Rabbi David Kaplan - Philosophy of Mitzvot: Prohibition of Eating Insects

okay now the next Mitzvah is 158 which is the Mitzvah to check the signs of the kosher locusts now there are eight species of kosher locusts Ashkenazim do not eat locusts I don't know if all safari group so I think Yemenites eat locusts they have a tradition on which the kosher locusts are there are kosher locusts I have never had I have never had a temptation and if you've ever come across some you may you may indulge but I personally adversely am NOT interested but apparently there are eight types of kosher locusts and they have certain signs has to do with how the legs bend and in and how they're structured and the Yemenites apparently have have this tradition okay now the next one is is want to get a little bit to a very important area now I think our own brought this up today which is the prohibition of the eating first of all to not eat shruts him shruts him our any creepy crawly creature and and the second Mitzvah this has bits a cook 162 and mr. 163 is not to eat shruts him that are in produce now this includes anything that crawls on the ground and this is extremely important that's why it generally the last few days we've been dealing with more practical how lucky because these what the Mitzvah involves generally we're not going to go this much into the halacha end of it but this is excessive idle when you eat produce would eat Protus they're different types of bugs and creepy crawly things which are problematic and potentially problematic so for example you can't eat flies and you can't eat worms and it can't eat maggots and you can do all these things now to eat a flying creature like a fly or to eat a bug involves at least four prohibitions sometimes five and up to six prohibitions / bug okay now what this comes down to is that if you had a choice of eating 30 grams of pork 30 grams is a Casillas approximately and that's one prohibition whereas if we eat one bug it could be four or five or six prohibitions and it is the most tricky area in kashrus is or one of the most tricky areas is this bug bug bug prevention so for example when a woman makes any sort of legumes depending on where you live in depending what the packages look like in Israel there's a custom than a custom is our lucky requirement if a woman is going to make rice popcorn any other legumes she has to spread it out and look it through to make sure there are no bugs crawling around and talk about in a dry state before you've cooked it I remember once when I first married my wife sent me over to the start we were living here in mother sent me across the street to buy a bag of rice so i bought the bag of rice and she said to me check it for infestation when you buy it so i picked up the bag and I looking at this bag of rice Nelson I there was like a sensation of movement in the bag you're just like you know like you sent something movie can't really identify then I looked closer and some of these pieces of rice were moving around and then I realized that it wasn't the rice it was these little white worms that are camouflaged well by the rice that's why they're in the rice inside they're white and their camera a very little thin worms the whole thing was infested you see these worms crawling around if they're certain halacha is that if there are if you find a certain amount of bugs in a bag or in a the whole batch is no good because that means that is seriously infested so if you take like popcorn before you pop popcorn you spread out on the table and you're gonna look it through a pull out any of the any of the bad grains now this includes fruit protists particularly in Israel there's really use a different type of its exercise than they do and it's certainly the United States I don't what goes on in England but in the United States they use a certain type of in Israel use insecticide and they have limitations now summer fruit when you eat fruit now if you eat peaches if the peach looks good and solid it's a really good solid peach there's generally not a problem when I eat peaches I always cut around it and break it in half and pull out the plot the stone in the middle because often there is something hiding underneath that stone you can find something in the middle of the peach now if it's a good peach and it's a solid good peach that's rare to find it if the peaches soft in any way don't bite into the beach cut it and look in check to see there are any signs of brown or black or soft or whatever is it could be bruising from shipment but it could also often be a result of a visit visitors who are unwanted the joke they make is he could eat a peach and then be Flay shak's for six hours you don't want that to happen right you don't want anything in that peach which is not supposed to be sometimes you get infestations it looks like it looks like a zoo number one I'll get two questions of the cycle of you just officially this is very important apples are not a problem plums p oranges are not a problem don't bite into orange peels because orange peels often have often have a little little white they could have a white eggs and them from they don't bite into an orange peel to open it up sometimes people try to don't do that don't don't bite into it because people could often have they can have an infestation apples are not a problem pears are not a problem less you see a soft spot under then check this a check through the soft spot and so on and so forth buddy dates are a terrible problem if they you check the date by opening up the date and pulling out the pit never put a date in your mouth straight out open it pull out the pit and look if it's a good batch and dates look fresh there's generally not a problem if it's a bag that's been sitting on the shelf and the bag of dates it looks kinda it just looks kind of old ish then you better check each individual date because they could easily be many dates I've rare i detect we never eat dried figs because they're very hard to prep their very hard to check the fig itself and if you have pressed figs you know like what they call fig loaf often between the figs often between the figs a problem we never eat we'd never eat again when I say we never I doesn't mean i'm making an edible in our in our own home we almost never eat corn on the cob because because in between the grains where it's impossible to check uh you could get infestation we almost never eat corn on the couch periodically in Israel they will pull out a bulletin not to buy strawberries because the strawberries are infested there are even types of fish particularly carp they can get worms in the carp and they'll put out a bulletin don't buy the fish right now because the word that the carp is infested with worms I get between the skin of the of the fish and the fish itself so in the produce dates our dates you have to check figs you should I recommend not eating dried figs corn on the cob you should not bite into because it could be they could very easily have if certain little bugs in there then you get to the then you gotta get to the question a second then you get to the nuts now when you buy nuts so first of all pistachio nuts I've notice in Israel are always either the nut right at the tip of the nut if you open up the shell right at the tip of the night you often I break not only that I open up the shell then I break the nut open a pistachio nut and offered at the top there's little black discoloration say at a minimum but you got to break that off but I almost never eat pistachios by popping a pistachio into my mouth almanzar okay if the ailment is completely closed it's a good fresh element that's not a problem a cache shoes if it's a good bash shouldn't be a problem but however I don't need cashews without opening the individual care show now inside the cashew you will often see a little bit of something in there now many of that a lot of that is the natural growth of the cashew it has like a little thing in it in the middle however I have found cashews where there have been visitors in there and they've waved to me as I've opened the cashew and therefore therefore cashews I would not pop into my mouth I wouldn't pop a possession of peanuts depends if you buy the peanuts in a shell then they're generally ok if it's closed in a shell the peanuts are okay if you buy the open peanuts which they have been shelled already and they pay i open up peanuts also because the fee knows if it's a good batch are generally not a problem if you buy planters peanuts in America the jar planters peanuts I think each peanut has been in has been inspected I hear if you fine I'll give you a buck for every worm you find in a planters being out in America I deserve a perfect peanuts you know that so that's not a problem but if you buy the peanuts in Israel which you're buying a shook and they're opening those peanuts you don't know how long they've been sitting I open up each individual peanuts sunflower seeds if the shell is closed it should be okay often but you think of the worms just a little burnt but if the shell is tampered with them once in a while you get on sunflower sea looks like it's so so you say should be careful with it the white sunflower seeds are not a problem unless the shell seems to be open a little bit the watermelon seeds are certainly not a problem even human beings can't get in there you know till you open I actually I'm pretty good at it I'll take you down any time I've had I've had sunflower seed eating contests with a torn with a guy and the other you should destroy them but the the what he called the the the the anything that's good solidly clothes shouldn't be a problem had a question I don't know about Israel but in England strawberries there's a certain seizure of washing blue breeze is a very simple procedure washing raspberries and blackberries would you eat too I'd have to find idea we don't get them in Israel we don't get the middle if I if I got it I would first speak to our authority to find out what's the story with it it could very well be that there's an invitation I would speak to how lucky Authority find out what the sir I just don't know what's going on with it it could be somebody would tell you well certain type of berry never is infested and if we have no problem by letter of the law you could rely on the Kazakh you're lying the established status quo that the thing is good but it is it is tricky by the way if ever bite into an apple and he hit a worm most people's reaction is Oh a worm the real reaction should be oi on a verra that should be read most people will need it because death should be the real reaction I heard what started as a great service a guy a big rub in your shall I many a hundred years ago living in the old city and on the back in the day and he used to learn Torah day and night so his daughter would bring him his food to the base mattress he sat in the base managed a night you bring him his food so she'd bring him his lunch and she bringing like a bottle of milk and she would also in winter where was very hot she bringing a bottle of paraffin oil to heat he had a heater where uses oil okay so one day at he's sitting there immersed in Torah and one day she walks into the bais medrash and she says daddy why didn't you drink your milk and he says I did he says though milk of the bottle and it turned out she said Oh daddy you drink the paraffin oil he was so immersive learning to knows it he went I did I give out i made a brothel of atala so it depends what you're you know religious devotion you know what are you concerned about because everybody physical ology good runs right yeah understand so when you buy you two better than the worm if it should never happen anybody if ever happens you bite into worm the first thing is I shouldn't eat the apple app because of hula if you need the Apple because I just you know I should be I should be terrorized should be horrified because I just did this avera okay was unintentional but but but the whole did the horror should be the Avera get rid of story about the guy he's walking on the street and an anti-semite stops him guy says okay jus I'm gonna kill you cuz I don't like Jews so that you says oh well he realized he's about to die you know so when a person is about to die for being Jewish there's a brother you make his brother McKenna melle kollum I shake his children so so Licata schmooper Robin whatever time it is the brother of different opinions with the brothers on the killer sous-chef so he makes the big brother out loud the Brooklyn kiddush a chef he is about to die I'm finish em this guy looks at me goes you're a nut I'm not gonna waste a bullet on you you're nuts so guys go mm-hmm okay so so we don't want to religious devotions have to be controlled you know sometimes there there's religious devotion there's religious devotion so so if i drink paraffin oil I would probably be more nervous about having drunk the oil than the brothel of attalla but you know it's just an example of the religious devotion so anything that i don't know i would check into somebody had questions over you read you brought that up yeah go ahead invite silly the whole peach if its hole and there's no no opening in it then there shouldn't be a problem but they somehow they have a way yet I have found them in vib freight day by the letter law you could eat it bilateral you could bite right into it i've just i've just had I've met them I've met them you know once you meet them you know you know liberal a liberal of somebody like this a liberal if somebody has ever been mugged you know so once you meet them it changes your life years you know so what do you call they you know once you met them once you met them everything looks a lot different that's first of all cycle the hydroponics is important point see the hydroponics is when it's grown in sand a warrior to a water grown oh hi drop I no no no I'm thinking of their they have a dieter panics is certainly not a problem as far as I know but in Israel what we get is we used to get the letters from Gush Katif now pay attention carefully because the lettuce is a separate story all by yourself you see pace off you eat more or now the ideal choice for more is not horseradish horseradish is not bitter horseradish is hot right horseradish is hot and the f2 even gets so hot they have to grind it up before they let out so you're not supposed to eat raw horseradish on the route you have to grind up the root in order that to let out some of the some of the wedding's either you actually be dangerous so pesach many people eat the horse reg or stretches second choice or more first choice for more is lettuce because generally regarded as romaine lettuce because it's got as you bite it it's got a good taste then it's got like a slightly bitter aftertaste and that's symbolic of the Exile where the Egyptians drew Jews in sweetly and then only the bitterness only came it was a very subtle and it came afterwards now Pesach people want to eat the mark the problem with romaine lettuce is there are little if they have bugs in them which are little greenish blogs which are camouflaged so there are halacha quays to check the romaine lettuce you have to soak it and you have to dry it off and you have to wash it and watch it with so check it they have it they even have like a romaine lettuce x-ray machine to check for bugs we put it on this light and you check for the buttons now even though you want to fulfill the rabbinic law of eating more on Pesach which is a requirement you don't want to be eating bugs which is a Toro prohibition so there are different options one option is to not eat the leafy part to cut away the leaves and right down the middle is a stalk the stalk is much easier to check the only problem is that the stock is hollow she'd have to cut down the middle of the stalk and open it up because we have found visitors in there will you see the stalks of the romaine lettuce now they've started sand grown romaine lettuce in Gush Katif there the sand grown produce in the sand grown produce all you need to do is wash it off there are no bugs in the sand grown produce and if there are they come off in water and that's what everybody uses the sand grown what a call romaine lettuce and you wash it off before pesach and everything is fine you see it you wash it off you have to check it you all you get is water rinse it off well it doesn't have to be checked because it rinses off now the problem here is i guess the ones like the premiere is things like cauliflower and the other the green one was it grow asparagus ok Calvin is very so they have something a company called boudic which literally means check right boudic is is Hydra it is sand grown sand grown or hydroponically grown a cauliflower and in and asparagus does not have to be checked it only has to be washed off I get the question a second only as we rinsed off the problem is that the price of the bodega stuff comes out more / more per pound than chicken so it is it's very expensive other countries I don't know the halacha I'd have to be aware when you're outside of Israel what the infestation rate is and if it could be checked or not cauliflower see anything has pie tightly packed together like that that has little crevices is difficult by obviously difficult to check I'm not telling me you can't eat it I would say that you better it has to be checked carefully before one dozen one would have to find out what the view of the halacha authorities is based on the based on the end and and and the the pesticides everything else in the country somebody a question of a good no I'm sorry okay good if you invest need a bug are you then meeting no no no I was just a joke you know you're not meeting your gross but you're not media say my first question is it and if you find a stamp each and there's a wormhole in or bug holding you can see isn't evident you know whatever then you cut it away you could cut away the area as long as you're safe and you've cut away everything whatever reasons check into the book the bugs been in and out right can you know cuts away you could cut arresting you could cut away yeah if you just if you literally discuss yeah yeah then cut it away then there's cut you cut it away or not eat it at all some people just I don't want to eat a peach its head that said uninvited yes no no no no anything I could do and I might put an egg there no no don't eat don't need to wear don't be desperate you know again I'll lend you the money buy another piece yeah exactly what you do and when you buy the because we have lettuce and salads we have similar boys very big stuff right checks though right and I the amount of times I've got bag of that it's been bugs in it in the bodega yeah there have been bugs in the boat on the ocean like you're saying that one hundred percent you can't really rely on it yeah that there is no one hundred percent you can they don't have under the boat the bodega I've never found anything in the boating if I was I would tell the couch of Supervisors if they're already telling you that an underperson you can't rely on it so then all it really means is that day you don't have to be as nervous about it as the the other stuff ya know ya than any of the other then it's pointless the whole point is that he shouldn't have the same headache to the country that's even a bigger headache because I now you know that you got to be careful everybody that's uh I don't know I've never found anything in the boudic and our boat eggs don't say our buttocks it is you don't need to check it it says he only so again I guess it depends on it depends on the environmental factors if you have stuff in the house if you have stuff in the house what do you call it that's been sitting there for a while potatoes you don't have to check you know onions you don't have to check but if you have stuff announces we sit here for a while then you got to be careful okay all these are still more more more detailed any other questions on this because this is extremely important gentleman tomorrow we're starting to complete sunday we're gonna start a completely new subject tomorrow there's a somebody else gives this year on thursdays but sunday we're going to circulate new subject any other questions on this we're out at a situation of kashrus any any other question on the bugs yeah it's after the fact you're not allowed to do it you know do look how clearly have to check the book after the fact it's less of a problem but sometimes would be more of a problem if they have been boiled into the into the wedding go into think so that become that gets all tricky yeah your life is about if it's dead already in the bug is already dead you can you're you're into an area where if the bug had never been removed that grew in that thing itself didn't come in from the outside if it grew in the thing itself so then if it there there early nieces we don't we don't generally rely on that though we generally look to inspect everything I don't know I can't I'm not responsible for anything anybody says people say a lot of things unless I know they're sorts where they heard it from what their misquoting what they're quoting I'm not I'm not responsible you