Questions tagged [bugs]
Questions pertaining to insects.
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Do I have to check my fruits and vegetables [for insects] before I put them in a smoothie?
I use both frozen and fresh fruits and vegetables in my smoothies, and mostly organic. Does the type of fruit or vegetable matter? For example, produce that generally has more insects, such as ...
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Does a pot that cooked food with a bug in it need to be kashered afterward?
If one were cooking a pot of pasta or a soup and later found a bug or many bugs in the pasta or soup, would the pot need to be re-kashered after it was thoroughly cleaned?
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Tzar Balay Chaim- Killing Pests?
Are you allowed to kill flies and other pests (mice, mosquitoes, etc.) or would that go under the prohibition of Tzar Balay Chaim?
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Why would a product be "only for cooking and pureeing"?
A recent OU kashrut alert that I found on Kashrut.com says:
Kirkland Nature's Three Berries: Rader Farms, Inc.: This product bears a Half-Moon K symbol and should be used only for cooking and ...
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What happened to insects during the flood?
We know that Noach took onto the ark all kinds of animals including "every creeping thing of the ground" (מִכֹּל רֶמֶשׂ הָאֲדָמָה), which I've always understood to be creeping things that actually ...
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Is there a concern regarding the kashrut of microorganisms?
Since I have seen many religious people drink fresh spring water, I assume that there is no concern regarding the kashrut of microorganisms in the water such as hydra and paramecia, among other ...
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In light of modern science, why is bee honey still kosher?
My understanding of why bee honey is kosher is because the talmud says that the honey is not a by-product of the bees. They simply store the nectar in their body to transfer it and then expel it, ...
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Regurgitating Living Forbidden Species
The endurance artist David Blaine is covered in this video showing the technique where one could learn to swallow certain live animals. And, at will, regurgitate the live animal (for example, a frog). ...
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How to keep bees out of the Sukkah?
Many years (but not all), we have had bee problems in the Sukkah. This is probably caused by the fact that we continue to use honey for dipping the Challah throughout Sukkos.
What are some practical ...
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What is the best way to keep bugs out of the sukkah?
What is the best way to keep bugs, specifically mosquitoes, out of a sukkah on Yom Tov? I've looked into various candles, tiki torches, etc., but they won't last through both days of Yom Tov.
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Can a non-Jew eat living ants?
My pizza has some ants in it. I thought, who cares. Just eat them alive.
Does that break Noahide laws?
Must all of our food must be really sterile (i.e., dead)?
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If you check for bugs according to halachic requirements, and then there is a bug in the food, are you liable?
If one or one's wife does everything that is needed for checking, but one accidentally eats a bug anyway, is one liable for the sin(s)?
I'd also be interested in knowing whether one would be liable ...
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Does "Nivdak" flour, grains, beans or pasta exist?
I know Bodek, among other brands sells pre-checked (for bugs, worms, etc.) produce. However, I have not seen any commercially available pre-checked rice, barley (etc. - pretty much any grain that is ...
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difference between תולעים and רמה
In Beshalach 16:20:
וְלֹא שָׁמְעוּ אֶל מֹשֶׁה וַיּוֹתִרוּ אֲנָשִׁים מִמֶּנּוּ עַד בֹּקֶר וַיָּרֻם תּוֹלָעִים וַיִּבְאַשׁ וַיִּקְצֹף עֲלֵהֶם מֹשֶׁה:
A few Pesukim later in 16:24:
...
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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 ...
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Why aren't Yemenites an ed echad on locusts?
I've heard that the reason we (most of us) don't eat the locusts enumerated as kosher in the Torah is that we cannot identify them. That is, we don't know what type of locust is referred to by the ...
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Was the Shamir worm used for the second Beis Hamikdash?
Shlomo Hamelech used a 'Shamir' worm to quarry and cut the stones for the first Beis Hamikdash. Did they still have this worm for the second Beis Hamikdash?
If not, how were the stones cut (as no ...
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If there are ants in the sink on Shabbat, can I use the sink even though they'll drown?
If there are ants (or other creepy-crawlies) in a sink on Shabbat, what is permitted to do with them when using the sink? Here are some things i can think of:
Intentionally avoid pouring water on ...
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Does bagged lettuce need a hechsher?
Does one need a hechsher on commercially available bagged lettuce? Or is the standard washing process used by the producers sufficient to remove all insects of halachic significance?
Anecdotally, I'...
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Is checking for bugs halachically required?
Various methods of checking for bugs in produce, i.e., lettuce, are officially recommended by kashrus agencies and other halachic professionals. However, is use of one/any of these methods--or even a ...
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Confectioners glaze - non alcoholic
Recently I read an article by Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff regarding confectioners glaze.
Confectioners glaze is manufactured from shellac, "a glandular secretion of the lac insect, Kerria lacca, a ...
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What is the purpose of the mosquito?
Everything created was created for the purpose of serving G-d's ultimate plan for his creation which is to acknowledge G-d. What lesson or use can we make from mosquitos?
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Putting poison inside bamboo rods (s'chach)
It says in Shulchan Aruch (OC Siman 629 Sif 3) that one may cover a Sukkah with "chitzim" (arrows) that don't have a "beis kibbul." However, if they do have a "beis kibbul," then it's not valid for ...
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Rigging live worms - Tzaar Baalei Chayim?
Is there any halachic objection to rigging a live worm onto a hook when fishing?
- 21.1k
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Historical evidence that blue snail dye was produced in ancient times
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrian_purple and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iles_Purpuraires show that blue dye was produced from the murex in ancient times in these locations.
But on Ptil Tekhelet's ...
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Is honey extracted from a dead bee kosher?
Bees themselves are not kosher, but their honey is. The honey is taken from the hive. If I found a bunch of dead bees and I cut them open and extracted the honey from the body, can I eat this?
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What was the "tzir'a"? [duplicate]
Exodus 23:28:
וְשָׁלַחְתִּ֥י אֶת־הַצִּרְעָ֖ה לְפָנֶ֑יךָ וְגֵרְשָׁ֗ה אֶת־הַחִוִּ֧י
אֶת־הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֛י וְאֶת־הַחִתִּ֖י מִלְּפָנֶֽיךָ׃
And I will send the hornet before thee, which shall drive ...
- 71.2k