Community Magazine April 2013

Torah Talk The giraffe is a cud-chewing animal, and its feet have split hooves. Thus it possesses the two signs which make it a kosher animal. In fact, major Torah commentaries such as Rav Saadiah Gaon, Rabbeinu Yonah, and Radak identify the zemer , listed among the ten types of kosher animals, as the giraffe ( Devarim 14:5). A common misconception is that giraffe meat is not eaten because we don’t know where on the neck to slaughter it (as prescribed by the halachot of kashrut ). In fact, the giraffe can be slaughtered anywhere on its six-foot-long neck. The Gemara ( Chullin 27a, 45a) and the Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh De’ah 20:1–2) give precise parameters indicating the top and bottom of the neck that define the area within which shechitah may be performed. For a pigeon, this area is a few inches long; for a cow, over twelve inches; and for a giraffe, close to six feet! The halachic basis for not eating giraffe is because, in addition to needing the physical criteria for kosher animals to be met, the Torah may also require a continuous mesorah (tradition) of actually eating the specific animal in question. According to most halachic authorities, the need for such a mesorah is essential only in the case of birds; as Rabbi Yitzchak said, “Birds are eaten by mesorah ” ( Chullin 63b). As for animals, it appears from the Rambam that merely recognizing them as being kosher is enough ( Ma’achalot Asurot 1:8). However, some Ashkenazic halachic authorities have ruled that animals also require a mesorah . Therefore, the giraffe, despite its signs of being a kosher animal and its long, shecht -able neck, would still not be permitted to be eaten without an uninterrupted mesorah of actually doing so. That being said, there are also practical concerns that make the consumption of giraffe meat unreasonable. Slaughtering an animal of that size is no easy chore, particularly when you consider that one kick of a giraffe can kill a lion. Finally, even if methods of breeding and slaughtering could be found, the price of the meat alone would probably be exorbitant to most people. Did You Know? • A newborn giraffe is about six feet tall and weighs 150 pounds. Within a few hours of birth, the calf is able to run around. • The average weight of a giraffe is 1764 pounds. • Giraffes have the longest tail of any land mammal - up to eight feet long, including the tuft at the end. • Giraffes have beautiful spotted coats. While no two coats have exactly the same pattern, giraffes from the same area appear similar to each other. • Giraffes have eighteen-inch-long, bluish purple tongues which are tough and covered in bristly hair to help them with eating leaves from the thorny acacia trees. • Just like humans, giraffes have only seven neck vertebrae; for giraffes, however, each one can be over ten inches long! • The average lifespan of the giraffe living in the wild is twenty-five years. The following are excerpts from Exploring the Wild World of Animals by Efraim Harari, published by Israel Bookshop Publications. Now in its second printing, and available online and in all Judaica stores. Animal Crackers: Q : . What do giraffes have that no other animals have? A : : Baby giraffes! NISSAN - EYAR 5773 APRIL 2013 79