Leviticus 11:5-9
5 the hyrax (see Figure 3), because it regurgitates its cud but does not have completely cloven feet; eating it renders you spiritually defiled,
6 and the hare (see Figure 4), because it regurgitates its cud but does not have completely cloven feet; eating it renders you spiritually defiled,
7 and the pig, because it has cloven feet that are completely split but does not regurgitate its cud; eating it renders you spiritually defiled.
8 You must not eat them, because they exhibit only one of the two signs of permitted animals. Similarly, you must not eat other animals that exhibit only one of the two signs, and certainly not animals that exhibit neither of the two signs. Nonetheless, you transgress the prohibition against eating such animals only by eating of their flesh, not of their bones, sinews, horns, or hooves. If you eat these, you transgress only the active commandment to only eat permitted animals.
In contrast to eating these animals, which renders you spiritually defiled, touching or carrying the carcasses of these animals renders you ritually defiled, as will be seen presently.
Contracting ritual defilement requires you to ritually purify yourself before entering the Tabernacle precincts or eating consecrated food. Although you are not allowed to spiritually defile yourselves by eating these animals, you are allowed to ritually defile yourselves by touching or carrying their carcasses (as long as you understand the ramifications of doing so). The only exception to this is the pilgrim festivals, during which you must not touch their carcasses, because doing so renders you ritually defiled, and if you happen to have been ritually defiled before the festival or you happen to become ritually defiled during the festival, you must purify yourself in honor of the festival. For, as you have been taught, you must celebrate the pilgrim festivals by wearing fine clothes and eating and drinking special foods—and you can only consecrate these days through such mundane acts if you do so in a state of ritual purity. These obligations apply whether or not you actually plan on entering the Tabernacle precincts, and even when the Tabernacle is not standing.
Fish Permitted and Prohibited for Consumption
9 Among all creatures that live in the water, you may eat these: Any creature in the water that has fins and scales. Among the creatures that live in the seas, rivers, or any other body of non-stagnant water, you may eat only these.
A CLOSER LOOK
[5-6] The hyrax; the hare: The hyrax has not been observed to chew its cud. However, its digestive system is somewhat similar to that of ruminants; the time it takes to digest food is similar to that of ruminants; it can digest fiber, as ruminants can; it chews laterally and even when not grazing, as ruminants do; and it possibly regurgitates and re-chews some of its food.
The hare has also not been observed to chew its cud. However, in order to fully digest its food, it often reingests some of it in the form of specialized pellets that it excretes for this purpose (this process is called “cecotrophy”), and its chewing habits also resemble those of ruminants.
These characteristics can be considered sufficient to include these animals in the Torah’s description of “chewing the cud.” It is also possible that the Hebrew terms refer to animals that are no longer extant.
Figure 3. Hyrax
Figure 4. Hare
