The animals tag has no wiki summary.
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6answers
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Does the Torah discuss aliens?
Does the Torah discuss extra-terrestrial life and/or civilizations?
Do any Torah sources exist which discuss what these hypothetical beings would be like and their status/nature? (eg. Would they be ...
17
votes
1answer
317 views
If I injure a bug, should I kill it?
I'm sure this has happened to lots of people: you somehow injure a bug (or some other animal).
I have always heard that this is a case of Tzaar Baalei Chaim, and that you should kill the bug to ...
14
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4answers
450 views
Are Animal Crackers depicting non-kosher animals non-kosher?
Are animal crackers that depict animals such as swine, lions, and camels treif?
14
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6answers
330 views
G'dolim or Rabbis Owning Pets
Are there any g'dolim (or rabbis of major influence) - past or present - who are known to have owned pets/kept animals for non-agricultural purposes?
14
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7answers
436 views
Eating Meat: What Changed?
Adam wasn't allowed to eat meat. After the mabul (Flood) we were suddenly permitted to eat (Bereshit 9:3). What changed (ie what was the reason we weren't allowed to before, why are we allowed to now ...
14
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4answers
298 views
What is it about pigs that's so despised vs. other non-kosher animals?
We all hear about pigs being so much more reviled than other forms of non-kosher. This is true in general culture; I believe such a minhag was recorded with regards to using soap rendered from ...
13
votes
3answers
461 views
Does an ivory spoon make hot tea non-kosher?
Both the handles of cutlery and spoons entire have been made of elephant ivory, which is from a tusk (a tooth) of an elephant. Elephant is of course not a kosher animal. Presumably, then, these spoons ...
11
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6answers
689 views
If a pig was genetically modified to chew its cud, would it be kosher?
If they were to genetically modify a pig to chew its cud, would it be kosher?
11
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4answers
199 views
Kashrus status of turkeys
From what I have heard there were those that did not eat turkey (such as Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetzky Zatzal) due to a question whether we have a Mesorah as to the Kashrus of this bird. I know that many ...
10
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6answers
219 views
Does the colouring of animals depend on what the mother sees before conception?
What is the meaning of the hishtadlus that Yaakov made with the conception of the animals starting at 30 (37)?
Is it or was it a natural thing that the colouring of animals depends on what their ...
10
votes
2answers
272 views
Why do we think of the korban pesach as a sheep, not as a goat?
Ask many a grade-schooler (and many an adult, for that matter) what animal the korban pesach is, and he'll tell you "a sheep".[1]
In fact, it can be a sheep or a goat. (It's explicit in chumash ...
10
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2answers
398 views
If shepherds are taboo to Egyptians, what do we make of them having sheep themselves?
Yosef tells his family to say they're shepherds because that's taboo to Egypt:
you must say, 'We and our fathers have dealt in livestock all our lives'. You will then be able to settle in the ...
10
votes
2answers
286 views
Why do Fish not need Shechita?
In order to eat "regular" Kosher animals, there is a requirement for the animal to undergo Shechita (ritual slaughter). If an animal were to be killed / die without Shechita it is forbidden to be ...
10
votes
1answer
150 views
What can I feed my elderly cat during Pesach?
I have a 19-year-old cat who is (now) on a low-protein diet, precluding the canonical week of tuna. Is there someplace I can buy chametz-free, low-protein food? Are there any consequences (for me) ...
10
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3answers
140 views
Hamster Food and Chometz
I have hamsters at home, and their usual food is chometz. I can feed them with cornflakes and other kitniyot for a short period (about a week, maybe more), but not for a long time. Hamsters store food ...
9
votes
3answers
304 views
Is Okapi meat Kosher?
Is the Okapi a kosher animal? According to its Wikipedia page, it is most closely related to the giraffe, which everyone seems to agree is kosher. A quick Google search tells me that it chews its cud. ...
9
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1answer
190 views
8
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3answers
329 views
Why do you make a Bracha on seeing a monkey?
Why do you make the Bracha Mishaneh Habriyos on seeing a monkey?
8
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2answers
434 views
Is there an issue with ladies going to the zoo when they are pregnant?
Is there an issue with ladies going to the zoo when they are pregnant? If yes then why is it a problem?
8
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2answers
196 views
What's the difference between כשב and כבש?
What's the difference between כשב and כבש? Why does the Torah use both?
8
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1answer
94 views
Animals vs. plants: kashrus
Why did God make all plants, but only some animals, kosher? Sources, please.
8
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1answer
78 views
Animal rights vs other considerations in halacha and hashkafa
On a boat, Reuven owns five ostriches and one of them eats a diamond off of Shimon's hat which is on his head. Though we are not sure which one ate it we know with certainty that one of them did. ...
8
votes
1answer
76 views
mating prevention as Tza'ar Ba'alei Chayim
Does anyone know whether keeping an animal of one sex as a pet is considered Tza'ar Ba'alei Chayim or not, since it cannot mate?
7
votes
6answers
268 views
why create non kosher animals?
why did hashem create non kosher animals, was it to tempt us and see if we would control ourselves?
7
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1answer
272 views
Viewing copulating animals
As a child at the zoo I was taught that one is not allowed to view animals while they are copulating. However as a pet owner I have learned that the exposed genitals of animals do not prohibit a ...
7
votes
3answers
200 views
Did all animals come into the Teiva?
Were there any type of animals that were destroyed completely by the Mabul? (For example - Is there any source that there were dinosaurs or any other type of wildlife and they were destroyed by the ...
7
votes
2answers
439 views
Ten plagues of Egypt: hail and pestilence
According to Moses, the fifth plague of Egypt killed all livestock except that of Israel. If all were killed, then why did Moses warn the Pharaoh to bring his cattle to shelter before the hail? The ...
7
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4answers
401 views
Werewolf in the Torah
I have been told that there are Pirushim on the Torah who speak of werewolves.
Can anyone locate them?
7
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1answer
130 views
Can I free a trapped wild animal on shabbat?
If I find an animal trapped under a box on shabbat, is there anything wrong with letting it out?
7
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1answer
109 views
First-born animals today
From what I understand, the laws of "bechor behemah tehorah" (kosher first-born animal) are still in effect today, both in Israel and outside. To avoid problems with this, we sell a share of the ...
6
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3answers
199 views
What is better - checking yourself - or buying pre checked?
Nowadays you can purchase pre checked fresh lettuce, and frozen checked veggies. What is more preferable - to check yourself or to purchase pre checked?
6
votes
2answers
129 views
Can I defend my animals with lethal force?
We know that it is permitted, in self-defense, to kill one who is trying to kill you, and I have heard that this applies to other people too (I see someone trying to kill someone else and I ...
6
votes
1answer
75 views
What is it with the donkeys all over Parashat Mikeitz?
So, we got Bereshit 42, psukim 26, 27
כו וַיִּשְׂאוּ אֶת-שִׁבְרָם, עַל-חֲמֹרֵיהֶם; וַיֵּלְכוּ, מִשָּׁם. כז
וַיִּפְתַּח הָאֶחָד אֶת-שַׂקּוֹ, לָתֵת מִסְפּוֹא
לַחֲמֹרוֹ--בַּמָּלוֹן; וַיַּרְא, ...
6
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2answers
138 views
“Tzon k'doshim!” ―“Baa!”: source/provenance
In some synagogues, on Simchas Tora, someone will shout "Tzon k'doshim!", meaning "holy sheep/goats", or "Tzon kadashim!", meaning "sheep/goats of sacrificial-offering sanctity". He's replied to with ...
6
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3answers
196 views
Are there meforshim on perek shira?
Are there meforshim on perek shira? I'm looking for anything besides artscroll. If there are many, which would you recommend to start?
6
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1answer
47 views
Was it only the tamid whose head was near the altar, and face toward the hechal?
The korban tamid was slaughtered north of the altar (mizbeach). Its body was oriented lengthwise so that its head was toward the altar, and rotated so that its face was directed toward the hechal. A ...
6
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1answer
54 views
Why did the animals of Ninveh have to fast and wear sackcloth?
In Yona 3:7-8 we find that the people of Ninveh included the animals in their teshuva process. Why make the animals fast and don sackcloth? How was this part of the teshuva process?
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0answers
57 views
Would a genetically engineered red heifer be usable?
Assuming that a non-Jew chose to create a genetically engineered parah adumah (red heifer) and further assuming it met all the halachic requirements --no two black hairs, hadn't been used for work ...
6
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0answers
138 views
Chad Gadya: The price of a kid goat
Was the fair market value of a kid goat really two zuzim? This piyyut is of course allegorical, but, if the value given is highly inaccurate, is the discrepancy in value symbolic beyond the symbolism ...
5
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4answers
151 views
Check cashmere for Shatnez?
Is one required to check cashmere clothing for shatnez?
Cashmere is a kind of wool that does not come from sheep.
5
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2answers
106 views
How/why does kaparot work?
The ritual of kaparot [lit. atonement], which is usually done just prior to Yom Kippur (usually the day before), where one waves a chicken or an [unspecified] amount of money over one's head in a ...
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5answers
385 views
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3answers
56 views
Noach: why the people's food mentioned first
בראשית ו כא:
ואתה קח לך מכל מאכל וכו' והיה לך ולהם לאכלה
Why is Noach and his family's food mentioned before the animals' food? The halacha is animals eat before humans.
5
votes
1answer
144 views
Milk and Meat of Non-Kosher Animals
Is cooking milk with non-kosher animals the same problem as cooking meat with kosher animals?
In other words: can a Jew cook milk with a non-kosher animal (and not eat it)? Can a Jew obtain benefit ...
5
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3answers
890 views
Why do/did Jews sacrifice animals?
What's the purpose of sacrificing animals in Jewish tradition/law?
5
votes
1answer
180 views
What are some understandings as to how animals populated different continents after the flood?
What are some understandings as to how animals populated different continents after the flood? Did some species of animals survive the flood? Or are we to understand that the flood only affected the ...
5
votes
1answer
59 views
When a sacrifice calls for “two turtledoves or two common doves”, can it be one of each?
There are places in the Torah that call for an offering of "two turtledoves, or two common doves" (as translated by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan), e.g. Leviticus 12:8.
Could s/he bring one of each kind, ...
5
votes
2answers
433 views
Why is the word “tzvi” ambiguous?
The word tsvi (צבי) is traditionally considered to mean "deer". For example, the Hebrew name "Tsvi" has the Yiddish equivalent "Hersh", and "Hirsch" means "deer" in German.
On the other hand, in ...
5
votes
1answer
150 views
Does anyone have a proof text that animals *don't* have spirits?
I've heard it said that animals don't possess a רוח
However, Ecclesiastes 3:21 uses the phrase רוּחַ הַבְּהֵמָה.
Is there any text that indicates that animals don't possess a spirit?
Edit: Upon ...
5
votes
3answers
393 views
Horse back riding for women
Is it permissible for an Orthodox woman to do horseback riding in an ordinary saddle, or does she have to use a sidesaddle? Furthermore, would she be able to use women's trousers made for horseback ...
