Parshas Mishpatim (5779)
Most of us are familiar with the famous Biblical verse which forbids eating meat and milk that were cooked together. As G-d commands the Jewish people in this week’s Torah portion: “…you shall not cook a kid in the milk of its mother†(Exodus 23:19).
And most of us also know that a pig isn’t “kosher†and neither are lobster or shrimp.
But wait, there’s more …lots more. You see, what they likely did not teach in Hebrew School is about the 20(!) other Biblically and Rabbinically forbidden categories of foods besides cheeseburgers, lobster and pork.
I therefore present to you, my dear “eatersâ€, a complete list of Biblically and Rabbinically forbidden foods that was originally compiled by Rabbi Binyomin Forst in his informative and useful book The Kosher Kitchen: A Practical Guide – a book that I highly recommend for your reading (and eating) pleasure. [Ed. Note: The laws of kosher and their many applications are quite complex. So please speak to a competent halachic authority before blow-torching your kitchen!]:
Biblically Prohibited Foods:
1) Beheimah Temeiah – a non-kosher animal, i.e. any land animal that does not have two distinctive “signs†attesting to its kosher status – chewing its cud and having completely cloven hooves (see Leviticus 11:3-8). [Sorry, folks, but camels aren’t kosher! Giraffes are, though!]
2) Ouf Tamei – non-kosher fowl, i.e. one of twenty-four types of forbidden birds listed in the Torah (see Leviticus 11:13-19), all other birds are assumed to be kosher [Today we only eat those birds traditionally accepted as kosher.]
3) Neveilah (carrion) – animal slaughtered improperly or that died in any other manner (see Deuteronomy 14:21). [It is our belief that the Torah-prescribed ritual slaughter is the most humane method for slaughtering an animal.]
4) Tereifah – mortally injured animal or fowl (see Exodus 22:30).
5) Sheretz – swarming insects and rodents (see Leviticus 11:41-42). [It is due to this prohibition that one who eats fruits or vegetables in which worms, ants, thrips, aphids, leafminers, or mites are commonly found – like strawberries, for example - must examine the items carefully before eating them or buy them “pre-checked†with a reliable kosher certification.]
6) Dag Tamei – non-kosher fish, i.e. any fish that does not have fins and scales (see Leviticus 11:9-12). [Commonly used fish that are kosher include flounder, sea bass, salmon, carp, trout, tilapia, halibut….and gefilte, of course!]
7) Dam – blood (see Leviticus 7:26-27). The blood of even kosher, slaughtered animals or fowl is forbidden and must be removed by salting.
8) Cheilev – fats (see Leviticus 7:22-25). The fats on certain internal organs must be removed from ritually slaughtered cattle, sheep or goats before the meat may be eaten. [The process of removing the forbidden fats, called nikur, is very difficult and must be done by a skilled expert.]
9) Gid Hanasheh – the sciatic nerve. The Torah prohibits eating the sciatic nerve in both hind thighs of any kosher land animal (see Genesis 32:33). [Since tenderloin and filet mignon are located in close proximity to the forbidden sciatic nerve, which is extremely difficult to remove from the animal’s hind section, you’ll only find Glatt kosher filet mignon in high-end butcher shops and restaurants. More often than not, kosher slaughterhouses simply sell the hind portion of the animal to non-kosher meat distributors.]
10) Eiver Min Hachai – a limb torn from a living creature. [This is also one of the Seven Noahide Laws, so it applies to non-Jews as well as Jews.]
11) Tevel – produce grown in Israel from which tithes such as Terumah and Ma’aser were not removed. [Fresh fruits and vegetables are commonly imported from Israel – think Jaffa oranges - and may not be eaten without setting aside these tithes beforehand.]
12) Orlah – fruits of the first three years. One who plants a fruit tree, whether in Israel or elsewhere, may not eat any produce grown during the first three years (see Leviticus 19:23).
13) Chadash – “new†grain (wheat, barley, oats, spelt, and rye) that took root after the second day of Passover is prohibited until the following Passover (see Leviticus 23:14).
14) Yayin Nesech – wine of “libation†(poured in a sacrificial manner to an idol)
15) Basar B’Chalav – meat and milk that were cooked together (see Exodus 23:19, 34:26, and Deuteronomy 14:21) [One may not even derive benefit from such a mixture, like, for example, selling a cheeseburger to a non-Jew or feeding it to one’s dog.]
16) Kilayim – different species grown together (see Leviticus 19:19 and Deuteronomy 22:9).
Rabbinically Prohibited Foods:
1) Basar Ouf B’Chalav – chicken and milk. [Our Sages of 2000 years ago used their Biblically-ordained legislative powers to extend the Torah law forbidding meat and milk (see above #15) to include fowl and milk as well.]
2) Chalav Akum – milk milked by a non-Jew without Jewish supervision. [Our Sages were concerned that the non-Jew may have mixed non-kosher milk into the milk. For milk to be “kosher†it has to be milked in the presence of a Jew, and it is then called Chalav Yisrael.]
3) Gevinas Akum – cheese produced by a non-Jew. [Our Sages were concerned that the cheese may have been produced with non-kosher rennet.]
4) Bishul Akum – foods cooked by a non-Jew. [Our Sages were worried that eating foods cooked by a non-Jew might bring about an inappropriately close personal relationship between the Jew and the non-Jew – and perhaps, ultimately, lead to assimilation and intermarriage. Now I know that this sounds like just so much unwarranted Rabbinical fear and paranoia. But there’s a reason why the Jewish people who followed this law have had almost zero percent intermarriage over the past 2000 years.]
5) Pas Akum – bread baked by a non-Jew [similar rationale to #4 above]
6) Stam Yaynum – wine produced by a non-Jew [similar rationale to #4 above.]
7) Sakanah – “dangerous†foods (e.g. eating fish and meat together; eating peeled onions, garlic and eggs that were left out overnight)
[Sources: The Kosher Kitchen: A Practical Guide by Rabbi Binyomin Forst, Artscroll Mesorah Publications]
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