Whatsoever Parteth the Hoof and Cheweth the Cud: Examining Animals

These Are the Beasts Which Ye Shall Eat

Leviticus 11:2 opens the kashrut section for land animals with a positive statement of permission. Unlike the bird section, which provides only a forbidden list, the animal section immediately follows with positive identification signs: 'whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat' (Leviticus 11:3). Two signs must both be present: the split hoof and cud-chewing.

The positive commandment to examine animals — to actively check for these signs before eating — is Maimonides' Positive Commandment #149. The text says 'these are the beasts which ye shall eat' before listing what makes them permitted, implying that eating any animal requires the prior act of examination. You must know what you are eating belongs to the permitted category.

Whatsoever Parteth the Hoof and Cheweth the Cud

Leviticus 11:3 gives the two-sign rule. The verse then continues by naming four borderline animals — the camel, coney, hare, and pig — that have one sign but not both (Leviticus 11:4–7). The camel chews cud but does not part the hoof; the pig parts the hoof but does not chew cud. Both are explicitly forbidden — precisely to illustrate that both signs are required, not just one.

Deuteronomy 14:4–5 adds a list of ten permitted wild animals: the deer, gazelle, roebuck, wild goat, ibex, antelope, and mountain sheep (Deuteronomy 14:4–5). These expand the permitted category beyond domestic livestock. The examination commandment covers all of them — each animal must be checked against the Leviticus 11:3 criteria before consumption.

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Study Questions