth[95] (Hebrew: sheqets). However, Leviticus also goes on to list four exceptions, which Deuteronomy does not; all these exceptions are described by the Levitical passages as going upon all four legs, and as having legs above their feet for the purpose of leaping[96]. The identity of the four creatures the Levitical rules list are named in the masoretic text using words of uncertain meaning:
The general rule against flying creeping things evidently concerns locusts and similar creatures. The Mishnah argues that exceptions to the rule in Leviticus - the ritually clean locusts - could be distinguished as they would all have four feet, jumping with two of them, and have four wings, which are of sufficient size to cover the entire locust's body[105]. However, the Mishnah also goes on to state that any species of locust could only be considered as clean if there was a reliable tradition that it was so; the only Jewish group that continue to preserve such a tradition are the Jews of Yemen, who use the term kosher locust to describe the specific species of locusts they believe to be kosher, all of which are native to the Arabian Peninsula. Due to the difficulties in establishing the validity of such traditions, later rabbinical authorities forbade contact with all types of locust, to ensure that the ritually unclean locusts were avoided[106].
Leviticus 11:29-30 and 11:42-43, unlike the passages of Deuteronomy, specifies that every creeping thing which creeps upon the earth should be considered to be filthy (Hebrew: sheqets)[107]. Before stating this, it singles out 8 particular creeping things as specifically being ritually unclean[108]. Like many of the other biblical lists of animals, the exact identity of the creatures in the list is uncertain; the masoretic text names them as follows:
The Septuagint's version of the list doesn't appear to directly parallel the masoretic text's, and instead is thought to be listed partly in a different order. It lists the 8 animals as:
Although the Priestly Code lists a variety of mammals and reptiles, the classical rabbinical writers interpreted creeping thing which creep upon the earth to refer particularly to worms; however, they still permitted the consumption of worms found in other substances, such as maggots in meat, fish, and drinking water[117], reducing the risk of starvation in a period when pesticides were barely known about, and finding worms in these substances was common. Nevertheless, the classical rabbis did forbid the consumption of food if the worms in it had been moved from one place to another[117]; thus all food a worm had eaten but left, and all food that has worms in it but did not originally, was forbidden.