Shnayim Yomi - Shemini - Shishi - #6 - Rabbi Yosef Palacci - Knowing What Is Kosher

Parshat Shemini and we're up to the aliya, the sixth aliya, shishi. This aliya speaks about all different types of kashrut. We're talking about animals, we're talking about birds, we're talking about fish. Right? Are they kosher? What is the characteristics of a kosher animal? As we know, it has to chew chew its cud and it has to have split hooves. Right? If it has one or the other and doesn't have both, doesn't have both, no no no good. No good. Now, the chiddush over here is there are animals an animal called a pig. He has a split hoof. He has You look at his You look at his hooves You look at his feet, it's completely split. However, it does not chew its cud. It's not kosher. And the Torah specifically says that it's not kosher. We have another three animals that the Torah specifically addresses that it chews its cud and it's still not kosher because they don't have a full split hooves on them and which is you have the camel, you have the badger. It's like a hyrax or like a woodchuck, if you know. A rabbit. So, these three are exceptions that they are not kosher even though it chews its cud. Now, what's this chewing the cud for? So, if you look at these animals, animals in general, Hashem made it that the front teeth sometimes you'll see not necessarily they're fully there. And they just uh softly chew it and doesn't completely uh uh uh it's not completely um grinding it up in their mouth. So, Hashem made it that the animal has four stomachs. It goes down into the two stomachs, digests it a little bit, breaks it down even more, brings it back up, chews it much better. Now, it's much easier for the animal to chew. And then, it goes back down to the third and fourth stomach. This is like the greatness of boiled lamb that we see. Like, you know, you say to yourself, "What's the hole in your animal? Let it out." Like, a lot of me my leg get out means it chews it cut. Yes, it's it's it's a kosher animal. It has that bone. And And this for the fish, we have Everybody knows. It's not pure because it has scales. What is that? It has that fins and it has to have scales. Like a salmon or a tuna. All right? Those have fins and scales. You are allowed to eat it. All right? If it doesn't have it, has one of the other, that will not be kosher. If it just have that Well, what like like what? Like a shark is not kosher. An eel is not kosher. What about birds now? Let's go to birds. We went to fish, we went to animals. What about birds? So, really the birds, you have to know the Torah specifically says many birds. It speaks about the birds. This bird, that bird, that's not kosher. And as long as it's not in that category, it is kosher. So, it's just whatever the birds are excluded are not kosher. Everything else is kosher. But, being the fact that what? Sometimes we don't We have to We have to have a tradition passed down in Masorah in this aspect, which is the bird that will be will be kosher to eat, that will we eat. Otherwise, we won't because maybe it's in that category of those that were written in the Torah not to eat. And what are those? Those are the birds. A lot of them are the birds that have claws. And they rip their prey with the claws. Hashem says, "No, no, no, no, no." We We cannot You will not be able to eat those animals, those ferocious birds. And this is this is like one of those things that we say, "You are what you eat." You know what I mean? You don't want to be mean. We're not mean people. The Bnei Yisrael are Bnei Rachmanim. We are all merciful people. And therefore, the foods are very, very important to see it goes actually into your bloodstreams and turns into enzymes, it turns into thing. So, you are what you eat. Yes, whatever you put in your system, yes. And therefore, there's something called timtum halev. What's timtum halev? Timtum halev, heaven forbid, if if you eat a person eats non-kosher, there's something called timtum halev, it could affect the person's like, you know, like clogged arteries. You ever hear of something called clogged arteries? You eat too much fried food, a person can get clogged arteries. Yeah, like in the the the schnitzels and then the fried kibbe, whatever it is. You eat so much of it, it could clog your arteries, and then the the blood can't flow properly into your arteries. Same thing with non-kosher food. You always have to be very careful eating kosher because if you eat non-kosher, heaven forbid, it could clog parts of has to do with called timtum halev, the mind and this and that. It's not good for us. And therefore, the Torah specifically warns us, this is kosher, this is not. Have a good day.