In Judaism, Kashrut (kosher) is the set of dietary laws governing what can or cannot be consumed. These laws are based upon the Torah and the Talmud. According to Jewish law, animals that both chew their cud (ruminate) and have cloven hooves are kosher^[1]. Animals with one characteristic but not the other (the camel, the hyrax and the hare because they have no cloven hooves, and the pig because it does not ruminate) are specifically excluded^[2] (Leviticus 11:3–8).^[3]

Beasts of the field that chew the cud and part the hoof

Fish of the sea that have fins and scales

Clean birds of the air

Clean crawling things

Leviticus 11:20-23 permits certain kinds of "winged swarming things" (i.e. insects) while prohibiting others; however, today rabbis are uncertain as to which insects were specifically permitted, so now all insects are prohibited to be on the safe side.^[1] An exception to this is a number of Yemenite communities that have retained their own traditions with respect to kosher locusts. As a result these particular locusts are considered kosher for the specific community which has the tradition. Bees' honey is, however, considered kosher^[2] because the honey is not made by bees, but is rather collected Nectar and concentrated by bees. There are no exceptions to the rule that any product of a non-kosher animal is also non-kosher, for example gelatin (but see the controversy on shellac). Within the past twenty years "kosher gelatin" has begun appearing. Some of this is derived from cows or from fish and made in a manner keeping with kosher traditions; others are derived from a plant or seaweed base using agar or pectin.^[3]

In order to eat an animal or bird it must be slaughtered according to Jewish law (Shechita). This involves cutting the animal's trachea and esophagus, the carotid artery and jugular vein are also severed in this operation – as are most arteries and veins leading to and from the brain – with a sharp knife that has been thoroughly checked for imperfections beforehand. The cut must be swift and without pause, to avoid tearing, and must be performed by an expert. Fish must also be killed before being eaten, but no particular method is specified in Jewish law.

The animal must then be determined to be free of treifot – which are 70 different categories of injuries, diseases and abnormalities – whose presence renders the animal non-kosher.

Not all parts of the animal may be eaten; certain fats, known as Chelev, may not be eaten. As much blood as possible must be removed from the meat, either by soaking, salting and rinsing or by broiling over a fire. In addition the sciatic nerve in each leg and the fat surrounding the nerve must be removed.

It is forbidden to cook, eat, or derive any benefit from mixtures of milk and meat (and their by-products). It is also forbidden to cook or eat dairy products together with poultry as a rabbinic injunction against mixing milk and meat.

Clean animals in Judaism

The term clean animals in the Hebrew bible is a misnomer as the actual term refers to the 'purity' and 'impurity' of the animal, which itself is a reference to the status the animal has in terms of Kashrut and its eligibility for sacrifice. Hence all pure or clean animals are allowed to be eaten [are Kosher] while the unclean or impure animals may not be eaten. These land, sea, or air creatures are listed in the book of Leviticus in the Torah and have different criteria for kosher consumption as follows: All animals that have the characteristics of having completely divided hooves and also chew their cud are by definition clean. All fish that have both scales and fins are clean. There are no biblical signs for poultry as the bible simply delineates 24 specific species of bird as being non-kosher with all other birds being by default, kosher.

Hebrew Bible

This contains a list of clean animals that are specially mentioned from the Chapter 11 in the book of Leviticus in the Hebrew Bible. See the bible on Wikisource.

Note: The Torah specifies certain morphological characteristics in grasshoppers that identify them as one of four kosher grasshopper species. All other insects and rodents are non kosher.

Expanded list

This list contains animals that are not specified in the Hebrew Bible, but from the characteristics mentioned in the passage (Leviticus 11:1-47) are considered to be clean.

• American Bison
• Antelope (all species)
• Deer (all species)
• Giraffe
• Goat
• Pronghorn
• Reindeer/caribou
• Water Buffalo
• Cow
• Sheep

Islam

In Islamic dietary laws several animals are considered unclean and not to be eaten (Haraam), while others are permitted (Halaal), as long as they have been killed or slaughtered in the correct manner. Halaal and Haraam are dissimilar to the Jewish Kashrut in that they also encompass behavior, speech, dress, conduct and manner. In non-Arabic-speaking countries however, the terms are most commonly used in the narrower context of Muslim dietary laws, especially where meat and poultry are concerned, though they can be used for the more general meaning as well.

The Qur'an states:

"Forbidden to you are: dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which hath been invoked the name of other than Allah. that which hath been killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall, or by being gored to death; that which hath been eaten by a wild animal; unless ye are able to slaughter it; that which is sacrificed on stone [Altar?]; [forbidden] also is the division by raffling with arrows: that is impiety..." – Al-Maidah 5:3

According to Muslims the most important condition is that bismillah (pronouncing the name of Allah) be performed at the time of slaughter. Also important is that the meat of those animals were ended by Zabiha (Sharia slaughter) of which tasmiyah is a condition. If not those animals are considered Maytah (carrion) and are expressly forbidden. The meat of animals slaughtered by a Kafir (unbeliever) or Mushrik (polytheist) is also forbidden, though the Quran does permit eating food of the people of the book:

" Today I have made permissible for you pure things and the food of those who were given the Book (Ahlul-Kitaab) is also Halal for you." – Al-Maida 5:5

Dogs

Dogs are mentioned in the holy book of Islam the Quran several times e.g. in the main story of sura 18 where a dog is a companion of the dwellers of the Cave. The Quran also tells that it is permissible to eat what trained dogs catch (5:4). Nevertheless, many Islamic teachers state dogs should be considered unclean and that Muslims licked by them must perform purification. According to Hadith, anything a dog touches must be washed seven times, the final time in dust^[4]. Some religious traditions hold that if a Black dog (completely black in colour) passes in front of someone preparing to pray or in prayer, that it pollutes their purity and negates the prayer.

Trading dogs for money has been discouraged by the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad. According to the majority of Muslims, dogs can be owned by farmers, hunters, and shepherds, for the purpose of hunting and guarding only.

Another exception appears to be made by the Bedouin in the case of the Saluki. They are allowed in the tents and considered special companions. It has been said that the Bedouin will never sell a Saluki, but will give one as a special and precious gift.^[5]

Christianity

In the very early days of Christianity it was debated if converts ought to follow Jewish customs (including circumcision and dietary laws) or not. A decision was reached at the Council of Jerusalem, though the extent and application of this decision has been a matter of some debate. (Some see a parallel with the Noahide Laws - See also: Genesis 7:2). In the Acts of the Apostles the "apostles and elders" promulgated the decision in a letter "to the Gentile believers":

"For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; that ye abstain from meats^[6] offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled ..." – Acts 15:28-29

The commonly held theological position is that with the death and resurrection of Jesus, the "Old Covenant" and its restrictions no longer apply (See Christian View of the Law for the different viewpoints).

In the First Epistle to Timothy it states:

"...commanding to abstain from meats^[7], which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature^[8] of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer." – 1 Timothy 4:3-5

In the Epistle to the Colossians it states:

"...Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ....Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. 16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days." – Colossians 2:8-16

However, there are Torah-submissive Christians who hold different interpretations of passages such as those cited and believe that the dietary restrictions continue under the new covenant. For example, in Acts 11:8 Peter was convinced that it would be out of character for the Lord to recommend an unclean diet. (See also Acts 10:10-17 for context.) Acts 11:11,18 clarifies Peter's vision. These verses indicate that God was instructing him not to refer to gentiles as "unclean" as it was common in Israel, indicating that salvation had been extended to the gentiles. One modern example of a Torah-submissive group is the Seventh-day Adventist Church whose co-founder Ellen G. White was a proponent of vegetarianism. Many Seventh-day Adventists avoid meat for health reasons, though vegetarianism is not a requirement.

In the Roman Catholic Church, it was forbidden to eat meat (defined as the flesh of any warm-blooded animal) on Friday, but as a penance to commemorate Christ's death rather than for meat's being regarded as "unclean" (exceptions are few, such as when Christmas falls on a Friday, in which case Thursday is the day of abstinence). After the Second Vatican Council, the mandatory Friday abstinence from meat was limited to Lent, although some traditionalist Catholics still maintain the abstinence year-round. In Eastern Orthodoxy, both Friday and Wednesday were similarly considered off-limits. Many Protestants on the other hand have never observed the tradition, and may consider the tradition to be pagan in origin.

Scientific studies

In 1953 Dr. David I. Macht, one of the primary proponents of biblical scientific foresight, conducted toxicity tests on more than a hundred species of mammals, birds and fish.^[9] He reported that in every case, extracts from meat of unclean mammals, birds, and fish inhibited the growth of lupin seedlings more than those the Old Testament called clean.^[10] Macht's methodology, known as phytopharmacology,^[11][12] has not been widely used by other researchers and is regarded as outdated and unreliable by modern mainstream science.^{[citation needed]}

In 1966, British anthropologist Mary Douglas published the influential study Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo. In Purity and Danger, Douglas first proposed that the kosher laws were not, as many believed, either primitive health regulations or randomly chosen as tests of Jews' commitment to God. Instead, Douglas argued that the laws were about keeping symbolic boundaries. Prohibited foods were those which did not seem to fall neatly into any category. Her theory was that pigs were declared unclean in Leviticus because pigs' place in the natural order was ambiguous since they shared the cloven hoof of the ungulates, but did not chew cud.

A 1985 study by Nanji and French^[13] found that there was a significant correlation between cirrhosis and pork consumption. Modern day swine raising is very different from earlier times with greater exposure to toxins but reduced exposure to pests and disease.

See also

• Kashrut
• Christian Torah-submission

Notes

References

External links

• http://www.ucg.org/booklets/CU/bibledesignate.htm – A list of clean and unclean animals according to Leviticus and Deuteronomy.
• Laws of Judaism and Islam concerning food

Judaism

• http://www.kashrut.com/ – a sources for information on Kosher eating.
• "Soul Food" by Rabbi Mordechai Becher - an analysis of the rules of Kashrut.

Islam

• http://www.beautifulislam.net/halalharam/zabiha_slaughter.htm An In-Depth Look at Zabiha
• The Bible and Holy Qur'an on Pork

Christianity

• Kline, Monte Ph.D., The Dietary Law
• http://www.abcog.org/food.htm Clean and Unclean meats: a Christian perspective:

Scientific studies

• Ministry Magazine, March 1953, p37-38 "This Question of Unclean Meats" Responses to Macht's study from heads of biology depts.

Category:ShariaCategory:Islam-related controversiesCategory:Kosher foodCategory:Seventh-day Adventist theologyCategory:Religious lawCategory:DietsCategory:Human-animal interactionCategory:Religion based dietsCategory:Christian ethics