Kosher locust
Encyclopedia
Locust
Locusts are the swarming phase of short-horned grasshoppers of the family Acrididae. These are species that can breed rapidly under suitable conditions and subsequently become gregarious and migratory...
are listed in the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
as permissible. However, the identities of the four varieties are not completely clear.
Source in the Torah
The TorahTorah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
states in Parshat Shemini
Shemini
Shemini, Sh’mini, or Shmini is the 26th weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the third in the book of Leviticus...
:
"Every flying insect that uses four legs for walking shall be avoided by you. The only flying insects with four walking legs you may eat are those with knees extending above their feet, [using these longer legs] to hop on the ground. Among these you may only eat members of the red locust family, the yellow locust family, the spotted gray locust family and the white locust family. All other flying insects with four feet [for walking] must be avoided by you."
Sources in the Talmud
Tractate Chullin 59a, 65a-66b andTractate Avodah Zara 37a
The Mishna states in Chullin:
"Any kind of grasshopper that has four walking legs, four wings, two jumping legs and whose wings cover the greater part of its body is kosher."
Yemenite tradition
The red locust
Red locust
The Red Locust is a large grasshopper species found south of the Sahara in Africa. Its name refers to the colour of its hindwings. It is sometimes called the Criquet nomade in French, due to its nomadic movements in the dry season.-Adults:...
(Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
: ארבה, Arbeh, Aramaic
Aramaic language
Aramaic is a group of languages belonging to the Afroasiatic language phylum. The name of the language is based on the name of Aram, an ancient region in central Syria. Within this family, Aramaic belongs to the Semitic family, and more specifically, is a part of the Northwest Semitic subfamily,...
: גובאי, Govei Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
: الجراد, Al-Jaraad.)
The yellow locust (Hebrew: סלעם, Sal'am, Aramaic: רשון, Rashun, Arabic: الدبا, Al-Daba).
The spotted gray locust (Hebrew: חרגול, Chargol Aramaic: ניפול, Nippul, Arabic: الحرجوان, Al-Harjawaan).
The white locust (Hebrew: חגב, Chagav, Aramaic: גדיאן, Gadayin, Arabic: الجندب, Al-Jundub).
According to Yemenite tradition as recorded in the work Arichat HaShulchan, the locust called "Al Jarad" is Kosher, and has three Kosher sub-species all known by that name.
Djerba tradition
In the Jewish community of DjerbaDjerba
Djerba , also transliterated as Jerba or Jarbah, is, at 514 km², the largest island of North Africa, located in the Gulf of Gabes, off the coast of Tunisia.-Description:...
in Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
, the consumption of locusts was forbidden by a takkanah
Takkanah
A takkanah is a major legislative enactment within halakha , the normative system of Judaism's laws.A takkanah is an enactment which revises an ordinance that no longer satisfies the requirements of the times or circumstances, or which , being deduced from a Biblical passage, may be regarded as new...
of rabbi Aron Perez mid 18th century. The implication therefore is that they were regularly consumed in that community at that time.
Normative practice
The Halachah regarding locusts, and all Kosher animals for that matter, is that one is allowed to eat a specific type of animal only if there is a "continuous tradition", also known as a "mesoraTradition
A tradition is a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past. Common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes , but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings...
", that affirms that it is Kosher. It is not enough that the locust seems to conform to the criteria mentioned in the Torah. This does not mean that one must possess a 'personal tradition' in order to eat locusts. If one travels to a place where the people do have a tradition, the new arrival would also be allowed to eat them. The Yemenite Jews and some others had such a continuous tradition.
It is also worth pointing out that the common names used in the Bible refer only to color and broad morphological generalities shared by a huge number of Middle Eastern species. Also, although it is often useful for identification, the geographic location of these locusts in the text is unclear. Using primarily color to identify insect species is a notoriously unreliable approach. Insects that come to adulthood will have slightly different colors based on season, diet, and prevailing climate. Which species of locust are actually being referred to in the text is therefore nearly impossible to ascertain. This will further complicate adherence.
British Chief Rabbi Joseph Hertz says in his commentary on Leviticus 11:22
"None of the four kinds of locust mentioned is certainly known (RV Margin). For this reason also, later Jewish authorities, realizing that it is impossible to avoid errors being made declare every species of locust to be forbidden."This opinion is the one generally held by Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
.
Jews who live in consonance with ritual laws normally consult a rabbi when questions on ritual practices arise.
How and by whom Kosher locusts were eaten
The author of the Arichat Hashulchan points out that locusts were not considered a delicacy—rather they were food for the poor.The Midrash
Midrash
The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
in Shemot Rabba hints that one way to eat locusts was to pickle them:
"Once the locusts came, the Egyptians rejoiced and said 'Let us gather them and fill our barrels with them.' Hakadosh Baruch Hu (a name of GodGodGod is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, literally meaning: "The Holy One, Blessed be He") said 'Wicked people, with the plague that I have brought against you, are you going to rejoice?!' Immediately God brought upon them a western wind ... and none were left. What does it mean that none were left? Even those that were pickled with salt and sitting in their pots and barrels were blown away...."
External links
- Laws of Judaism concerning insects From the Torah and Maimonides’ Code of Jewish Law