The Laws of Winged Swarming Creatures (Leviticus 11:20-23)
The Laws of Winged Swarming Creatures (Leviticus 11:20-23)
The Torah introduces a specific category of creatures known as Sheretz Ha-Of, translated as "winged swarming things" or "flying creeping things." In Leviticus 11:20-23, the text establishes a general prohibition against these creatures, immediately followed by a narrow set of exceptions. This classification covers insects that possess wings but also move upon the ground, creating a unique biological category within the laws of Kashrut. Understanding these laws requires a close examination of the Hebrew terminology, the physical requirements for permissibility, and the traditional methods of identification.
Linguistic Definitions of Sheretz Ha-Of
The term Sheretz stems from a root meaning to swarm or teem.
Origin of the Hebrew Root Word "Sheretz" (שֶׁרֶץ)
The Hebrew noun שֶׁרֶץ (sherets) comes from the root שָׁרַץ (sharats), which means “swarm” or “active mass of minute animals” (Bible Hub). This root is used in the Tanakh to describe creatures that move in swarms, teem in numbers, or creep in groups — whether aquatic, terrestrial, or aerial.
Etymological Background
Root: שָׁרַץ (sharats) — Strong’s H8317
Derived form: שֶׁרֶץ (sherets) — Strong’s H8318
Meaning: A swarm, swarming thing, creeping thing, or swarmers Bible Hub+1.
Semantic Range
The term Sheretz is broad in scope, encompassing:
Insects (e.g., locusts, flies)
Small reptiles and quadrupeds (e.g., weasels, mice, lizards)
Aquatic creatures without fins and scales
Rodents and amphibians Bible Hub
The common thread is rapid multiplication, small size, and constant motion — often near or within soil or water.
Biblical Usage
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֔ים יִשְׁרְצ֣וּ הַמַּ֔יִם שֶׁ֖רֶץ נֶ֣פֶשׁ חַיָּ֑ה וְעוֹף֙ יְעוֹפֵ֣ף עַל־הָאָ֔רֶץ עַל־פְּנֵ֖י רְקִ֥יעַ הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃
God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and birds that fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” ( Revised JPS 2023)
כֹּ֚ל שֶׁ֣רֶץ הָע֔וֹף הַהֹלֵ֖ךְ עַל־אַרְבַּ֑ע שֶׁ֥קֶץ ה֖וּא לָכֶֽם׃
All winged swarming things that walk on fours shall be an abomination for you.
אַ֤ךְ אֶת־זֶה֙ תֹּֽאכְל֔וּ מִכֹּל֙ שֶׁ֣רֶץ הָע֔וֹף הַהֹלֵ֖ךְ עַל־אַרְבַּ֑ע אֲשֶׁר־[ל֤וֹ] (לא) כְרָעַ֙יִם֙ מִמַּ֣עַל לְרַגְלָ֔יו לְנַתֵּ֥ר בָּהֵ֖ן עַל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃
But these you may eat among all the winged swarming things that walk on fours: all that have, above their feet, jointed legs to leap with on the ground—
אֶת־אֵ֤לֶּה מֵהֶם֙ תֹּאכֵ֔לוּ אֶת־הָֽאַרְבֶּ֣ה לְמִינ֔וֹ וְאֶת־הַסׇּלְעָ֖ם לְמִינֵ֑הוּ וְאֶת־הַחַרְגֹּ֣ל לְמִינֵ֔הוּ וְאֶת־הֶחָגָ֖ב לְמִינֵֽהוּ׃
of these you may eat the following: locusts of every variety; all varieties of bald locust; crickets of every variety; and all varieties of grasshopper.
וְכֹל֙ שֶׁ֣רֶץ הָע֔וֹף אֲשֶׁר־ל֖וֹ אַרְבַּ֣ע רַגְלָ֑יִם שֶׁ֥קֶץ ה֖וּא לָכֶֽם׃
But all other winged swarming things that have four legs shall be an abomination for you. (Revised JPS, 2023)
Deuteronomy 14:19:
וְכֹל֙ שֶׁ֣רֶץ הָע֔וֹף טָמֵ֥א ה֖וּא לָכֶ֑ם לֹ֖א יֵאָכֵֽלוּ׃
All winged swarming things are impure for you: they may not be eaten. (Revised JPS, 2023)
Linguistic Note
The root שָׁרַץ (sharatz) is related to the idea of swarming or teeming, which is also reflected in the English word “swarm” and in other Semitic languages. In Hebrew, it is used both literally for groups of animals and figuratively for any mass of creatures that move collectively.
In summary:
It generally refers to small, low-to-the-ground creatures that move in large numbers. When combined with Of (winged creature/bird), it identifies insects that fly yet spend a significant portion of their existence crawling or hopping on the earth. The Torah characterizes the prohibited majority of this group as those that "go on all fours."
While insects typically have six legs, the phrase "to the fours" (Hebrew: al arba) is understood by commentators like The Ramban and the Talmudic sages (Chullin 59a:7) as a descriptive term for their gait and posture rather than a literal count of their limbs.
The Ramban notes:
Rather, the meaning of sheretz ha’oph is written [in Scripture immediately] after it: that go upon all fours. For all fowls that walk upon two legs, have erect necks, and their heads face upwards, and they always depend on their wings and flap them; therefore they are called oph kanaph (winged fowl), or just oph. But those that have [four] legs walk lowly, with their neck and head bent downwards like creeping things, and therefore they are called sheretz ha’oph (a winged creeping thing), as I have explained in Seder Bereshith. Similarly He referred back here and explained, And all ‘sheretz ha’oph’ (winged creeping things) which have four feet, are a detestable thing unto you, the meaning thereof being as if He had said: “all winged creeping things which have only four feet and do not have jointed legs [above their feet] as mentioned [in Verse 21 amongst the signs of purity], are a detestable thing unto you.” The interpretation thereof in Torath Kohanim is: “Rabbi says: And all ‘sheretz ha’oph’ (winged creeping things) which have four feet, are a detestable thing. But if it has five feet, it is a clean species.”
Now in this section regarding winged creeping things there is only a positive commandment, but in the Book of Deuteronomy there is a prohibition mentioned in connection with it, [namely], And all ‘sheretz ha’oph’ (winged creeping things) are unclean unto you; they shall not be eaten. It is on the basis of that verse there that whipping is incurred for violation thereof.
(Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976)
Thus, according to our sages, sheretz refers to creatures whose movement is primarily a horizontal crawl, similar to four-legged mammals that hop. Because these creatures inhabit a space between the heavens (flight) and the earth (crawling), and are therefore not perfectly separated (as Hashem typically divided things above from things below heaven), the Torah treats them with a specific level of stringency, declaring them an abomination (sheketz) unless they meet four very specific anatomical criteria.
The Four Signs of Permissibility
For a winged swarming creature to be considered kosher, it must possess four distinct physical markers. These are derived from the phrasing in Leviticus 11:21:
"Yet these you may eat among all winged swarming things that go on all fours: those that have jointed legs above their feet, wherewith to leap upon the earth."
The Mishnah (Chullin 59a:8, 65a:8-9, 65 b:2, 66a:2) and the Gemara clarify these requirements as follows:
Four Wings. The insect must have four wings. These wings must cover the majority of the insect's body length. Even if the wings are not used for sustained flight, their presence as a primary anatomical feature is necessary. (Chullin 59a:8)
Four Legs. Despite the "on all fours" description, the insect must possess six legs. This aligns with the biological classification of insects. The "four" mentioned in the text refers to the primary walking legs, while the remaining two are the specialized leaping legs described next.
And with regard to grasshoppers, whose signs were also not stated in the Torah, the Sages stated: Any grasshopper that has four legs, and four wings, and two additional jumping legs, and whose wings cover most of its body, is kosher.(Chullin 59a:8)
Jointed Leaping Legs. Known in Hebrew as karo'ayim, these are two long, powerful hind legs located "above" or "behind" the feet. Their purpose must be for leaping (lenater). This signifies a creature that does not merely crawl horizontally but has the capacity for vertical or explosive forward motion, separating it from the common "creeping" insects that are strictly forbidden.
jointed legs above their feet, wherewith to leap upon the earth” (Leviticus 11:21). The word lo is written with the letter alef, meaning not, so that it can be understood as: Do not have jointed legs. This teaches that even though it has no jointed legs now but will grow them after a time, it is still kosher.(Chullin 65a:8)
Specific Species Name. The Torah lists four specific types of permissible locusts: the Arbeh, the Solam, the Hargol, and the Hagav. While the physical signs are necessary, the historical application of these laws has often required a fifth criterion: a tradition of identification (Mesorah).
The species arbeh, solam, ḥargol, and ḥagav, and the phrase “after its kinds,” that appears after each, are a detail. As a rule, in any instance of a generalization and a detail, the generalization includes only that which is spelled out in the detail.(Chullin 66a:2)
The Mechanism of the Leaping Legs
The anatomical description of the kera'ayim is a subject of significant linguistic analysis. The Torah uses the phrase
אֲשֶׁר־[ל֤וֹ] (לא) כְרָעַ֙יִם֙ מִמַּ֣עַל לְרַגְלָ֔יו (asher lo kera'ayim mimaal leraglav)
(which has jointed legs above its feet).
In the Masoretic text, there is a Kere/Ketiv variant:
the written word is lo (spelled Lamed-Aleph, meaning "not"), but it is read as lo (spelled Lamed-Vav, meaning "to it"). This suggests a dual meaning: even if the legs are not currently functional or apparent in a specific stage of the insect's life, as long as the species generically possesses them, it remains kosher.
Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Yosei, says: The verse states: “Yet these may you eat of all winged swarming things that go upon all fours, which have [lo] jointed legs above their feet, wherewith to leap upon the earth” (Leviticus 11:21). The word lo is written with the letter alef, meaning not, so that it can be understood as: Do not have jointed legs. This teaches that even though it has no jointed legs now but will grow them after a time, it is still kosher.(Chullin 65a:8)
Rashi explains that these leaping legs are attached to the body near the neck, extending above the regular walking legs.
ABOVE ITS FEET — Quite close to its neck it has something like two feet, in addition to its real feet; when it wants to fly and to spring off the ground it presses itself strongly on the ground with those two knees and so it flies. There are many of these, such, as those which we call longouste (sea-locusts), but we are not expert in regard to them, — as to which we are not permitted as food, — because four characteristic marks of cleanness are mentioned by our Rabbis in respect to them, viz., four feet, four wings, and קרסולים, i. e. the כרעים mentioned here, and that their wings cover the greater part of them.
All these characteristics are present in these which are found amongst us, but there are some of them which have a long head and there are some which have no tail, matters which do not affect the question of cleanness (Chullin 59a). It is, however, necessary in order that they shall belong to the clean species that they should bear the name חגב (Chullin 55b), and in this respect we do not know how to distinguish one from another [i. e. we have no tradition as regards to these locusts whether they belong to the species which was in olden (Talmudic) times called חגב or not, and consequently in spite of the other four marks of cleanness we cannot distinguish them from unclean locusts which also show the same marks but are unclean because they do not bear the name חגב].
(Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934)
This structural distinction is vital. It creates a hierarchy of movement; the insect is not "chained" to the dust of the earth like a common beetle but possesses the anatomical equipment to transcend its environment through leaping. This ability to rise above the ground is the primary physical indicator of its permissibility.
The Four Permissible Locusts
The Torah names four specific types of locusts, each followed by the phrase "after its kind" (lemino). This indicates that the four names are actually four categories, encompassing many subspecies that share the same characteristics.
Arbeh. This is the most common term for a locust, often associated with the plague in Egypt. It is generally identified with the Desert Locust (Schistocerca gregaria).
Solam. Often translated as the "bald locust." The Talmud suggests this name refers to a creature with a smooth or "ladder-like" appearance.
“Solam,” and this is the nippul, which has a smooth forehead. The phrase “after its kinds” that follows solam is another generalization, which serves to include a case similar to the detail, i.e., the ushkaf, which has a smooth forehead like the solam.(Chullin 65b:2)
Hargol. Sometimes translated as a "cricket" or "long-horned grasshopper," though in a halakhic context, it refers specifically to a member of the locust family that met the leaping criteria.
Hagav. A general term for grasshoppers or smaller locusts. The Talmud notes that for a Hagav to be kosher, it must not only have the leaping legs and wings but must also have a specific "tail" or "broad head" depending on the specific tradition being followed.
Therefore, only grasshoppers of the same species as those detailed in the verse are kosher. Grasshoppers that are not of the same species as them are not kosher. And the phrase “after its kinds” amplifies the halakha to include grasshoppers that are similar to the named species in two aspects, i.e., that are very similar to them. Since all the named species have short heads, grasshoppers with long heads are forbidden.(Chullin 66a:2)
The Role of Tradition (Mesorah)
Although the Torah provides clear physical signs, later Jewish law (Halakha) became more restrictive due to the difficulty of identifying the specific species mentioned in the text. Because there are thousands of species of grasshoppers and locusts, many of which look nearly identical, the risk of eating a non-kosher species is high.
Most Ashkenazi and Sephardic communities eventually ceased eating locusts because the specific tradition of which species were the Arbeh, Solam, Hargol, and Hagav was lost. However, the Yemenite Jewish community (and certain North African communities) maintained a continuous Mesorah regarding the identification of the Desert Locust, migratory locust, and Egyptian locust (see: Kosher Locusts). For these communities, the Desert Locust remains a permissible food source because their tradition identifies it as the Arbeh of the Torah.
According to Yemenite Jewish tradition, the edible locust referred to in the Torah is identified by the figure resembling the Hebrew letter chet (ח) on the underside of the thorax.[21] Some explain that a distinguishing characteristic of kosher grasshoppers is that they sometimes swarm (Kosher Locusts).
For those without such a tradition, the prevailing ruling is to abstain from all winged swarming creatures, even if they appear to possess the four physical signs. In recent generations, the tradition of heter has been passed down in Yemen and Morocco, where grasshoppers are found. The grasshopper, according to tradition, is a species called locusts with its various varieties, which sometimes gathers in huge flocks and kills all plants.
Developmental Stages and Permissibility
A significant point of discussion in the Talmud (Chullin 65a) is whether an insect must possess all four signs at every stage of its life. For example, some locusts only develop their wings or their leaping legs after a certain period of growth or after molting.
The Sages taught in a baraita: A grasshopper that has no wings now but will grow them after a time, e.g., the zaḥal, is permitted. Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Yosei, says: The verse states: “Yet these may you eat of all winged swarming things that go upon all fours, which have [lo] jointed legs above their feet, wherewith to leap upon the earth” (Leviticus 11:21). The word lo is written with the letter alef, meaning not, so that it can be understood as: Do not have jointed legs. This teaches that even though it has no jointed legs now but will grow them after a time, it is still kosher.(Chullin 65a:8)
The Halakha follows the principle that if the creature is of a species that will eventually develop these signs, it is considered kosher even in its nymph or larval stage. However, the common practice remains to wait until the signs are fully visible to ensure no errors in identification occur.
בכלל שרץ העוף האסור באכילה כלולים כל המינים שיש להם שלושה זוגות רגליים וגם כנפיים, ומהם צרעות, דבורים, זבובים, צרצרים, גמל שלמה וחגבים. מבין החגבים, שהתכונה האופיינית להם שהם מנתרים על הארץ, יש מינים שהם טהורים, שנאמר (ויקרא יא, כ-כא): "כֹּל שֶׁרֶץ הָעוֹף הַהֹלֵךְ עַל אַרְבַּע שֶׁקֶץ הוּא לָכֶם. אַךְ אֶת זֶה תֹּאכְלוּ מִכֹּל שֶׁרֶץ הָעוֹף הַהֹלֵךְ עַל אַרְבַּע אֲשֶׁר לוֹ כְרָעַיִם מִמַּעַל לְרַגְלָיו לְנַתֵּר בָּהֵן עַל הָאָרֶץ".
From the Torah we have learned two signs of purity for grasshoppers: 1) that they have two pairs of ordinary legs. b) Legs – a third large and raised pair of legs, intended for jumping. According to tradition, the Sages added two signs: c) that they have four wings. 4) Their wings cover most of their bodies (Chullin 59a).
Even if these signs have not yet grown into the grasshopper, if they are going to grow on it, it is a pure species that may be eaten.
The Torah mentions four pure species, as it is written (Leviticus 11:22): "You shall eat these of them, the locust of its kind, the rock of its kind, the grasshopper of its kind, and the grasshopper of its kind." The Sages learned that each of the four has an accompanying species, the accompanying of the locust is the bird of the vineyards, the companion of the Salaam – Yohana of Jerusalem, the companion of the grasshopper – Arzubia, and the companion of the grasshopper – the razbanit (Chullin 65a; Rambam, Forbidden Foods 1:22).
Grasshoppers, like fish, do not need to be slaughtered, nor do they have the prohibition of an animal organ. Therefore, it is permissible to cut off a limb from them and eat it while they are still alive. However, it is forbidden to bite from them while they are still alive, because of the prohibition of "do not bite," and also because it is a measure of cruelty (Da'at Cohen 12). It is even forbidden to put it near the mouth when it is about to bite it, because of the prohibition of "do not bite," according to which it is forbidden to do anything disgusting (Shabbat 90:2;
Some say that the general name of all pure species is "grasshopper," and that any species that has signs of purity but whose general name is not a grasshopper is impure and forbidden to eat it (Rivam, Rosh, Ramban, Rashba, according to R. Yossi). Therefore, grasshoppers are not eaten today according to the signs of purity alone, but there must also be a tradition called grasshoppers (SA YD 88a). And if there is a tradition about a certain species that is pure, it is known that its name is a grasshopper.
Peni Halakhah, Kashrut 17:8
The Prohibition of Other Swarming Creatures
Any winged insect that does not meet the four criteria—or is not part of the permissible locust families—is classified as "tame" (טָמֵא) and forbidden for consumption. This includes common insects such as flies, bees, wasps, and dragonflies. Even though a bee produces honey (which is kosher), the bee itself is a "winged swarming thing" that lacks the leaping legs and the specific species identification required by the text. This distinction emphasizes that the laws of Kashrut are not based solely on the product an animal creates, but on the inherent biological and spiritual categories assigned to the creature itself by the Torah.
Summary of the Law
The laws of Sheretz Ha-Of serve as a boundary between the permissible and the forbidden within the realm of the small and the swarming. By requiring a combination of specific anatomical features (four wings, four legs, leaping legs) and a verified historical tradition, the Torah ensures that the act of consumption remains a deliberate and disciplined practice. This system transforms the simple act of distinguishing between insects into an exercise in linguistic precision, biological observation, and communal continuity.
Am Yisrael Chai!
Kimberly Davis
Contributors: Our Great Sages
The Ramban
Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Yosei
Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi
Rashi
