Questions tagged [bugs]
Questions pertaining to insects.
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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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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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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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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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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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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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Can one bake silkworms in a kosher oven?
Raising silkworms can be a fun project. If you're trying to get silk thread, the last step of the process, after they finish spinning their cocoon, is to bake them in the oven to kill them (if they ...
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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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Laundry during the nine days in the case of bed bugs
There is a halacha not to launder clothes or linens during the nine days, or at least during Shavua She'Chol Bo (the part of that period that's during the week of Tish'a B'Av). Is there room for ...
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Liability for bed bugs
If one tenant in an apartment brings in bed-bugs (and that can be proven), and they spread throughout the building, and the other tenants have to vacate their apartments to be fumigated, or whatever ...
- 58.3k
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Can you remove a tick on Shabbos?
If a person finds a tick on their body or the body of a small child on shabbos may the tick be removed? Is there any problem with trapping, the tick being muktzah, or creating a wound by removing it ...
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Is the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly mentioned anywhere in Rabbinic literature?
My late great grandfather was a torah scholar, but with all his learning, he never knew that a caterpillar metamorphoses into a butterfly. He was amazed when someone told him about the common ...
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Killing insects on Yom Tov
Is one allowed to kill an insect on Yom Tov that is "bothering" them (causing some sort of tzar)?
(I'm inclined to think, based on the Halachic concept of "m'toch", that since we are allowed to shecht ...
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Is there a custom to use beeswax candles for Hannukah?
I have heard that there is a custom to use beeswax candles on Hannukah (at least for the shamash). Does this custom have a source? Why beeswax as opposed to other types of wax? Chabad.org notes
...
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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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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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Cicadas - once in 17 years
I was reading an article today regarding the Cicadas which appear once every 17 years.
Is there any Sefarim that discuss this phenomenon?
Also if they were created at the time the world was created, ...
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Trapping mosquitoes on Shabbat
If there's a mosquito found on a wall on shabbat, are you allowed to place a cup over it and slide a sheet of paper under it and remove it from the house?
The reason for doing this would be that you ...
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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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Do hechshered leafy vegetables mean that they have no bugs?
If I buy (for example) frozen broccoli in the store with a hechsher, is it required to check for bugs? Does the hechsher signify that the vegetables have already been checked for bugs and are free of ...
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Reliance on non-Jews for removing bugs
In discussing washing salted meat according to Halachah, there is a lengthy discussion about whether and when we can rely on a non-Jew who claims to have done it.
The Tur (Y"D 69:10) says that there ...
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Can you destroy a spider web on Shabbos?
Can you destroy a spider web on shabbos if you simply do not want it around (you consider it unseemly)?
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Are wild figs kosher?
Here in Eretz Israel, many figs have wasp larvae on them. Are wild figs kosher? Or kosher if you inspect them? I find it hard to believe that one of the shivat haminim is treif.
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Frozen raspberries without supervision
My wife was told by a friend that a certain legitimate kashrus organization says that frozen raspberries do not require supervision, and upon calling the organization, she was told that the process ...
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Techelet from the Kineret
Is the Murex trunculus (used by Ptil Tekhelet) found exclusively at the Kineret? Or is at found at the Kineret as well as other locations?
The reason I am asking this question is because the Arizal ...
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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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How did animals with short lifespans survive on Noah's ark?
Some animals have short natural lifespans, of less than a year. Given that they were prohibited from reproduction
(see Rashi here), how did they survive in Noah's ark?
These are mainly insects, such ...
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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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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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Why Are Bugs Not Batul Bshishim?
Particularly in the case of tiny bugs on plants, fruits, and vegetables. Why are they not considered batul bshishim since they are obviously not there on purpose (or desirable) and they make up a tiny ...
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Who accepts the "chazaka" method of checking vegetables?
Several sources endorse a method of checking produce in which the batch of produce is washed, three random samples from the batch are inspected for bugs, and, if these samples are entirely clear of ...
- 19.6k
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Can olives infected with worms from the olive fly be used for making olive oil
Here, in Portugal they produce olive oil from olives that contain worms (from the olive fly). In our harvest we see an infection that is above the 80%. We spoke with locals in the area and they told ...
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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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Do popcorn kernels have to be checked for bugs?
There are many vegetables, legumes etc which according to poskim need to be checked for bugs due to insect infestation. Can anyone tell me if this is also true for popcorn kernels?
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A vessel with "bugs" on it -- does it become muktzeh
If someone has a vessel that is muter to move around on Shabbos and it had on top of it something that is "muktzeh" during Bein Hashmoshes than the vessel would be considered a "busis" (a vessel that ...
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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?
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Why don't we worry about the transfer of taste with bugs?
I was told that if one finds a bug in food, one may simply take it out and continue eating. Why don't we have the usual concerns about blias/taamim/imparted taste with bugs?
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Which insects are not kosher?
In Vayikra (11:23) it says:
But all winged swarming things, which have four feet, are a detestable thing unto you.
On which Rashi (quoting the Sifra aka Toras Cohanim) says: Go and learn if there ...
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Are cicadas kosher?
I'm not Jewish so please be patient with me :)
I've been seeing a lot of news about an upcoming cicada emergence, including talk of how delicious they are, and it got me wondering if they are kosher ...
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Does anyone know about a recent brocolli bug problem?
I'm not sure if this is a recent localized problem or not.
A few people in my neighborhood (New York City area) have told me that local Rabbinical councils have forbidden buying broccoli, as there is ...
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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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Delousing on Shabbat (- Mishna, Shabbat 1:3)
In the Mishna, Shabbat 1:3, it states (amongst other things) that one should not delouse one's garments by candlelight on Shabbat (ולא יפלה את כליו... לאור הנר). The following mishna, however, states ...
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Checking lettuce on Shabbos
1) Is there any way to check lettuce on Shabbos?
2) If the lettuce had been put into a liquid that kills the bugs before Shabbos, is there then a way to check it?
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Were there specific locusts in reserve for the 8th plague?
Hashem's instructions to Moshe to bring the locusts reads as follows:
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהֹוָה אֶל משֶׁה נְטֵה יָדְךָ עַל אֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם בָּאַרְבֶּה וכו
And Hashem said to Moses, "stretch out your ...
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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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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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