Parsha Shmini: Leviticus 9:1-11:47

Public·1 member

Naming the Prohibited Birds (Leviticus 11:13-19)

The classification of birds in Parsha Shmini differs fundamentally from the classification of land animals and fish. While mammals are identified by physical signs (split hooves and chewing the cud) and fish by anatomical features (fins and scales), the Torah identifies prohibited birds by name rather than by physical characteristics. Leviticus 11:13–19 provides a list of twenty specific categories of birds that are forbidden for consumption. All birds not included in this list are, by biblical omission, permitted. However, the identification of these specific species has become a central challenge in Jewish law due to linguistic shifts and the geographical migration of communities over millennia.

The List of Prohibited Species

The Torah lists twenty birds (though the parallel list in Deuteronomy 14:12–18 includes twenty-one, adding the dayah). These names often derive from the bird’s behavior, vocalization, or physical appearance. Because the Torah provides no explicit physical criteria, the exact identity of these birds is the primary concern for halakhic (legal) determination. The list includes:

The Nesher: Often translated as the eagle, though many commentators, including Rashi and Ibn Ezra, identify it as the griffon vulture.
The Peres and Ozniyah: Generally identified as large birds of prey, such as the ossifrage or bearded vulture.
The Da’ah and Ayah: Variations of kites or falcons.
The Orev: The raven and its related species.
The Bat Ya’anah: Traditionally translated as the ostrich, though some modern scholars suggest a species of owl.
The Netz: The hawk or sparrowhawk.
The Chasidah: Often identified as the stork. Rashi notes its name relates to chesed (kindness) because it shares food with its fellows, yet it remains unkosher because it only shows kindness to its own kind.
The Atallaf: The bat. While biologically a mammal, the Torah categorizes it under of (winged creatures) due to its flight.

The difficulty in translation arises because many of these Hebrew terms are "hapax legomena" (words that appear only once or rarely) or have meanings that shifted as the Jewish center of gravity moved from the Levant to Europe and North Africa. By the time of the Mishnah and Talmud, the original identities of several species were already subject to debate.

Rabbinic Identification Signs

To resolve the ambiguity of the biblical list, the Sages of the Mishnah (Chulin 59a:6) by Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi (also called Rabbeinu HaKodosh,) identified four physical characteristics common to kosher birds.

מַתְנִי׳ סִימָנֵי בְּהֵמָה וְחַיָּה נֶאֶמְרוּ מִן הַתּוֹרָה, וְסִימָנֵי הָעוֹף לֹא נֶאֶמְרוּ, אֲבָל אָמְרוּ חֲכָמִים: כׇּל עוֹף הַדּוֹרֵס – טָמֵא, כֹּל שֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ אֶצְבַּע יְתֵירָה וְזֶפֶק וְקוּרְקְבָנוֹ נִקְלָף – טָהוֹר. רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בְּרַבִּי צָדוֹק אוֹמֵר: כׇּל עוֹף הַחוֹלֵק אֶת רַגְלָיו – טָמֵא.

MISHNA: The signs that indicate that a domesticated animal and an undomesticated animal are kosher were stated in the Torah, and the signs of a kosher bird were not explicitly stated. But the Sages stated certain signs in a bird: Any bird that claws its prey and eats it is non-kosher. Any bird that has an extra digit behind the leg slightly elevated above the other digits, and a crop, which is a sack alongside the gullet in which food is stored prior to digestion, and for which the yellowish membrane inside its gizzard can be peeled, is kosher. Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Tzadok, says: Any bird that splits the digits of its feet when standing on a string, placing two digits on one side of the string and two on the other, is non-kosher.

These signs were not intended to replace the biblical list but to serve as a diagnostic tool to ensure a bird does not belong to the prohibited predatory families. A bird is considered kosher if it possesses the following traits:

Non-Predatory Behavior (Dores): The most critical requirement is that the bird must not be a dores. A dores is a bird of prey that attacks with its claws, pins down its food, or eats its prey while it is still alive. Any bird that exhibits predatory behavior is immediately disqualified.
The Extra Toe (Etzba Yeterah): This refers to a toe that is either positioned higher on the leg than the others or a back toe that is distinct from the front-facing toes.
The Crop (Zefek): This is a muscular pouch near the throat used for storing food before digestion. Most grain-eating birds possess a crop, whereas many raptors do not.
The Gizzard Lining (Karkuban Niklaf): The gizzard must have a thin inner yellowish membrane that can be peeled off by hand. If the lining is fused to the organ and requires a knife to remove, the bird is generally considered non-kosher.

While the presence of these four signs suggests a bird is kosher, the Talmud concludes that we cannot rely solely on these physical markers. The complexity of the bird kingdom and the risk of misidentifying predatory behavior led to a more stringent legal standard.

The Role of Mesorah

The prevailing halakhic ruling, codified by the Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh De’ah 82), by Rabbi Joseph (Yosef) Karo, is that no bird may be eaten based on physical signs alone.

Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh De'ah 82:1):

The signs of a kosher bird are not explicit from the Torah; rather, it lists the non-kosher species alone, and the rest of bird species are permitted.

And the prohibited species, 24 are mentioned in the Torah (See: Rambam Forbidden Foods 1:14)

Instead, we require a mesorah—a continuous, documented tradition from previous generations that a specific bird was eaten in their community and recognized as kosher.

1

The signs of a kosher bird are not explicit from the Torah; rather, it lists the non-kosher species alone, and the rest of bird species are permitted.

And the prohibited species, 24 are mentioned in the Torah (See: Rambam Forbidden Foods 1:14)

2

Whoever is expert in those [24] types and their names, behold he eats all of the birds that are not from them, and he needs no checking. (Ibid.) And a kosher bird is eaten according to tradition, provided it's common knowledge in that place that it's a kosher bird. And a hunter is believed saying: This bird, my hunting rabbi permitted for me, provided that hunter is muchzak as expert in the impure species mentioned in the Torah and their names.

Whoever who does not know them and doesn't know their names, he should check the signs: Any bird that attacks with its claws (dores) and eats, is definitely of the impure species. And if he doesn't know if it hunts by its claws or not, when they stand it up on a rope it splits its feet two claws on one side and two claws to the other side, or it is able to snatch in the air and eat, it's definitely a raptor (dores). And if it's known that it's not a raptor, there are three signs of [its] kosher [status]: an extra claw, a crop [zefeq, digestive pouch near gullet], and its gizzard (qorqeban) can be peeled by hand, excluding if it's only peeled with a knife. (words of Mechaber) If it's hardened and attached, and he puts it in the sun and it softens and gets peeled by hand, behold it's a sign of purity. And even though it has these three signs, it should not be eaten, because we are concerned lest it's a bird of prey, rather, unless they have a tradition that was transmitted to them by their ancestors that it is kosher. (words of Rambam, Forbidden Foods 1:18).

3

Some say any bird whose beak (chartum) is wide and the palm of its foot is wide like a duck, it's definitely not a raptor (dores), and is permitted to eat if it has the three signs on its body.

Rema: And there are those who say that we don't rely even on this, and one should only eat a bird with an accepted tradition that it is kosher (in the Arukh rule 56 and תא"ו נט"ו), and that's our practice and we shouldn't change.

4

One who is from a place that they are accustomed to a prohibition with a single bird because they do not have a tradition, and he went to a place where they do have a tradition, he is able to eat it in the place where he went, even if his intention to return. And if he went from a place that does have a tradition and he went to a place that does not have a tradition, it is permitted for him to eat it.

5

Regarding whether the rest of the places that do not have a tradition, are able to eat it by relying on the place that does have a tradition, there's one who forbids and there's one who permits. And there's [reason] to regard the opinion that prohibits.

This reliance on tradition explains why common birds like the chicken, turkey, duck, goose, and certain species of pigeon and dove are universally accepted. These birds have a clear mesorah across almost all Jewish communities. In contrast, birds that possess all four physical signs but lack a clear tradition of consumption—such as certain species of wild pheasant or exotic waterfowl—are generally avoided by the majority of observant communities.

The case of the turkey (meleagris gallopavo) is a famous historical example of the mesorah system in action. When the turkey was introduced to Europe from the Americas, it had no prior tradition in Jewish law. However, it was widely accepted because it so closely resembled the chicken and forest birds known in Europe, and early authorities ruled that it did not fall under the category of the prohibited birds listed in the Torah. Today, the turkey is a staple of kosher diets, effectively integrated into the mesorah through widespread rabbinic consensus.

Linguistic Challenges and Modern Taxonomy

Modern zoology often clashes with traditional nomenclature. For example, the nesher is frequently translated as "eagle" in English Bibles, but the description of the nesher in Micah 1:16 ("make yourself bald... like the nesher") specifically points to the griffon vulture, which has a bald head. Eagles, by contrast, are fully feathered.

This distinction is more than academic. If the nesher of the Torah is a vulture, then the entire category of "eagle" must be evaluated based on its own merits and tradition. Because Jewish law prioritizes the preserved Hebrew names and the traditions of the Sages over modern biological taxonomy, a bird's scientific classification as "raptor" or "passerine" is secondary to its status in the mesorah.

When new or unfamiliar species are encountered, contemporary rabbinic authorities examine historical records from the region of the bird's origin. They look for evidence of Jewish communities in those areas eating the bird. If a break in the chain of tradition occurs, the bird remains prohibited, even if it appears to be a herbivore with an extra toe, a crop, and a peelable gizzard.

The Symbolism of Selection

The choice to prohibit specific birds—mostly predators and scavengers—is often explained in Jewish thought through the lens of character refinement. Nahmanides (Ramban) suggests that the nature of the food we consume affects the soul. With regards to the unclean birds, Ramban's main argument is that they are cruel animals. Considering his ideology of the nature of food affecting our soul, he likely saw that the cruelty of the animal leads to cruelty in our own hearts:

Now the most important sign [of unfitness as food] in fowls is preying, for every bird of prey is invariably unfit [as food]. The Torah removed it [from us] as food, because its blood becomes heated up due to its cruelty, and is dark and thick, which gives rise to that bitter [fluid in the body] which is mostly black and tends to make the heart cruel. There is not another fowl in the whole world that is a bird of prey apart from those mentioned in this section, and therefore one may know that any fowl which is a bird of prey, is one of those mentioned here. Thus if it is known for sure that it does not prey, it may definitely be eaten, for amongst all the forbidden fowls, there is only one which does not prey, namely the bearded vulture or the osprey, and the Sages were not concerned about it [being eaten because of reliance on the fact that it does not prey], since it is not found in habitated places, but dwells always in wilderness. Perhaps it is because it dwells in wastelands and its blood is affected for the worse by the burning heat, like that of the birds of prey, that the Torah prohibited it as food together with them.

(Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976)

By avoiding birds that are cruel, aggressive, or consumers of carrion, the individual avoids "absorbing" those traits into their own personality. In effect, the Ramban concludes that we are able to protect our hearts from becoming cruel if we first avoid eating cruel animals.

The list in Shmini serves as a boundary. It defines the limits of the permissible, forcing a conscious pause before consumption. This requirement for a mesorah further ties the individual to the historical community, ensuring that even the act of eating is an expression of continuity with Sinai and the generations that followed.

By naming the prohibited rather than the permitted, the Torah creates a vast field of availability while highlighting specific "red lines" of conduct and identity represented by the twenty forbidden species. Understanding these birds requires more than a dictionary; it requires an engagement with the history of Jewish migration and the meticulous preservation of oral law.