Shabbat Parashat Toldot
MarCheshvat 27 5772
November 24th 2011
Shalom,
Did you know that Thanksgiving is probably the most problematic of the holidays in terms of Kashrut?!
Apparently there was a Halachic debate about whether or not turkeys are Kosher, and for that reason, some people would not eat turkey at all. Yes, eating a turkey is not such a simple matter!
Regarding fish or animals, the Torah gave us specific rules and instructions. In contrast, when the Torah talks about birds or poultry, we get a list of the forbidden ones, so allegedly we should assume that all the rest are Kosher.
The problem is that we are not sure what birds the Torah references. As you all know, the basis for understanding the Torah is interpretation, so naturally there are many kinds of opinions on every topic. Throughout the generations, some of the Poskim came up with a system of signs and guides to identify the Kosher birds. Nevertheless, since the Torah does not specifically reconcile these various opinions, another mechanism was used to guide our daily practices. This mechanism is called Masoret, or tradition of practice. In other words, if a certain bird has been considered as Kosher (and obviously fit the criteria stated by the Rabbis) then it is indeed kosher, and proper to eat.
The turkey was discovered in the "new world," in America, and therefore, since turkeys were new to the "old world" (Europe and the Middle East where Jews lived) a tradition of practice could not exist. The turkey does have all the simanim (criteria) the Rabbis established as essential for a bird to be kosher, but no Rabbi could say that turkeys had been eaten by Jews in the past.
The Sh'lah, born in Prague in 1558, and who died in Tiberius in 1628, was one of the most famous figures in Jewish history in general, especially in Chassidism. He is known as the most famous of the Rabbis who claimed that turkeys are not Kosher. In his will to his descendants he asked them to forever refrain from eating the bird. The Sh'lah claimed he saw a turkey devour another bird; since that is clearly contrary to the nature of birds that are kosher, as we know them, he concluded that turkey cannot be kosher poultry.
Most of the Rabbis did not accept the Sh'lah's opinion; even though there was no tradition of practice with regards to turkeys, they allowed eating the bird. So in theory, even without the Sh'lah's testimony about the behavior of the bird, turkeys should not have been kosher. But they are! Sometimes it is simply reality that drives the development of Halacha.
I hope that when making decisions today, our modern day Rabbis will be courageous enough to adopt such an approach when making a P'sak Halacha, a decision interpreting the Law.
Happy Thanksgiving to all and I hope you will enjoy your turkey,
Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem,
Cantor Arik Wollheim
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