 A 15th-century depiction ofshechita andbedikah | |
| Halakhic texts relating to this article | |
|---|---|
| Torah: | Deuteronomy 12:21,Deuteronomy 14:21,Numbers 11:22 |
| Mishnah: | Hullin |
| Babylonian Talmud: | Hullin |
| Mishneh Torah: | Sefer Kodashim, Hilchot shechita |
| Shulchan Aruch: | Yoreh De'ah 1:27 |
| Other rabbinic codes: | Sefer ha-Chinuch mitzvah 451 |
In Judaism,shechita (anglicized:/ʃəxiːˈtɑː/;Hebrew:שחיטה;[ʃχiˈta]; alsotransliteratedshehitah, shechitah, shehita) is ritual slaughtering of certain mammals and birds for food according tokashrut. One who practices this, akosher butcher is called ashochet.
Deuteronomy 12:21 states that sheep and cattle should be slaughtered "as I have instructed you", but nowhere in theTorah are any of the practices ofshechita described.[1] Instead, they have been handed down inRabbinic Judaism'sOral Torah, and codified inhalakha.
The animal must be of a permitted species. For mammals, this is restricted toruminants which havesplit hooves.[2] For birds, although biblically any species of bird not specifically excluded inDeuteronomy 14:12–18 would be permitted,[3] doubts as to the identity and scope of the species on the biblical list led torabbinical law permitting only birds with a tradition of being permissible.[4]
Fish do not require kosher slaughter to be consideredkosher, but are subject to other laws found inLeviticus 11:9–12 which determine whether or not they are kosher (having both fins and scales).
Ashochet (שוחט, "slaughterer", pluralshochtim) is a person who performsshechita. To become ashochet, one must study which slaughtered animals are kosher, what disqualifies them from being kosher, and how to prepare animals according to the laws ofshechita. Subjects of study include the preparation of slaughtering tools, ways to interpret which foods follow the laws ofshechita, and types ofterefot (deformities which make an animal non-kosher).[1]
In theTalmudic era (beginning in 200 CE with theJerusalem Talmud and 300 CE with theBabylonian Talmud and extending through theMiddle Ages),rabbis started to debate and define kosher laws. As the laws increased in number and complexity, followingritual slaughter laws became difficult for Jews who were not trained in those laws. This resulted in the need for ashochet (someone who has studiedshechita extensively) to perform the slaughtering in the communities.[1]Shochtim studied under rabbis to learn the laws ofshechita. Rabbis acted as the academics who, among themselves, debated how to apply laws from the Torah to the preparation of animals. Rabbis also conducted experiments to determine under whichterefot animals were no longer kosher.Shochtim studied under these rabbis, as rabbis were the officials who first interpret, debate, and determine the laws ofshechita.[1]
Shochtim are essential to every Jewish community, so they earn elevated social status. In the Middle Ages, theshochtim were treated as second in social status, just underneath rabbis.Shochtim were respected for committing their time to studying and for their importance to their communities.[1]
An inspection (Heb.bedikah) of the animal is required for it to be declared kosher, and ashochet has a double title:Shochet u'bodek (slaughterer and inspector), for which qualification considerable study as well as practical training is required.
Theshechita procedure, which must be performed by ashochet, is described in theYoreh De'ah section of theShulchan Aruch only as severing the wind pipe and food pipe (trachea andesophagus). Nothing is mentioned about veins or arteries.
However, in practice, as a very long sharp knife is used, in cattle the soft tissues in the neck are sliced through without the knife touching the spinal cord, in the course of which four major blood vessels, two of which transport oxygenated blood to the brain (thecarotid arteries) the other two transporting blood back to the heart (jugular veins) are severed. Thevagus nerve is also cut in this operation. With fowl, the same procedure is followed, but a smaller knife is used.[citation needed]
Aspecial knife of considerable length is used; no undue pressure may be applied to the knife, which must be very sharp.[5][6] The procedure may be performed with the animal either lying on its back (שחיטה מונחת,shechita munachat) or standing (שחיטה מעומדת,shechita me'umedet).[7]
In the case of fowl (with the exception of large fowl like turkey) the bird is held in the non-dominant hand in such a way that the head is pulled back and the neck exposed, while the cut made with the dominant hand.[8]
The procedure is done with the intention of causing a rapid drop in blood pressure in the brain andloss of consciousness, to render the animal insensitive to pain and toexsanguinate in a prompt and precise action.[9]
It has been suggested that eliminating blood flow through the carotid arteries does not cut blood flow to the brain of a bovine because the brain is also supplied with blood byvertebral arteries,[10] but other authorities note the distinction between severing the carotid versus merely blocking it.[9]
If one did not sever the entirety of both the trachea and esophagus then an animal may still be considered kosher as long as one severed the majority of the trachea and esophagus (windpipe and food pipe) of a mammal, or the majority of either one of these in the case of birds.[5] The cut must be incised with a back-and-forth motion without employing any of the five major prohibited techniques,[11] or various other detailed rules.
Breaching any of these five rules renders the animalnevelah; the animal is regarded in Jewish law as if it werecarrion.[25]
Temple Grandin has observed that "if the rules (of the five forbidden techniques) are disobeyed, the animal will struggle. If these rules are obeyed, the animal has little reaction."[26]
The knife used forshechita is called asakin (סכין), or alternatively achalaf (חלף)[28] byAshkenazi Jews. By biblical law the knife may be made from anything not attached directly or indirectly to the ground and capable of being sharpened and polished to the necessary level of sharpness and smoothness required forshechita.[29][30] Thetradition nowadays is to use a very sharp metal knife.[31]
The knife must be at least slightly longer than the neck width but preferably at least twice as long as the animal's neck is wide, but not so long that the weight of the knife is deemed excessive. If the knife is too large, it is assumed to causederasah, excessive pressing. Kosher knife makers sell knives of differing sizes depending on the animal. Shorter blades may technically be used depending on the number of strokes employed to slaughter the animal, but the normative practice today is that shorter blades are not used. The knife must not have a point. It is feared a point may slip into the wound during slaughter and causehaladah, covering, of the blade. The blade may also not be serrated, as serrations causeiqqur, tearing.[32]
The blade cannot have imperfections in it. All blades are assumed by Jewish law to be imperfect, so the knife must be checked before each session. In the past the knife was checked through a variety of means. Today the common practice is for theshochet to run their fingernail up and down both sides of the blade and on the cutting edge to determine if they can feel any imperfections. They then use a number of increasingly fine abrasive stones to sharpen and polish the blade until it is perfectly sharp and smooth.[citation needed]
After the slaughter, theshochet must check the knife again in the same way to be certain the first inspection was properly done, and to ensure the blade was not damaged duringshechita. If the blade is found to be damaged, the meat may not be eaten by Jews. If the blade falls or is lost before the second check is done, the first inspection is relied on and the meat is permitted.[citation needed]
In previous centuries, thechalaf was made of forged steel, which was not reflective and was difficult to make both smooth and sharp.Shneur Zalman of Liadi, fearing thatSabbateans were scratching the knives in a way not detectable by normal people, introduced theHasidichallaf (hasidishe hallaf).[citation needed] It differs from the previously used knife design because it is made of molten steel and polished to a mirror gloss in which scratches could be seen as well as felt. The new knife was controversial and one of the reasons for the 1772excommunication of the Hasidim.[citation needed] As of present time, the "Hassidic hallef" is universally accepted and is the only permitted blade allowed in religious communities.[33]
The animal may not bestunned prior to the procedure,[citation needed] as is common practice in non-kosher modernanimal slaughter since the early 20th century.
It is forbidden toslaughter an animal and its young on the same day.[34] An animal's "young" is defined as either its own offspring, or another animal that follows it around.
The animal's blood may not be collected in a bowl, a pit, or a body of water, as these resemble ancient forms ofidol worship.[citation needed]
If theshochet accidentally slaughters with a knife dedicated to idol worship, he must remove an amount of meat equivalent to the value of the knife and destroy it.[clarification needed] If he slaughtered with such a knife on purpose, the animal is forbidden as not kosher.[citation needed]
The carcass must be checked to see if the animal had any of a specific list of internal injuries that would have rendered the animal atreifah before the slaughter. These injuries were established by the Talmudic rabbis as being likely to cause the animal to die within 12 months time.
Today all mammals are inspected for lungadhesions (bedikat ha-reah "examination of the lung") and other disqualifying signs of the lungs, and most kosher birds will have their intestines inspected for infections.
Further inspection of other parts of the body may be performed depending on the stringency applied and also depending on whether any signs of sickness were detected before slaughter or during the processing of the animal.
Glatt (Yiddish:גלאַט) andhalak (Hebrew:חלק) both mean "smooth". In the context of kosher meat, they refer to the "smoothness" (lack of blemish) in the internal organs of the animal. In the case of anadhesion on cattle's lungs specifically, there is debate betweenAshkenazic customs andSephardic customs. While there are certain areas of the lung where an adhesion is allowed, the debate revolves around adhesions which do not occur in these areas.
Ashkenazic Jews rule that if the adhesion can be removed (there are various methods of removing the adhesion, and not all of them are acceptable even according to the Ashkenazic custom) and the lungs are still airtight (a process that is tested by filling the lungs with air and then submerging them in water and looking for escaping air), then the animal is still kosher but notglatt.
If, in addition, there were two or fewer adhesions, and they were small and easily removable, then these adhesions are considered a lesser type of adhesion, and the animal is consideredglatt.[35] Ashkenazi custom permits eating non-glatt kosher meat, but it is often considered praiseworthy to only eatglatt kosher meat.[36]
Sephardic Jews rule that if there is any sort of adhesion on the forbidden areas of the lungs, then the animal is not kosher. This standard is commonly known ashalakBeit Yosef. It is the strictest in terms of which adhesions are allowed.
TheRema (an Ashkenazi authority) had an additional stringency, of checking adhesions on additional parts of the lung which Sephardi practice does not require. Some Ashkenazi Jews keep this stringency.[36]
Porging[note 1] refers to thehalakhic requirement to remove the carcass'sveins,chelev (caul fat andsuet)[39] andsinews.[40][41] TheTorah prohibits the eating of certain fats, so they must be removed from the animal. These fats are typically known aschelev. There is also a biblical prohibition against eating thesciatic nerve (gid hanasheh), so that, too, is removed.[42]
The removal of thechelev and thegid hanasheh, callednikkur, is considered complicated and tedious, and hence labor-intensive, and even more specialized training is necessary to perform the act properly.
While the small amounts ofchelev in the front half of the animal are relatively easy to remove, the back half of the animal is far more complicated, and it is where the sciatic nerve is located.
In countries such as the United States, where there exists a large non-kosher meat market, thehindquarters of the animal (where many of these forbidden meats are located) is often sold to non-Jews, rather than trouble with the process.
This tradition goes back for centuries[43] where local Muslims accept meat slaughtered by Jews as consumable; however, the custom was not universal throughout theMuslim world, and some Muslims (particularly on theIndian subcontinent) did not accept these hindquarters ashalal. InIsrael, on the other hand, specially trained men are hired to prepare the hindquarters for sale as kosher.
Because of the biblical prohibition of eating blood,[44] all blood must be promptly removed from the carcass.
All large arteries and veins are removed, as well as any bruised meat or coagulated blood. Then the meat iskashered, a process of soaking and salting the meat to draw out all the blood. A special large-grained salt, calledkosher salt, is used for the kashering process.
If this procedure is not performed promptly, the blood is considered to have "set" in the meat, and the meat is no longer considered kosher except when prepared through broiling with appropriate drainage.
The Torah requires ashochet to give theforeleg, cheeks and maw to akohen even though he does not own the meat. Thus, it is desirable that theshochet refuse to perform theshechita unless the animal's owner expresses their agreement to give the gifts.Rabbinical courts have the authority toexcommunicate ashochet who refuses to perform this commandment.
TheRishonim pointed out that theshochet cannot claim that, since the animal does not belong to him, he cannot give the gifts without the owner's consent. On the contrary, since the averageshochet is reputed to be well versed and knowledgeable in the laws ofshechitah ("Dinnei Shechita"), the rabbinical court relies on him to withhold hisshechita so long as the owner refuses to give the gifts.[45]
Full article:Covering of the blood
It is a positive commandment incumbent upon theshochet to cover the blood ofchayot (non-domesticated animals) andufot (birds) but notb'heimot (domesticated animals).[46]
Theshochet is required to place dirt on the ground before the slaughter, and then to perform the cut over that dirt, in order to drop some of the blood on to the prepared dirt. When theshechita is complete, theshochet grabs a handful of dirt, says a blessing and then covers the blood.
The meat is still kosher if the blood does not get covered; covering the blood is a separatemitzvah which does not affect the kosher status of the meat.
"Opposition to the Jewish methods of slaughter has a long history, starting at least as far back as the mid-Victorian era."[47]
Whenshechita came under attack in the 19th century, Jewish communities resorted to expert scientific opinions which were published in pamphlets called Gutachten.[48] Among these authorities wasJoseph Lister, who introduced the concept of sterility in surgery.[citation needed]
The practices of handling, restraining, and unstunned slaughter have been criticized by, among others, animal welfare organizations such asCompassion in World Farming.[49] The UKFarm Animal Welfare Council said that the method by which kosher andhalal meat is produced causes "significant pain and distress" to animals and should be banned.[50]
According to FAWC it can take up to two minutes after the incision for cattle to become insensible.Compassion in World Farming also supported the recommendation saying "We believe that the law must be changed to require all animals to be stunned before slaughter."[51][52]
Mr Bradshaw said the Government had maintained its position in not accepting FAWC's recommendation that slaughter without prior stunning should be banned, as they respected the rights of communities in Britain to slaughter animals in accordance with the requirements of their religion.[53][54][55][56][57]
TheFederation of Veterinarians of Europe has issued a position paper on slaughter without prior stunning, calling it "unacceptable."[58]
TheAmerican Veterinary Medical Association has no such qualms, as leading US meat scientists supportshechita as a humane slaughtering method as defined by theHumane Slaughter Act.
A 1978 study at theUniversity of Veterinary Medicine Hanover indicates thatshechita gave results which proved "pain and suffering to the extent as has since long been generally associated in public with this kind of slaughter cannot be registered" and that "[a complete loss of consciousness] occurred generally within considerably less time than during the slaughter method after captive bolt stunning."[59] However, the lead of the study William Schulze warned in his report that the results may have been due to the captive bolt device they used being defective.[59]
Nick Cohen, writing for theNew Statesman, discusses research papers collected by Compassion in World Farming which indicate that the animal suffers pain during the process.[60] In 2009, Craig Johnson and colleagues showed that calves that have not been stunned feel pain from the cut in their necks,[61] and they may take at least 10–30 seconds to lose consciousness.[62]
Temple Grandin says that the experiment needs to be repeated using a qualifiedshochet and knives of the correct size sharpened in the proper way.[63]
Jewish and Muslim commentators cite studies that showshechita is humane and that criticism is at least partially motivated byantisemitism.[64][65] AKnesset committee announced (January, 2012) that it would call on European parliaments and theEuropean Union to put a stop to attempts to outlaw kosher slaughter."The pretext [for this legislation] is preventing cruelty to animals or animal rights—but there is sometimes an element of anti-Semitism and there is a hidden message that Jews are cruel to animals," said Committee Chair MKDanny Danon (Likud).[66]
Studies done in 1994 by Temple Grandin, and another in 1992 by Flemming Bager, showed that when the animals were slaughtered in a comfortable position they appeared to give no resistance and none of the animals attempted to pull away their head. The studies concluded that a shechita cut "probably results in minimal discomfort" because the cattle stand still and do not resist a comfortable head restraint device.[67]
Temple Grandin gives various times for loss of consciousness via kosher ritual slaughter, ranging from 15 to 90 seconds depending on measurement type and individual kosher slaughterhouse.[68] She elaborates on what parts of the process she finds may or may not be cause for concern.[69][70] In 2018, Grandin stated that kosher slaughter, no matter how well it is done, is not instantaneous, whereas stunning properly with a captive bolt is instantaneous.[71]
Temple Grandin is opposed to shackling and hoisting as a method of handling animals and wrote, on visiting ashechita slaughterhouse,
I will never forget having nightmares after visiting the now defunctSpencer Foods plant inSpencer, Iowa, fifteen years ago. Employees wearing football helmets attached a nose tong to the nose of a writhing beast suspended by a chain wrapped around one back leg. Each terrified animal was forced with anelectric prod to run into a small stall which had a slick floor on a forty-five-degree angle. This caused the animal to slip and fall so that workers could attach the chain to its rear leg [in order to raise it into the air]. As I watched this nightmare, I thought, 'This should not be happening in a civilized society.' In my diary I wrote, 'If hell exists, I am in it.' I vowed that I would replace the plant from hell with a kinder and gentler system.[72]
Efforts are made to improve the techniques used in slaughterhouses. Temple Grandin has worked closely with Jewish slaughterers to design handling systems for cattle, and has said: "When the cut is done correctly, the animal appears not to feel it. From an animal-welfare standpoint, the major concern during ritual slaughter are the stressful and cruel methods of restraint (holding) that are used in some plants."[73]
When shackling and hoisting is used, it is recommended[74] that cattle not be hoisted clear of the floor until they have had time to bleed out.
The prohibition of stunning and the treatment of the slaughtered animal expressed inshechita law limit the extent to which Jewish slaughterhouses can industrialize their procedures.
The most industrialized attempt at a kosherslaughterhouse,Agriprocessors ofPostville,Iowa, became the center of controversy in 2004, afterPeople for the Ethical Treatment of Animals released a gruesome undercover video of cattle struggling to their feet with their tracheas and esophagi ripped out aftershechita. Some of the cattle actually got up and stood for a minute or so after being dumped from the rotating pen.[75][76]
The OU's condonation of Agriprocessors as a possibly inhumane, yet appropriatelyglatt kosher company has led to discussion as to whether or not industrialized agriculture has undermined the place ofhalakha (Jewish law) inshechita as well as whether or nothalakha has any place at all in Jewish ritual slaughter.[77]
Jonathan Safran Foer, aJewish vegetarian, narrated the short documentary filmIf This Is Kosher..., which records what he considers abuses within the koshermeat industry.[78]
Forums surrounding the ethical treatment of workers and animals in kosher slaughterhouses have inspired a revival of the small-scale, kosher-certified farms and slaughterhouses, which are gradually appearing throughout the United States.[79]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Possible reasons for the suffering are laid out in various research papers that Compassion in World Farming has collected. After the throat is cut, large clots can form at the severed ends of the carotid arteries, leading to occlusion of the wound (or "ballooning" as it is known in the slaughtering trade). Occlusions slow blood loss from the carotids and delay the decline in blood pressure that prevents the suffering brain from blacking out. In one group of calves, 62.5 per cent suffered from ballooning. Even if the slaughterman is a master of his craft and the cut to the neck is clean, blood is carried to the brain by vertebral arteries, and it keeps cattle conscious of their pain.
