{"id":597,"date":"2012-08-16T00:03:03","date_gmt":"2012-08-15T22:03:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shaareihoraah.org\/wordpress\/?p=597"},"modified":"2012-08-16T00:03:03","modified_gmt":"2012-08-15T22:03:03","slug":"parshas-reeh-zebu-and-bison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shaareihoraah.org\/?p=597","title":{"rendered":"Parshas Re’eh-Zebu and Bison"},"content":{"rendered":"

This week\u2019s Parsha, Re\u2019eh, is one of the places where the Torah delineates which animals are Kosher and which are not. The simplest classification would appear to be the land-dwelling animals, where the relatively straightforward rule that a beast must have split hooves and chew its cud to be permitted, is given.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, as with many things, life is not so simple.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Within the general family of land-dwellers, Halacha divides them into two sub-categories, Beheima\u00a0and Chaya (generally translated as domesticated and wild animals respectively). The distinction between these classifications is trickier and quite complicated. <\/span><\/p>\n

While both groups share the same defining characteristics to determine their Kosher status and must be split-hooved\u00a0ruminants, there are two significant distinctions between them. A Beheima\u00a0has a stringency that its Cheilev, forbidden fats, may not be consumed, while they are permitted in a Chaya. On the other hand, there is an obligation to cover the blood from a slaughtered Chaya, which is not necessary for a Beheima. Consequently, despite the difficulty involved, it is essential to determine the appropriate category for each animal.<\/span><\/p>\n

The identification of Kosher and non-Kosher fowl is similarly complicated, and while the Gemara and Shulchan\u00a0Aruch\u00a0do mention various indications to make this determination, the Rema\u00a0concludes in Yoreh\u00a0Deah 82:2 that we do not eat any bird that we do not have a long-standing tradition to consume.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In Siman\u00a079, the Shulchan\u00a0Aruch\u00a0mentions that both a Behaima\u00a0and a Chaya\u00a0require split hooves and chewing a cud to be Kosher, and in Siman\u00a080 he describes the Halachic\u00a0differences between a Behaima\u00a0and a Chaya, as we explained previously. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Shach there \u00a71 makes a cryptic remark. He states that since today we only follow our tradition, similar to the Rema\u2019s statement regarding fowl, \u201cthis\u201d Halacha is not relevant, and he intends to keep his remarks brief.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Pri\u00a0Megadim\u00a0interprets the Shach\u00a0in what would appear to be a straightforward manner. The determination between Kosher and non-Kosher animals is uncomplicated and not likely to lead to confusion; hence any unfamiliar animal that chews its cud and has split-hooves may be eaten. However, the determination of this unfamiliar creature\u2019s status as a Beheima\u00a0or Chaya\u00a0is much more complicated, and in lieu of a clear tradition we must be stringent regarding the consumption of Cheilev\u00a0and covering of the blood. Consequently, the Shach is exclusively refraining from discussing specifically these indicators, and we cannot rely on them to make a conclusive lenient determination.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, the Chochmas\u00a0Adam 36\u00a71 understands the Shach\u00a0very differently. He states that once animals are equated to fowl\u00a0regarding the requirement for a tradition, the only Chaya\u00a0we can consume at all is the familiar deer. The obvious implication of his words is that if we were to discover an original species of animal which clearly is a split-hooved ruminant but we have no tradition to eat it, it would be forbidden to consume.<\/span><\/p>\n

This debate came to the forefront many decades ago when there was a proposed initiative to import bison to Israel, and the Chazon\u00a0Ish opposed this suggestion due to their lack of Mesorah. This was clearly based on his ruling that the Halacha follows the Chochmas Adam\u2019s opinion.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Recently, this controversy reawakened when it was discovered that many of the cattle slaughtered today are not the familiar Northern European varieties. In North America where the climate tends to be more temperate, the varieties grown were the Holsteins\u00a0and Anguses\u00a0our ancestors were accustomed to in Europe. However, over the past decade or two, much of the Shechita has transferred to South America, where cattle more suited to the warmer climate are common. <\/span><\/p>\n

One of the common varieties there, which comprises a large percent of the cattle either as purebred or hybridized with other varieties, is the Zebu. It traces its ancestry to Brahman cows native to India, which were unfamiliar to most of us until recently. Its most significant characteristic is a large hump on its back. It also has a significant advantage of being a very hardy specimen, with an extremely low percent of Treifos; however, its meat is tougher and less appetizing.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A couple of years ago, this revelation stunned the communities here in Eretz\u00a0Yisroel, with many Hechsherim\u00a0withdrawing their South American operations due to the inability of determining the precise lineage of even the cattle that were clearly not purebred Zebus.<\/span><\/p>\n

Other Poskim suggested a number of reasons for leniency:<\/span><\/p>\n

1)<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>The majority of Achronim\u00a0and the context of the Shach\u2019s remarks support the Pri\u00a0Megadim\u2019s more lenient approach, unlike the Chazon Ish\u2019s ruling.<\/span><\/p>\n

2)<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>It is not clear that the Zebu is a new species of animal altogether, which would require a unique tradition. There is a wide range of individualism within the known varieties of cattle, and the Zebu certainly appears to be a cow. Therefore, many Poskim\u00a0proposed that these animals should be included in the general Mesora on cows, and not require a specific tradition.<\/span><\/p>\n

3)<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Furthermore, I have heard that archeological excavations have discovered mosaic art from the floors of Shuls\u00a0dating to the period of the Second Beis\u00a0HaMikdash. Some of these depicted an image of an ox, either as one of the 12 signs of the zodiac, or representing Yosef\u00a0as one of the 12 Shvatim. The picture of the cow shows a distinct hump on its back. While we cannot determine Halacha based solely on archeological evidence, it seems likely that there was a long-standing tradition to consume the Zebu.<\/span><\/p>\n

When this question was presented to HaRav\u00a0Elyashiv zatzal<\/em><\/span><\/span>, his initial impression was to follow the Chazon\u00a0Ish\u2019s stringent ruling. However, he quickly realized that the implications of this decision would be unusually far-reaching. While it is a relatively simple matter to enjoin the Hechsherim to avoid the Zebu in the future, forbidding it retroactively would have earthshaking consequences.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to its hardy constitution and tough meat, another characteristic of the Zebu is a hide that is uniquely suited to STaM. Over the recent decades, the vast majority of Sifrei\u00a0Torah, Mezuzos\u00a0and Tefillin have been written on the skins of Zebu, and invalidating all of them would have enormous consequences.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ultimately, HaRav Elyashiv\u2019s decision was to proceed with caution and avoid Zebu in the future, but to unquestioningly accept ex post facto<\/em><\/span><\/span> any prior Zebu products.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This week\u2019s Parsha, Re\u2019eh, is one of the places where the Torah delineates which animals are Kosher and which are not. The simplest classification would appear to be the land-dwelling animals, where the relatively straightforward rule that a beast must … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","hentry","category-halacha-kashrus","category-parsha","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2z7Yb-9D","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shaareihoraah.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shaareihoraah.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shaareihoraah.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shaareihoraah.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shaareihoraah.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=597"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shaareihoraah.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/597\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shaareihoraah.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shaareihoraah.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shaareihoraah.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}