Shemini - 6th Portion

Join me as we learn Kumish for Friday. The sixth Torah reading of Parashini 11:1. Today we're going to learn about the different laws of kosher, the prohibited and permitted animals, fish, and bird species. Chapter 11 verse one. And God spoke to Moses and Aaron saying to them Rashi Moshe to Mosharon Mosha Omar he told it to Moshe who will then tell Aaron Moshe then said it Omar said to Aaron who said it then to summer or did Aaron say it to his sons Allah summer or was he supposed to then tell it to the Jewish people when he says speak to the Jewish people if it says spoke to the speak to the Jewish people that means he himself tells it to the Jewish people so what do I get from here why does he have to say tell it to them if he's already telling it to them so first he would tell it to his son and then afterwards they would tell it to entire Jewish people as well verse two Israel speak to the Jewish people are saying this is the animal the following creatures that you may eat among all the land animals that are on the earth. He says as follows. He made all of them equal meaning to Aaron and his sons that they will be messengers in this message to the Jewish people because they were equally quiet when their brothers passed and when their son or when Aaron's sons passed and they accepted God's decree out of love. Therefore, they were given this message, this errand to tell the Jewish people about the laws of kosher. The word in this case means living animal or any animal comes about alive because the Jewish people are connected to God and therefore they should be alive. As we say in the book of Deuteronomy that when you connect to God, you're truly alive. Therefore, he separated them. He segregates them from the impure items and he gave them and gave them these commandments. However, to the nations of the world, they do not have these prohibitions of kosher. Like this example that's given about a doctor who goes to visit a ill patient. He goes to see two different patients. He sees one of them that's in danger. He tells his family give Rashi doesn't say the parable but this is the parable that's brought in Tanuma in from Rabbi Tanum that a doctor comes in to see two ill people two patients one of them he sees that they're in great danger so he tells his family give him anything he wants to eat he saw the second one that's going to live so he said only this and these foods he should eat so they asked the doctor why this guy gets whatever he wants and this guy doesn't get this guy can only get certain foods So he says listen here this guy that's going to this guy that's going to be alive that he's alive and I know there's a chance. So therefore he has to be careful what he eats. The other guy that's going to die anyway you can give him whatever you want. He says the same thing is also God who tells the Jew who the Jewish people are alive then God says I want you to be holy. So therefore they have a status of holiness to have to stay by and therefore we have a reason to be sanctuary and therefore we a reason reason to be sanctified and to be holy and to be careful what we eat because we have a concept of life which is beyond a life which we can see and therefore when he talks about the one that's alive it means this nation is worthy of being constantly fed alive. Why does it say this is the animal that every time it says the word ze or zam means he was pointing he was holding the animal that every time we're talking about a specific animal he would hold it up and show the Jewish people this is what I'm talking about even when he come to the creatures of the water he held each one of them in his hand and showed it to the Jewish people what they're allowed to and what they're not allowed to eat when it came with the birds and it came with the creatures and all the different things that we're soon going to be learning in the various verses that tell us about the things that they're allowed to eat to pure and impure. He held it up to them and he showed them what it is. This is what's impure. Moshe had to see show them exactly what he's talking about. This is the animal domestic animals from all the animals that are are that roam the land. So therefore we see that a domestic animal is also called an animal rashi. Uh verse three anyone whose feet are anyone's whose uh who has split hooves anyone whose feet are cloven. Let's do it says anyone's whose feet are not only partially cloven but completely split the meaning that they have the split hoofs mil and regurgitates its food animal. Those are the ones that you're allowed to eat. What is the word paraso? It has like a crack. It's open para that means the bottom of the leg of the animal that it's open. Besides from the words that besides from the fact that it has to be open, it has to be completely separated on the top and the bottom. Not only from what you can see, but also underneath it has to be open. Nails says there are those animals that you can see that they're not completely their hooves are not completely split. They're only split from the top and not from the bottom. Mila's gated that it regurgitates it food. Mila brings it up regurgitates the food from its stomach. It can brings it back up to its mouth to grind it into mullet very fine. So brings it up. It swallows it. It spits it back up and then chews on it again and then swallows it again. This is what it's called. When a person eats food and keeps on chewing it again, this is what it's called. The word is it possible that it comes from the word from the concept that we see from the word a the root word like the food like the water that uh drips and pours on the ground. So it goes up and then it pour the meaning that it gets dragged along that it comes from the stomach and it gets dragged into the mouth and it gets dragged back down. The Aramaic translation is He calls it like it becomes diluted. It becomes soft because the person because the animal chooses so much it becomes very soft and and diluted and uh dissolved. Technically this word the animal is extra. What is it coming to tell me? that's coming to teach me to tell me that a calf a baby calf that's born in the mother's womb that's in its mother's womb will be permissible without eating without needing slaughtering that you can eat you could not eat a impure animal isn't it clear that it says if it's coming to tell me that a person who eats non-coosher will then be abregating a positive commandment and a negative commandment Verse four, you must not eat those animals who do regurgitate their food and they may have uh and they and they have cut and they have split feet because it could be a regurgitates food. So you for example I'm sorry the camel it should regurgitate it and but it does not have completely split hooves. It doesn't have complete cloven feet and therefore it is something which is spiritually defiled for you to eat. Verse five, the hier because it regurgitates its cuts but does not have split hills. It does not have a completely cloven feet. It's also impure for you. Verse six and the hair but it does not have the split hooves. It is also impure for you to eat. Verse seven and the pig does have split hose and those that are completely split but the problem is it doesn't chew its cuds. Therefore it's spiritually defiled for you to eat. Verse seven, uh, verse eight, their meat you should not eat. Go, and in their flesh, and and in their carcasses you should not touch. They are ritually defiled for you. He says on eating their flesh is the is the prohibition but not about their bones or their veins and their sing and their horns and their and their hooves because those are things that are not edible to eat. think that I would think when it comes touching that the Jewish people were prohibited from touching something which is impure that when it comes to touching something which is impure pure a carcass which is impure only the are not allowed to touch it but not the regular Israelites from here we have a we can learn a even stricter case If when it comes to a dead carcass a person who's dead which this is stringent which in that case a person is pure for seven days and they need to be sprinkled by the blood of the red heer to be able to become pureim and in that case the only ones that become who are warned with this or have that li who have that obligation are the kanim. However, the rest of the Jewish people, they are not mourned by Na when it comes to Na. When it comes to such a case of impurity, which is uh lessent go, why does the Torah have to tell me to touch it? So, what is this? We talking about it's talking about in a holiday. In a holiday when all the Jewish people have to come up to the holy temple, they have to be ready to walk into the holy temple at all times. Therefore, he tells us that even then an Israelite has to be careful not to touch these items. Meaning as follows that there are many times that a Cohen is not allowed to add impurity onto himself. Therefore, a Cohen is not to touch a dead person. An Israelite is allowed to touch a dead person, but when he does touch the dead person, he has to go through the process of purification, which is the sprinkling of the red heer and seven days of impurity. A Cohen is not even allowed to become impure. So if when it comes to the case where a cohen is not allowed to come impure a Israelites allowed to how much more in this case so why does it mean to touch it meaning when it comes before the holiday that you're about to go into the holy temple so therefore you have to be careful not to make yourself impure so you should be able to enter the holy temple verse n this you can eat from anything that's in the water among all the creatures that are in the water. Whatever has fins and scales in the water and in the seas in the rivers you may eat only these rashi snappier. What are snappier? Those are the fins that helps the uh fish swim by shaking its its fins. These are these scales. They're small little round scales that are on the skin of the fish that are like a shell of the fish. As it says by that Golius that he was wearing cascas that Galius was wearing, Goliath was wearing this armor that was like scales of a fish. Verse 10. But whatever it is lives in the whatever lives in the seas and the rivers but does not have a who does not have um fins and scales in the seas and the rivers from all the things that live in the water or or any living creature that's in the water. They are considered loathome to you and therefore you should not have them. Sherits. What does the word sherets mean? Anytime it uses a terminology, it means something which is um low very a crawling creepy animal which creeps or creature that creeps on the earth. For example, bugs or any other things of that nature. Verse 11, you must consider them loathome. from their flesh you may not eat and their carcasses you must consider leni it's verse 11 meaning that even if a impure fish a non-cooser fish is mixed in with kosher fish still in all their taste and has been absorbed in it it's considered not kosher if they gives over the flavor their all of it will then make everything else prohibited their flesh. You're not allowed to have. However, the the fins or the bones are not considered the flesh to this includes um when he talks about that even their carcasses that come from the water. This includes which means these are um mi midgets or strained different maggots or different uh uh different kinds of bugs that may come from the water that are also that you when you strain them they come into the you see them in the water and those kinds of things are called and these are as in old French is called moshering and those are also prohibited as well. Verse 12, anything that does not have anything that does not have fins and scales when it's in the water. This is something which is disgusting to you. Verse 12, what's it coming to tell me? He said already if it doesn't have scale, why does it have to repeat it again? I would have thought the only thing that becomes what kind of fish is permitted only one that comes onto dry land with its fins and scales. But what about a fish that the scales fall off in the water? How do we know that it's kosher? Therefore, the verse tells us anything that has fins and scales while it's in the water. If there is fins and scales while it's in the water, even though the scales may fall off once it comes on the dry land, it would still be permissible. So even if it sheds its scales, it will still considered permissible in to be eaten. Verse 13. And these you will consider lome disgusting from the birds. You will not eat them. There's something which is considered lome. Now he continues to tell us about the different birds which will be uh prohibited to eat. Eser, the griffin vulture, the Paris and the bearded vulture, the osprey. Verse 13, they should not be eaten and you cannot feed them to somebody else. And therefore, he says as follows. This also obligates a person who gives it to young children. This is what it seems from the verse. It should not be eaten because of you. Or maybe this doesn't mean that it can't have pleasure from it. Therefore, the verse tells us someplace else in the book of Deuteronomy. You can't eat them. They're prohibited from eating, but you're allowed to have pleasure from them. Therefore, what does this mean? If you're going to look, it's going to say in this Torah reading in the next few verses, it's going to say birds and according to its kind. Why does it say according to its kind? Because in every kind of bird there's many different generations or many different variables of that bird. They're not the same. They're not even called the same. They don't even look the same. But but they're all part of the same family and therefore they are prohibited. Now he goes on to say the different birds verse 14 and the various other species of the vulture as well. Verse 15. And every type of species of a crowd. Verse 16. The ostrich, the cuckoo, the go, the various species of the sparrow hawk. Hanates. Rashi translates in in the French ishpier. the sweet owl, the corarant and the barnell. Rashi says verse 17. The rabbis explained what is this is a fish that fishes that takes out fish. It draws fish from the sea. That's why the tarum translates to meaning that it tra that it traps it takes out it catches fish from the sea. These are the kind of birds that scream at night. They have cheeks like a human. Yub and there's another bird that's very similar to it that's also part of the yanch and that's why it says to its kind and it's called yub verse 18 the bat the pelican and the magpie tinus that we mentioned before that was the over here we're talking about the tinamus which we translate as the bat and rashi explains he calbashurit this is what we call in French. It's a bird that's similar to a uh a weasel or a mouse and it flies at night. That's mentioned later on about the different creatures is very similar to it. It doesn't have eyes as we know today. It's what we call a batala. the storkina and the various species of the herinas and the hoopu and rashi zouna. This is if you call look later on in the book of Deuteronomy it tells us a type of bird which is called a da and this da which is a quarrelome and it's called a hyone in old French why is it called because it does kindness with its mates with its birds and that it splits that it splits the food amongst So there's two types of da. The is the white da is the zigzone and the and over here it's called because it acts generously. The han this is daonis. It seems that this is the quarrelome dia the one that gets upset. But nearly this is what they call a hyas. What's the difas? This is a wild henel. A wild hen. And it has a comb that's doubled over. And in old French, it's called what is it called? Because it's called because its majesty, that means it's a beautiful web that's on top of it. It's its comb appears to be tied down that it's comb translation. Why is it called? because it's uh in this case because it's the cutter of a mountain an account of its habits as the rabbis explained in Misha au that it was able to fly away very this far into high mountains where there are no trees there and they would bring the shamir the shamir was that special worm that we spoke about that splits the rocks and that's what King Solomon used to be able to cut the stones for the holy temple Verse 20. Now, we're going to continue telling us about flying, crawling creatures that are permitted and some that are prohibited for consumption as well. You must consider loathome any type of crawling creature that flies and walks on for is considered losome to you. So which ones can you eat? However, these you could eat from all the creatures of flying creatures. They're going for that joint extensions above their regular legs which they hop around on the ground. So they have extension legs. They have these are the very small ones that they creep and crawl or on the ground. Zu him like flies and and mosquitoes and grasshoppers ari 21 on the four legs closer to its neckl it has like two legs one that's closer to the neck and then it bends again and there's another leg besides its four legs when it wants to fly and jump off the ground it get strengthens with those two knees And then it lifts itself up flies. There's many different kinds amongst them like those that they call but we are not thorough to know which ones are kosher or not. There are four different signs of what it makes it kosher. Meaning it needs to have it has to have four legs four wings and it needs to have these. And these are the the knees that are mentioned here and the wings have to cover most of its body. And all these signs we find by many of the grasshoppers that we have here. However, a there's something which is different that one that is kosher is called a there are some differences. Those that are lowhead, long head, the ones that don't have a tail, but you need that to be called and with this we don't know which one is called today. And that's what Rashi's writing in his time. They didn't know they were all called and or they didn't know which one is actually biblically called and therefore they didn't need it. There was a tradition I think by the Yemenites that they do know which one is and they claimed that in the back if you look at the belly of it underneath there's like a shape of a you can know that it's a that's according to some traditions but Rashi says that we don't know which one it is and therefore we don't eat it. Verse 22. These are the ones that you're allowed to eat. The red locust and all its varieties of its species lumino, the yellow locust and all its varieties in its species. Lumino and the spotted grrey locust and all its varieties and species of lumino and the white locust and all its variety in its species. There are different pictures that you can look up today that you can see which ones are the red locust, white locus and the ones that would be allowed. Verse 23. and any uh nonetheless any four-legged cry flying crawling creatures that has four legs as we mentioned to you if it has five legs would be pure verse and all these as well additionally that if a person will come into contact with these kind of things, you'll become defiled and anyone who touches their carcass is defiled until the evening. What does it mean these those that he's going to mention now in the next few verses that by touching them itself you become impure. their verse 25. Whoever carries their carcass will have to wash his clothing will be impure until the evening anytime that it tells us about carrying something that will make you impure. It is more stringent than touching which with touching you would only have to wash your clothing over here. By carrying it, the person himself becomes impure as well. Verse 26, you must consider among all animals that walk um sorry you must consider all animals who feet are partially um partially open but not completely split. They do not they do not regurgitate their food. They're impure to you. Whoever touches them becomes impure like which ones for example gum like a camel that has a crack only on top of but underneath it's connected. Over here the Torah is telling us that even a is telling us that the carcass of a impure animal can make somebody pure. And later on when he talks about a carcass that animal he's telling us that about a kosher animal and this is the difference when it comes to an impure animal whether it died on its own or whether it died through slaughtering it will make a person impure. However, when it comes to a kosher animal, it will only make somebody impure when it died on its own. However, when it was slaughtered with a proper uh according to Jewish law and then afterwards you find out that it was unhealthy and therefore it would have died, that's called that would not make somebody p impure. Though you to eat it, that's not considered something of an avail to make him pure. Verse 27, anything that goes on it uh and and anything that you must consider anything of the animals that walk on four legs. All animal that walk on four legs, they are impure to you. Whoever touches their carcass will be impure until the evening. What does it mean on its legs? Meaning that they don't have hooves. They don't have split feet for example ke a dog a beer a cat that they only have like legs palms and they don't have any split hooves and therefore they walk on the palms of their feet and it's like a person walking barefoot so to speak they're impure even to touch and so too to carry as well one who carries verse 28 one who carries trees their carcasses must wash his clothes and be impure until the evening. They are considered rutually impure for you. Rashi no rash on this one. Verse 29. And this will be what is impure when it comes to the continuing telling us what's impure. But concerning the creatures about the crawling things. anything that crawls on the earth on the ground which is for example the weasel the mouse and the toad and all its kind of species verse 29 these impurities they're not referring to a prohibition of eating meaning that if a person touches these they become impure real literally just by touching them a person becomes impure by eating this you become impure to the extent that you will not be able to eat from the holy food of the truma or the holy food or enter the holy temple the the we said was the weasel this is what the the in the you would find what's called that's a toad that's like a frog verse the hedgehog the the camel and the lizard and the snail chamis and the mole rashi and he saysun kip he gives the different uh terminologies in the old French of what these names of these uh animals are so an is a in old French it's a hedgehog her halatto is a lizard is a lmus or a snail and tinamus is a mole. And Rashi goes through these and gives us all the French words. Verse 31, these are the ones that are going to be of these crawling creatures which we have to consider impure. Whoever touches them while they're dead will be impure until the evening. verse 32 and those uh as we mentioned these um creatures that what happens if any of these dead creatures fall on anything they will make it impure as well whether it's a um something of wood a wooden vessel a begot or a garment a or a hide a sak or or a sack cold anything that's a vessel that can be used for work that can be done with it will have to be immersed in water and it will be impure until the evening and only once it becomes the evening then can it be get rid of its defilement and it will be pure once again meaning it has to be immersed in water even though a person already immersed in water tummy will still be impure for having to using it for holy items until the evening and only once it becomes evening then he'll be able to use it. This concludes the sixth Torah reading of Paras Shimi.