Tag Archives: Kosher Laws

The Blood Libels

In this week’s parasha, the Torah devotes an entire chapter (Leviticus 17) to the prohibition of consuming blood. God first forbids idolatrous and improper sacrifices before declaring that “if anyone of the house of Israel or of the strangers who reside among them partakes of any blood, I will set My face against the person who partakes of the blood; I will cut that person off from among kin.” (17:10) The Torah goes on to say that any land animal or bird that is slaughtered for food must have its blood entirely drained and buried under earth, before emphasizing again that “the soul of all flesh—its blood contains its soul. Therefore, I say to the Children of Israel: you shall not partake of the blood of any flesh, for the soul of all flesh is in its blood. Anyone who partakes of it shall be cut off.” (17:14)

Because of this, Jews throughout history have been exceedingly careful not to consume any blood whatsoever, even a tiny speck in a chicken egg. It is therefore tragically ironic that one of the most grotesque antisemitic accusations leveled against Jews for centuries is the “blood libel”—that Jews consume the blood of gentiles or use gentile blood to prepare matzot, or engage in some form of ritual murder. Where did this disgusting accusation come from, how did it evolve over the centuries, and how did it shape Jewish history? Continue reading →

On Eating Bugs

The Locusta migratoria species, with its two “jumping legs” clearly visible.

In this week’s parsha, Shemini, we are presented with the Torah’s extensive dietary laws. All bugs and insects are forbidden for consumption except those that are winged and have two large jumping legs in addition to their four other legs, ie. locusts (Leviticus 11:21-22). The Torah names four families of such locust species which are kosher. Rashi comments that we no longer know how to identify these species, so for practical purposes no one eats such insects anymore (although a small minority of Mizrachi and Sephardi communities did consume locusts until recently).

The bigger issue today is the broader prohibition of consuming bugs, and how it applies to inadvertent consumption of tiny bugs in fruits and vegetables. It has become common to hear extremely negative language regarding such accidental consumption, with people saying (untrue) things like inadvertently eating bugs on poorly-washed lettuce or strawberries is “five times worse” than consuming pork, and with reputable kashrut organizations pushing more and more stringent requirements for washing produce—using bright lamps and magnifying glasses and even doing “laboratory testing”. Is any of this actually required? What does Jewish law actually say about washing produce and consuming errant bugs? Continue reading →