Ben pekuah
A ben pekuah (Template:Lang-he-n) is an animal removed alive from its mother directly after she has been slaughtered in conformance with the rules of shechita (kosher slaughter). According to Jewish law, a ben pekuah may theoretically be slaughtered for consumption without adhering to shechita.
Status under Jewish law
According to the Torah, all ruminants that have split hooves are permitted to be eaten. They must, however, be slaughtered in a manner prescribed by Jewish law, and certain parts of these animals, including certain fats and gid hanasheh (the sciatic nerve), may not be consumed.[citation needed]
Anything that is inside an animal at the point of slaughter is considered an organ of the animal. Therefore, if a mother was pregnant when slaughtered and a live offspring is removed, the offspring is considered a part of the mother. If the mother was slaughtered in adherence to shechita, then the offspring, a ben pekuah, is deemed already to have undergone ritual slaughter, and may therefore be slaughtered for human consumption without adhering to shechita. It is customary to slaughter it according to ritual anyway, but the animal's meat remains kosher even if the slaughter fails to conform fully to the regular requirements.[1]
The offspring has the same status as the mother, so if the mother was found to be glatt kosher (smooth lungs with no lesions), the offspring is considered glatt even if its lungs are not smooth.[2] The parts of an animal that are normally not permitted to be eaten, such as the gid hanasheh and the chelev fats, are permitted when they belong to a ben pekuah, although its blood is still forbidden.
When a ben pekuah mates with another ben pekuah, their offspring is deemed a ben pekuah. However, when a ben pekuah mates with a regular animal, consumption of their offspring is forbidden altogether.[citation needed]
Modern innovations
A company in Victoria, Australia, has attempted to build a herd of ben pekuah animals in order to reduce the cost of kosher meat.[3][4] This effort met with considerable controversy and has yet to gain widespread rabbinic acceptance.
References
- ^ "Ben Pekuah | yeshiva.co". www.yeshiva.co. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
- ^ "YUTorah Online - Chaburah on Ben Pekuah (Ezer Diena)". www.yutorah.org. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
- ^ Gray, Darren (2016-04-15). "New herd targets kosher markets, but ruffles feathers in Jewish community". The Age. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
- ^ "The New 'Ben Pekuah' Meat". The 5 Towns Jewish Times. 2016-01-07. Retrieved 2019-12-02.