Questions tagged [bugs]
Questions pertaining to insects.
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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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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 ...
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Were there cockroaches on the ark? [duplicate]
I am interested to know if there were cockroaches on Noah's ark?
I was asked this question by someone and didn't have the answer.
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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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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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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 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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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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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 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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Succah with mosquito netting
Generally we are not allowed to put a tent taller than 10 tefachim inside of a succah. But can one use mosquito netting inside of a succah that would allow in light but not dangerous 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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are lice considered a chatzitza?
Are lice considered a chatzitza, an interruption between the body and an immersion pool (mikvah)? I got asked this question and thought they were not so because they were small and not dense, but I ...
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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May one eat cheese that is wormy?
Nitei Gavriel Shavuos 29:14 says that one may eat cheese that has worms in it, and there is no prohibition of Sheretz on it. Is this accurate? Does everyone agree with this?
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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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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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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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Dried insects - permissible?
I just read the website of a Kashrut inspection agency with which I'm familiar, but only insofar as I have seen it many times and tried, but failed, to find any information about the agency's ...
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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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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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Minhagim pertaining to the consumption of locust with other foods?
BS"D
So based on the concept that locust are the only other "meat" that is parve besides fish, do the same or similar Halakhic or even minhag based restrictions apply to it?
For instance its some ...
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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is it OK to kill bugs? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Tzar Balay Chaim- Killing Flies?
if someone has pests like mice or bugs. is it OK to kill them? why?
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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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Worms (Tolaim) in dried fruit
With Tu B'Shevat in 2 weeks, and the Inyan of eating fruits many people eat dried fruit. What are the concerns regarding worms in specific fruits? How do you check to make sure that there are no ...
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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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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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