Are There Really Just Four Non-Kosher Animals With One Sign?

This week’s parasha is Shemini, “eighth”, referring to the eighth day of the Mishkan’s inauguration ceremony. On this day, the sons of Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, brought an unsanctioned incense offering, and perished because of it. The Torah goes on to describe various sacrificial and priestly laws before going into the rules for kosher food.

When it comes to land animals, those that have split hooves and chew cud are kosher. Animals that do not have both signs are not kosher. The Torah then goes on to give four examples of animals that have one of the signs, but not the other: the camel chews cud, but does not have a completely split hoof; the pig has a split hoof, but does not chew cud; and the shafan and arnevet (unknown species often described as rabbits, hyraxes, or badgers), who chew cud but do not have split hooves.

The Torah uses these as examples of non-kosher animals that were present in Israel and surrounding regions in those days; animals that were familiar to the Israelites. The Torah does not state anywhere that these must be the only four non-kosher animals in the entire world that possess one sign, and not the other. Yet, somehow it became popular for Torah lecturers, particularly in the world of kiruv (Jewish outreach), to suggest that thousands of years ago, the Torah predicted there are only four such animals in the whole world, and to this day, no other animals have been found that only offer one sign. While ancient Jewish literature has plenty of amazing foresight into scientific matters – which may be used to show people its deep wisdom and divinity – this particular argument is highly flawed. The truth is, there are other animals that have one of the two signs, and not the other. Let’s take a look at a few examples.

Hippos & Llamas

A famous problem was the case of the hippopotamus. A hippo has the same foot structure as a pig, and like a pig, does not chew its cud. (While it is herbivorous, eating mostly grass and aquatic plants, hippos have been noted to even eat meat on occasion.) A hippopotamus is thus a perfect example of another animal that has split hooves but does not strictly chew cud.

Hippo and Pig Hooves

Hippo and Pig Hooves

Despite this, people will still go out of their way to insist that the Torah’s four animals must be the only four. Some even suggest that the hippopotamus must really just be another type of pig! Of course, hippos are no more pigs than they are cows, or any other animal. In fact, today scientists know that hippos are most closely related to whales (and DNA analysis confirms this).

On the other side of the spectrum are the animals that chew cud but do not have fully-split hooves. The llama and alpaca are good examples. Once again, there are those that will insist these must be just another type of camel – even though they have wool, and no humps, are commonly used for their meat, and were once thought to be closer to sheep.

Huacaya Alpaca

Huacaya Alpaca

Some might argue that since camels and llamas are officially grouped by scientists in the same family of ‘camelids’, they can be thought of as being basically the same. In reality, a zoological ‘family’ could be a vast group with very different species. For example, donkeys and horses are in the same family, yet no one in Biblical times (or today) would consider them “the same”. In fact, a donkey has a totally different status in Judaism than a horse, and a firstborn donkey is required to be redeemed in Jewish law. No rabbi would permit a horse to be redeemed in place of a donkey!

Camelids: Bactrian Camel, Llama, and Vicuana

Camelids: Bactrian Camel, Llama, and the deer-looking Vicuna

Truth in Kiruv

At the end of the day, the debate over the four animals listed in the Torah matters very little. The Torah does not claim these are the only four animals, so there is no need to make that conclusion. The problem is when people do make that conclusion, then use it as a proof to convince others of the divinity of Judaism. Those victims might be convinced initially, then go on to do their own research and discover that the “proof” was actually false, which may then serve to push them away from Judaism altogether.

Besides, there are many more solid arguments from ancient Jewish literature that can be used instead. Here are a couple of much better ones:

בְּשַׁעְתָּא דִּסְתִימָא דְכָל סְתִימִין בָּעָא לְאִתְגַּלְּיָא, עֲבַד בְּרֵישָׁא נְקוּדָה חֲדָא, וְדָא סָלֵיק לְמֶהֱוֵי מַחֲשָׁבָה. צַיֵּיר בָּהּ כָּל צִיּוּרִין חָקַק בָּהּ כָּל גְּלִיפִין… וְרָזָא דָא, בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים. זֹהַר, דְּמִנֵּיהּ כָּלְהוֹ מַאֲמָרוֹת אִתְבְּרִיאוּ בְּרָזָא דְאִתְפַּשְׁטוּתָא דִנְקוּדָה דְּזֹהַר סְתִים דָּא

זוהר חלק א (בראשית) דף ב/א, טו/א

“When God began to create, He first made a singular point, with which he then formed all formations, and carved out all things… And the secret of ‘In the beginning, God created…’ [Genesis 1:1] is radiance [zohar], from which all Utterances were created, in the secret of the expansion of the point of radiance.”

The Zohar, a mystical commentary on the Torah first published in the 13th century (based on much older teachings) describes that creation began from a singular point of radiation that expanded to give rise to all things. This is precisely what science tells us today with the Singularity that spawned the Big Bang, and the cosmic expansion and cooling that followed, giving rise to all matter. (See ‘Torah on the Big Bang and the Age of the Universe’ here for more.)

The Zohar also tells us:

דהא כל ישובא מתגלגלא בעגולא ככדור, אלין לתתא, ואלין לעילא, וכל אינון בריין משניין בחזוויהו משנויא דאוירא, כפום כל אתר ואתר

זוהר חלק ג (ויקרא) דף י/א

“… The entire planet is rotating in a circle like a ball. There are people below, and people above, all different in appearance due to the different atmospheres of each land.”

At least seven centuries ago, the Zohar already taught that the Earth is spherical, and more significantly, that it is rotating (which scientists only confirmed in the 19th century – see Foucault’s 1852 pendulum experiment). The Zohar also states that despite the Earth’s spherical nature, people live above and below, without falling off the planet, and that people living in different lands have different features because of different environmental conditions, hinting at biological adaptation.

Credit: Dailygalaxy.com

Credit: Dailygalaxy.com

How Long Were the Israelites Actually In Egypt?

Bo chronicles the final events in the exodus from Egypt. We read about the final three plagues (locust, darkness, and the smiting of the firstborn), the first Passover night, and at last, the liberation of the Israelites. Here, we are told that the Israelites left Egypt after having dwelled there for 430 years (Exodus 12:40). However, Jewish tradition (based on counting up all the years mentioned in the Torah) holds that the Israelites were only in Egypt for 210 years! To further complicate things, God had prophesized to Abraham that his descendants would be slaves in a foreign land for 400 years (Genesis 15:13). So, which is it? Were the Israelites in Egypt for 430 years, 210 years, or 400 years? There appears to be a simple answer to this question, and is the one most commonly cited. However, upon closer examination, this explanation breaks down entirely, and the real answer becomes much harder to find.

The Simple Answer

Let’s begin with the simple answer. Rashi’s commentary on the verse in question is that the Israelites were indeed in Egypt for only 210 years, since this is the sum one comes to when counting the lifespans of Jacob, Levi, Kohath, Amram, and Moses. According to this chronology, the Israelites lived prosperously in Egypt for 116 years. By this point, Jacob and his sons (the original immigrants) had all passed away, and a new pharaoh ascended to power in Egypt. Envious of Israelite prosperity and success, and suspicious of their populous numbers, the new pharaoh began instituting various anti-Semitic laws. Tradition holds that this period of segregation and persecution lasted thirty years, after which the Israelites were formally enslaved. Thus, the Israelites were slaves for 86 years. The year of their enslavement corresponds to the year of Miriam’s birth, hence her name, which (according to one explanation) literally means “very bitter”.* Moses was born six years later, and liberated the Israelites when he was eighty.

Rashi states that since 400 or 430 years in Egypt is impossible, one must assume that by “dwelling” and “sojourning”, the Torah refers to all the dwellings and sojourning since the time of Abraham. Rashi points out that if one counts back 400 years from the Exodus, one comes to the year that Isaac was born. Another thirty years before that was when Abraham beheld the “Covenant of the Parts”, and received the prophecy that his descendants will be slaves and foreigners for 400 years. Therefore, when the Torah states that the Israelites were in Egypt for 430 years, it is going all the way back to Abraham’s Covenant, which happened exactly 430 years earlier. And when God told Abraham his descendants would be slaves for 400 years, He literally meant all of Abraham’s descendants, starting with his first son, Isaac, born thirty years later. This explanation seems to work, at least when reinterpreting the definition of what it means to be “enslaved” and what it means to be “in Egypt”.

However, even Rashi is unhappy with this answer. He says that one has no choice but to accept this explanation al karchacha, literally “against one’s will”. He finishes by saying that this was one of the things that the Sages edited when translating the Torah into Greek for King Ptolemy. (Recall that over two millennia ago, Ptolemy gathered seventy rabbis, put them in separate guarded rooms, and forced them to translate the Torah into Greek. Despite their separation, all seventy rabbis produced the exact same translation, making the exact same amendments where necessary, to make the text more palatable to the Greeks. This text became known as the Septuagint, because of the seventy rabbis. According to Yalkut Shimoni, there were seventy-two rabbis, and they made fifteen changes to the text, one of which is the duration of the Israelites’ dwelling in Egypt.)

The Problem with the Simple Answer

Aside from the fact that the Israelites were slaves for 86 years, not 400, and that the Torah states that they dwelled specifically in Egypt for 430 years, and not elsewhere, there is a much more pronounced problem with the simple answer. If we say that the 430 figure comes from the moment when Abraham first received the prophecy, that means that Abraham got it thirty years before Isaac was born, which means Abraham was seventy years old at the time (since Isaac was born when Abraham was 100). However, the Torah tells us that Abraham only came to the land of Israel for the first time when he was 75 (Genesis 12:4). Sometime after this, he descended to Egypt because of a famine, then returned to Israel. Years later, he participated in the war against the Mesopotamian kings (Genesis 14). It is only following this war that the Torah states, “After these things the word of Hashem came to Abram in a vision…” (Genesis 15:1). And it was in this vision that Abraham received the prophecy of 400 years. It is therefore impossible that he was seventy years old at that time! In fact, the very next chapter speaks of the birth of Ishmael, Abraham’s first son through Hagar, who was born when Abraham was 86. Based on this, some commentaries suggest the Covenant of the Parts happened when Abraham was 85 or 86 years old.

So, we may accept the figure of 400 years starting with Isaac, but where did 430 come from? In lieu of a historical answer, we may have to delve into more mystical literature.

The above is an excerpt from Garments of Light, Volume Two. To continue reading, get the book here! 

Should Jews Celebrate New Year’s?

On December 31st, much of the world’s population stays up past midnight to commemorate the start of the new calendar year. This event is considered to be the most widely-celebrated public holiday in the world. Yet every year, many Jews wonder if they should be participating in these celebrations. Some answer with a quick no, since January 1st is associated with the circumcision of Jesus (as it is the 8th day following Christmas, December 25th). Others may say yes, since, among other reasons, we all use the Gregorian calendar, and January 1st is simply a secular holiday, having lost any past religious affiliations. As is often the case, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

Back to the Roman Calendar

Roman Empire (Credit: Ancient History Encyclopedia)

Roman Empire (Credit: Ancient History Encyclopedia)

Today’s Gregorian calendar is based on the older Julian calendar, introduced by Julius Caesar. Historical records show that by the time of Julius Caesar, the Romans celebrated their new year on January 1st. In fact, “January” is named after the Roman god Janus, the deity of beginnings and ends, doors and gateways. Janus is always depicted as a double-headed god, with one head looking back into the past, and the other gazing into the future.

January 1st was also the start of the consular year in Rome, when the two highest-ranking elected officials, the consuls, took up their office for a single year term. From this information, we see that January 1st was already celebrated as a new year long before the time of Jesus.

Was Jesus Circumcised on the 1st of January?

Today, some Christian denominations still commemorate January 1st as the “Feast of the Circumcision”. The math is simple: if Christmas is the holiday of Jesus’ birth, then like all Jews he would have been circumcised on the eight day following his birth – January 1st. The question is: was Jesus actually born on the 25th of December?

Of course, many are aware of the fact that Jesus was certainly not born on the 25th of December. The New Testament does not mention the date of his birth at all, and suggests it was sometime in the summer, since it mentions people going to take a census (always done in the summer months), and that the shepherds were out watching their flocks (which they probably wouldn’t do in the cold winter nights of December). Early Christian leaders gave various dates to the birth of Jesus, ranging from March 28th to November 18th. Today, scholars believe it was likely the end of September.

Ironically, early Christian leaders actually mocked those who celebrated birthdays of any kind, especially that of Jesus, and considered it a pagan ritual. Alas, this is where Christmas actually comes from. Originally, December 25th was around the time of the pagan Roman holiday of Saturnalia. Later, it was also instituted as a holiday in honour of the birth of Sol Invictus, the solar deity. This comes from an ancient tradition to celebrate the “birth of the sun”, since the days start getting longer around this time of the year, hence the “solar rebirth”. To make Christianity more palatable to pagans, Christian leaders eventually switched “birth of the sun” to “birth of the Son”, ie. Jesus. And so, Jesus was not born on the 25th of December, and certainly wasn’t circumcised on the 1st of January.

(That is, of course, if Jesus had existed at all. More and more scholars are agreeing that Jesus probably never existed to begin with. Click here to read more about this.)

Celebrating the New Year on the 1st of January

Most European countries actually adopted January 1st as the start of a new year quite recently. The British Empire celebrated the New Year on March 25th until 1752! Similarly, many calendars continue to celebrate a new year sometime in the spring, including the Iranian, Assyrian, and several Indian calendars. Others have New Year’s days at other times, most famously the Chinese New Year in late January/early February. Nonetheless, most of these places, including China, also commemorate January 1st as the start of an international new year. Today, January 1st is definitely devoid of any real religious significance, and is perhaps the one truly global celebration. Having said that, it may still be tied to a historical bitterness for the Jewish people.

Sylvester’s Day

In several European countries, New Year’s Eve is called “Sylvester” or “St. Sylvester’s Day”. In Israel, too, December 31st is called “Sylvester”. This is the day of the passing of Pope Sylvester I, later canonized as a saint. Essentially nothing is known of this pope, though various legends arose over the centuries. Historical records suggest that it was during his reign that the Roman Emperor Constantine proclaimed the Edict of Milan which, among other things, stripped Jews of various rights and forbade them from living in Jerusalem.

Yet, Sylvester has nothing to do with New Year’s Eve itself; it is simply a coincidence of dates. Besides, many churches mark Sylvester’s Day on January 2nd, not December 31st. Either way, few people commemorate Sylvester’s Day at all, and most people have never even heard of it. (If Sylvester really was so bad for the Jews, maybe we should celebrate the day of his death!)

New Year’s in the Talmud

Amazingly, the Talmud (Avodah Zarah 8a) actually discusses New Year’s, calling it by its Roman name, Kalenda, or Kalends. The Mishnah here begins by listing it among the holidays of idol worshippers. However, it then goes on to explain that Kalenda originates in the Torah!

The Rabbis explain that following the consumption of the Forbidden Fruit, Adam soon noticed that the days were gradually getting shorter. (Since he was created on Rosh Hashanah – in the autumn – and consumed the Fruit that very same day.) Adam mistakenly thought that the days must be getting shorter because of his sin, and the world was descending into eternal darkness. He started to fast in repentance, and after eight days of fasting, the winter solstice came, and Adam noticed that the days were once again getting longer. In celebration, Adam established an eight-day feast (to balance out his eight-day fast). The following year, Adam commemorated both the winter solstice (around December 25th) and the day that marked the end of his eight-day feast (January 1st). The Talmudic sages conclude: “However, [Adam] established them for the sake of Heaven, but the [heathens] appropriated them for the sake of idolatry.”

So perhaps, if we have the sake of Heaven in mind, we may just be able to celebrate New Year’s in some way after all.