[Les]

Why aren't Jews supposed to eat shellfish?

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Name : Les, City : Aredawa, State : AL Country : United States, 

[leslie22882]

Shellfish are scavengers, they eat dead things and are therefore considered unclean and not fit for consumption. Catfish are not kosher for theis reason, whereas trout is kosher.

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Name : leslie22882, City : Jefferson, State : LA Country : United States, 

[Cara]

Basically, because the Bible tells us not to. The reason behind this is because they're dirty things that crawl around on the bottom of the ocean and eat crap. Really. Same reason Jews don't eat bugs. Shellfish are considered dirty and pose health risks. When the Torah was written, before modern science, these laws were made to protect the health of the population. Since pigs are also considered fairly dirty animals (true or not) we are also prohibited from eating them (now we know to cook the meat fully etc.). Same basic reason -- cleanliness & health.

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Name : Cara, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 24, City : Washington, State : DC Country : United States, Occupation : Analyst, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[kristen b.]

I'm no expert on Jewish theology, but I've worked with many Jewish people in the past, and what they always told me was that, as fish without scales are bottom-feeders, living on the waste of other sea creatures, they are seen as being unclean, and unfit to eat. If anyone has further clarification to this, I would love to hear it.

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Name : kristen b., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 23, City : san francisco, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : property management, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Cheryl32334]

First, a good website: http://www.kashrut.com/articles/soul_food/ Kashrut laws (keeping kosher) specifically indicate that Jews should only eat particular animals, examples are those with split hooves and ruminate which includes cows, sheep and and deer. Fish of any kind must have scales and have fins to be kosher. In addition, a Jew may not eat animals that are predators or scavengers. Shellfish do not have fins or scales and some are considered 'bottom feeders', therefore the food that the animal consumes is not pure. Kashrut laws are actually quite involved and there are people who are dedicated to working with restaurants and food companies that wish to market their food as kosher. If you look closely on some food labels you will see a 'k' with a circle around it, meaning kosher or the word Pareve which means kosher for passover (a whole new layer of keeping kosher)...

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Name : Cheryl32334, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 31, City : Austin, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : software engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Drew]

The answer that doesn't explain much is that shellfish aren't kosher. When asked why shellfish is not kosher, here's what my Jewish mother told me; 'They're dirty animals becuase they eat all the other fish's crap off the bottom of the ocean.' Hope that answers your question.

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Name : Drew, City : Moorestown, State : NJ Country : United States, 

[Sheila]

The source of Jewish (what some call Kosher) dietary laws can be found in the Bible: Leviticus Chapter 11. The fish part starts at verse 9. (in fact the whole section from Ch. 11 to about Ch. 15 is incredibly interesting with all the do's and don't's) It does not specifically say that shellfish is prohibited; rather it says in effect 'don't eat creatures that live in the water that *don't* have fins and scales' -- which necessarily includes shellfish since they have neither. For the 'why,' of course it does not answer that in the Bible (hey - God doesn't have to explain himself right?) but the reason I have heard most often for this is that shellfish tend to be bottom feeders or scavengers (e.g. they eat the waste from other animals) and are hence unclean. I checked a couple Kosher websites for a more expanded reason but couldnt find any - I suppose they figure if you keep Kosher, you already know why. If it helps any, I have yet to meet a single Jewish person who doesn't love his/her crabcake or lobster tail once in a while :) I'm not Jewish myself and I wouldn't touch the stuff, so it's kind of ironic - I guess I am keeping Kosher for all the wayward Jews out there.

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Name : Sheila, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 30, City : Tampa, State : FL Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Leah]

Jews don't eat shellfish because it is against the kashrut or dietery laws. Basically any fish that kosher jews can eat suppost to have fins and scales which shellfish obviously doesn't have.

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Name : Leah, Gender : F, Religion : Jewish, Age : 21, City : Brooklyn, State : NY Country : United States, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[bella23331]

Here are some verses from the Book of Leviticus, Chapter 11, verses 9 to 11. 'Of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams, you may eat any that have fins and scales. But all creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales--whether among all the swarming things or among all the other living creatures in the water--you are to detest. And since you are to detest them, you must not eat their meat and you must detest their carcasses.' If you read the entire chapter you'll see that God forbade Jews to eat most of the scavenger type animals like pigs and buzzards and shellfish (which scavenge food off the ocean floor). Modern science shows these meats are higher in bacteria. But, of course, since God made them, He already knew that and was just trying to give us all a warning.

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Name : bella23331, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Afro-Caribbean, Religion : Christian, Age : 29, City : washington, State : DC Country : United States, Occupation : administrative assistant, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Middle class, 

[David25903]

Leviticus ch. 11 describes some of the detailed dietary laws that observant jews follow. Among these rules is a prohibition on eating seafood that does not have scales (such as shrimp, lobster, oysters, squid, shark, etc.) Forbidden foods are called 'trayf'. Edible foods are known as 'kosher'. Kosher-observant jews also cannot eat pork, mixtures of meat & dairy products, animals that are scavengers, and certain species of birds. Note that not all jews 'keep kosher.' For example no one in my family does even though they mostly consider themselves religious.

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Name : David25903, Gender : M, Religion : Atheist, Raised Jewish, Age : 30, City : Washington, State : DC Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, 

[Jessica30646]

I have been told that some Jews do not eat shellfish because shellfish are scavengers, and eating that type of animal is against Kosher belief.

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Name : Jessica30646, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States, 

[Bert]

Because it says in the Old Testament that you shouldn't eat shellfish. They are abominations to eat. (Lev:11 v9-12) Other abominations include owls, eagles, swans, pelicans, chameleons and tortoises. Locusts and beetles are OK, though. The full list is in Leviticus and is interesting reading.

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Name : Bert, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 31, City : London, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[jeanie]

why do hebrew israelite women where head coverings or head gear?

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[EJ]

When it comes to food, we have some rules:
Animals - must chew their cud AND have split hooves in order for us to eat.
Fish - must have fins AND scales in order for us to eat.
Poultry - must not be a bird of prey in order for us to eat.

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Name : EJ, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 28, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

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