What is Unclean and What is Clean

WARNING. Be prepared to have your preconceptions learned from Christianity and Judaism challenged by this article. The word “kosher,” a term used to describe foods that comply with dietary guidelines set by traditional Jewish law, does not occur in the scriptures. The Ghabaray word for “clean” is tahr (טהר) or tahor (טהור) and the word for “unclean” is tam’ (טמא). The modern-day Jews, because they are descended from converts and are not the true people of the book according to paternal descent, do not know the identities of many of the animals mentioned in Thorah 3.11 (aka Leviticus 11) and Thorah 5.14 (aka Deuteronomy 14). Therefore, in their book Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh Deah 82:2) they rule for themselves that every animal is not kosher unless there is a well-established tradition among themselves that it is kosher. They don’t know the ancient tongue and they have no prophet, so they grope in the dark with a book their ancestors did not write and they make up their own rules in books that they did write. This present article has none of these drawbacks.

Are you ready? Lets go.

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“And YA’OH spoke to Mashah and to Ahran, saying to them: Speak to the sons of Ya’ohsharal saying this is the living creature which you will eat from all the hoofed terrestrial animals which are upon the earth” (Thorah 3.11:1-2).

• BAHMAH (בהמה) = a hoofed terrestrial animal (ungulate), an animal that lives on the land instead of in the water and doesn’t fly in the air.

“Whatever is dividing hoof, and is the one cleaving cleft hoofs, the one causing to take up foliage, among the terrestrial animals, it will you all eat” (Thorah 3.11:3).

• MAPARASATH PARASAH (מפרסת פרסה) = the one dividing hoof.
• SHASAITH SHASAI PARASATH (שסעת שסע פרסת) = the one cleaving cleft hoofs. This animal may also have dewclaws, whereas some hoofed animals (such as giraffes and horses) do not have dewclaws.
• GARAH (גרה) = the leaves of a plant, collectively; vegetation, leafage, foliage. The European Jewish and Christian translations have “cud,” but the active participle mylath (מעלת) “the one causing to take up” does not mean regurgitate. Mylath refers to herbivores and the act of grazing and foraging plant material and the otherwise indigestible (by human gut) cellulose within grass and other forages and converting it into meat, milk, wool and other animal products.

“Only this not will you all eat from the ones taking up foliage and from the ones dividing the hoof, the GAMAL, for one taking up foliage it is, and the hoof it is not one dividing, unclean it is to you” (Thorah 3.11:4).

• GAMAL (גמל). This terrestrial animal is definitely the so-called camel but since the camel is not a ruminant and does not regurgitate its food the European Jewish and Christian bible translations which say mylath means “regurgitate” and that garah means “cud” are in error. The camel is a herbivore with two large, evenly sized toes. It has hooves that are the small nails at the tip of each toe, but it does not have a divided hoof or split hoof, which is a hoof split into two toes. Thus, it has the right diet but the wrong foot anatomy to be considered a clean food source.

“And the SHAPAN, for one taking up foliage it is, and the hoof not will he divide, unclean it is to you all” (Thorah 3.11:5).

• SHAPAN (שפן). This terrestrial animal is a herbivore with an undivided hoof and so must be a member of the so-called Equus genus. The European Jewish and Christian bible versions which say this animal is the “coney” or “rock-hyrax” are in error since neither animal has a hoof of any kind. These animals also do not regurgitate their food, which is a major red flag that the translation “cheweth the cud” was wrong from the very start even if this animal was a coney or rock-hyrax. The Ghabaray word shapan gives us the correct answer. It means “to hide, to cover,” and since we are dealing with a member of the Equus genus the only equine that fits this description is the zebra. The zebra’s conspicuous stripes act as a cover (a defense mechanism) against insects that bite and suck blood such as menacing horseflies and tsetse flies. These insects are less likely to land on black-and-white striped surfaces than uniformly colored ones.

“And the ARAN-BATH, for one taking up foliage it is, and the hoof not does it cause to divide, unclean it is to you all” (Thorah 3.11:6).

• ARAN-BATH (ארנבת). This terrestrial animal is a herbivore with an undivided hoof. Again, we are dealing with a member of the so-called Equus genus. Therefore, the European Jewish and Christian bible translations which say the aran-bath is the “hare” are in error since the hare does not have a hoof of any kind. The hare also does not regurgitate its food, which means even if hare was the correct animal mentioned in this verse the translation of mylath garah as “cheweth the cud” would still be inaccurate. Hence the theory that arnab, the common Arabic word for “hare,” is supposedly from the same root as the Ghabaray word aran-bath may be safely dismissed. The untamed wild horse as opposed to the domesticated horse is in view here. The word aran-bath combines two words. The word aran means “stridulous”. It is the scream or shrill creaking sound wild animals make, and also the sound heard from lofty trees with thick leaves when hit by strong winds. The word bath means “daughter”. Thus, aran-bath means “the scream of a daughter”. It is quite common to hear untamed horses scream in the wild, but it is very rare to hear a domesticated horse scream.

“And the KHAZAYR, for one dividing the hoof it is, and cleaving the cleft hoof, but foliage itself not will it be chewed, unclean it is to you all” (Thorah 3.11:7).

• KHAZAYR (חזיר). The so-called pig, swine. Although the pigs have split hooves and functional dewclaws, and although they will forage for leaves, grass, roots, fruits and flowers like herbivores they are omnivorous scavengers and will eat plants, animals, and carrion. Thus, the pig has the right foot anatomy to be considered a clean food source but because of its diet and how it does not subsist on foliage alone it is unclean among the hoofed terrestrial animals.

“From their flesh not will you all eat, and in their dead corpses not will you all touch, unclean are they to you all” (Thorah 3.11:8).

The above list is not intended to be exhaustive. Any hoofed terrestrial animal without split hooves but is a herbivore is unclean and must not be considered a food source. The shapan (zebra) and the aran-bath (wild horse) are the two examples given, but the domesticated horse, the donkey and the mule belong to their kind and are also unclean for the same reason. A terrestrial ungulate is only a clean food source when it is both split hoofed and is strictly a herbivore.

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“This will you all eat from all which are in the waters: everything which to it has protruding spines and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them will you all eat. And everything which does not have to it protruding spines and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, from all that swarm in the waters, and from every living creature which is in the waters, an abomination they are to you all. Even an abomination will they be to you all, from their flesh not will you all eat, and their dead corpses will you all be repulsed. All which does not have to it protruding spines and scales in the waters, an abomination it it to you all” (Thorah 3.11:9-12).

In terms of marine life it does not matter what diet these creatures live on. If an aquatic animal has sanpayr (סנפיר) “protruding spines, spikes” (compare the Aramaic cognate סִמְפּוֹרִין, points, nails) and if it has kashkashath (קשקשת) “scales, plates” it is a clean food source regardless of its diet. The heathen English word “fins” is misleading and creates confusion. The sanpayr are external appendages composed of bony spikes or rays protruding from the body and providing the marine animal with balance, steering, and protection. Some fins have sanpayr and some fins don’t have them. If the animal lives in the water and it does not have protruding spikes and scales as part of its anatomy it is unclean. If it does then it is clean. It also does not matter how large or how small the plates and the protruding spikes are. Some have argued incorrectly that tuna is unclean because it supposedly does not have scales. It does have scales, just very small ones like the kind sharks have.

Thus, sea turtles and sharks are not clean even though they have fins and scales, but alligators and crocodiles with scales and protruding spikes at the back of their flat tails are a clean food source. The ancient Egyptians would have had a fit since the crocodile was an animal they mummified and worshiped as one of their sacred deities. Same with the cow which was sacred to the Egyptians but a clean food source for us. Oh well. We are not the same.

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“And these will you have in abomination from the flying creatures. Not will they be eaten. An abomination are they: the NASHAR, the PARAS, and the GHAZANAYH, and the DA’AH, and the AYH according to its kind, and every GHARAB according to its kind, and the BATH HA-YAINAH, and the THAKHAMAS, and the SHAKHAP, and the NATS according to its kind, and the CHOS, and the SHALACH, and the YANASHOP, and the THANASH-MATH, and the KA’ATH, and the RAKHAM, and the KHASAYDAH, and the ANAPAH according to its kind, and the DOCH-YAPATH, and the GHATLAP” (Thorah 3.11:13-19).

• NASHAR (נשר). The so-called eagle.
• PARAS (פרס). The so-called vulture.
• GHAZNAYH (עזניה). The so-called buzzard.
• DA’AH (דאה). The so-called falcon.
• AYH (איה). The so-called kite.
• GHARAB (ערב). The so-called raven, crow.
• BATH HA-YAINAH (בת היענה). The so-called true-owl.
• THAKAHMAS (תחמס). The so-called hawk. So named because it is a violent and ruthless hunter in the wild. It will often snatch prey before they even realize it’s happening.
• SHAKHAP (שחף). The so-called seagull.
• NATS (נץ). The so-called osprey.
• CHOS (כוס). The so-called night owl.
• SHALACH (שלך). The so-called cormorant.
• YANSHOP (ינשוף). The so-called barn-owl.
• THANASH-MATH (תנשמת). The so-called flying colugos. The name combines the imperfect passive verb thanasha (תנשא), “it will lift up against,” with the active participle math (מת), “the one who died”. This animal doesn’t actually fly like birds and bats do. It has a large membrane of skin that extends between its paired limbs and gives it the ability to glide significant distances through the air after making a fearless, death-defying high jump between trees. Hence its name.
• KA’ATH (קאת). The so-called pelican.
• RAKHAM (רחם). The so-called crane.
• KHASAYDAH (חסידה). The so-called Gyps rueppellii (Ruppell’s griffon vulture), the highest flying bird in the world. The word khasaydah (חסידה) is the feminine form of khasayd (חסיד), meaning pious, holy. This has nothing to do with the bird’s affection towards its young, but rather that it has the ability to comes closer to the throne of Alah’aym in heaven than any other creature. The bird has confirmed evidence of a flight at an altitude of 11,300 m (37,000 ft) above sea level, which is the cruising altitude of commercial airlines.
• ANAPAH (אנפה). The so-called heron.
• DOCH-YAPATH (דוכיפת). The so-called lapwing. Interesting how a flock of lapwings is known as a deceit. The Ghabaray word yapath (יפת) means “to allure, to deceive” and the word doch (דוך) means “to beat”. The name doch-yapath is in reference to the bird’s beating and flopping flight style and how it deceives other predators and allures them away from their nests by feigning a broken wing.
• GHATLAP (עטלף). The so-called bat.

Mashah was commanded to name twenty different flying creatures that are not a clean food source. What they all have in common is that they eat other animals and insects. This list is not a list of birds exclusively since the thanash-math (תנשמת) and the ghatlap (עטלף) are both mammals. Hence the word ghop (עוף) does not mean bird. It means a flying or gliding animal. These twenty predatory animals cannot be considered to be unclean because of what they eat. What they eat has nothing to do with it. If it did then it wouldn’t have been necessary to itemize twenty animals. There are far more than just twenty different non-insect flying creatures that prey on other animals. It would have been enough to say that every flying creature that eats other animals and not just plant material is unclean, but the Thorah does not say this.

So these twenty flying and gliding creatures are mentioned because they are significant. The Creator does not want these specific animals to be a food source – period. Not every non-insect flying creature that eats other animals is an unclean food source, just these twenty. The so-called chicken, for example, can fly, just not very far, is an omnivore ghop. Yet it is a clean food source because it is not one of the twenty non-insect flying or gliding creatures in the above list. It’s diet is irrelevant. Furthermore, every bird or gliding creature that is strictly a herbivore is a clean food source (Thorah 5.14:11).

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“All creeping things of the flying creature, the one going upon four, an abomination it is to you all” (Thorah 3.11:20).

All creeping things which have wings and fly constitute the fourth class of the Thorah’s division of the unclean animals of the animal kingdom are now discussed in Thorah 3.11:20-23. From the fact that in the verses that follow four kinds are exempt, it is evident that the phrase “creeping things of the flying creature” must denote so-called flying insects. All insects have six legs. Yet the law states that the forbidden kind of flying insects as a food source are only the ones “going” (walking or swimming) exclusively upon four.

“Only this will you all eat from all creeping things of the flying creature going upon four, which to it has legs from above to the feet of them to lunge forth, upon the earth. These from them will you eat; the ARABAH according to its kind, the SALAIM according to its kind, and the KHARGAL according to its kind, and the KHAGAB according to its kind. Every other creeping thing of the flying creature which has four feet, an abomination it is to you all” (Thorah 3.11:21-23).

The law makes an exception for four creeping things that fly and use two of their three pairs of legs not for mobility but to “lunge forth” (either for jumping/leaping and where only the mid and forelegs legs are used for mobility, or for snatching prey with raptorial forelegs and where only the mid and hind legs are used for mobility). These are the four exceptions:

• ARABAH (ארבה). The so-called locust.
• SALAIM (סלעם). The so-called katydid.
• KHARGAL (חרגל). The so-called beetle (more specifically the water beetle).
• KHAGAB (חגב). The so-called grasshopper.

These four are exempt and may be eaten because two of their three pairs of legs extend up higher than their other legs and they do not use them for locomotion. All other creeping things of the flying creature which use four legs for locomotion are unclean. Also note that all creeping things of the flying creature which use more than four legs for locomotion are clean. This is why the scripture does not condemn anyone for eating honey made by bees which use all six of their legs for walking (cf. Jdgs 14:8-9). Honey formed an important article of food among our ancestors. It was the natural product of bees in our land. Thus, honey is a clean food source according to Thorah and so is the bee that makes it.

“And for these will you be unclean, all who touch in the dead corpses of them will be unclean until the sunset. And all who bear from the dead corpse of them will wash his clothes and be unclean until the sunset for every terrestrial animal which it is the one dividing hoof, or cloven it is not cleaving, and foliage it is not the one taking up, unclean are they to you all, all who touch in them will be unclean” (Thorah 3.11:24-26).

Every animal that is unclean also contaminates if we touch them right after they die. It is not prohibited to freely touch these animals or ride upon them while they are alive. Only their dead carcass is off limits. But since they will often need to be removed when they die the person touching them in order to move them must wash his clothes and wait until sunset before he is clean and can come among the congregation of Ya’oh-shar-al again.

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“And whatever goes upon its paws among all the living creatures, the ones going upon four, unclean are they to you all, everyone who touches in their dead corpse will be unclean until the sunset. And the one bearing the dead corpse will wash his clothes and be unclean until the sunset. Unclean are they to you all” (Thorah 3.11:27-28).

The fifth category deals with non-flying terrestrial quadrupeds with paws such as cats, dogs, foxes, hedgehogs, wolves, lions, bears, lions, etc. They do not have human-like hands, or opposable thumbs or fingers, for grasping and vertical climbing. It is permissible to keep and to handle them as domesticated animals, but when they die they must not be touched and the one who has to touch them in order to remove them must wash his clothes and be unclean until the sunset.

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“And this for you all is the unclean among the creeping things that crawl upon the earth: the KHALAD, and the GHACHBAR, and the TSAB according to its kind, and the ANAKAH, and the CHAKH, and the LAT’AH, and the KHAMAT, and the THANASH-MATH. These are the unclean to you all among all the creeping thing. All who touch in them when they are dead will be unclean until the sunset” (Thorah 3.11:29-31).

The sixth category deals with the group of terrestrial animals that crawl on the earth with human-like hands for feet which help them to grasp and hold onto things such as their food or tree branches. They do not have hooves, and they do not have the kind of paws that the animals in category five have. Only eight kinds of these animals are unclean.

• KHALAD (חלד) means “cycle” or “cylinder”: e.g. “From men, which are your hand YA’OH, from men; from the cycle is their portion in life” (Mazmor 17:14). The khalad is the so-called weasel, so named because this highly maneuverable and ferocious little predator has an elongated cylindrical body.
• GHACHBAR (עכבר). The so-called field mouse. The name combines an unused root ghachab (עכב), in the sense of attacking by persistent biting and nibbling, with bar (בר) which is standing “grain” of any kind. Troublesome field mice can decimate grain crops and cripple farms.
• TSAB (צב) means a “litter” consisting of a large box or an open bed carried on one or two horizontal poles by bearers. This animal is the so-called lizard variety, including gliders, geckos, and chameleons. Lizards strictly speaking don’t have paws. They have feet and they can use them like hands for grasping and climbing not just walking and running. The animal gets its name tsab from its awkward motion, with alternating movement of the right and left limbs. This is identical to the walking motion of two bearers as they transport a litter carried on a horizontal pole.
• ANAKAH (אנקה) means “to sigh, to wail, to groan”. This is the so-called toad and tree frog (not the aquatic frog), so named because of the sighing, crying baby sound it makes which has been described as a wailing scream.
• CHAKH (כח) means “power”. This is the so-called ape primate which includes kapaym (monkeys), and is so named because of the power of their intelligence and cognitive skills. The non-serpent nakhash (i.e. the neanderthal which could talk like man) was once the most intelligent and the highest order of terrestrial animals before going extinct. The word nakhash (נחש) means “to hiss, to whisper” (related to לחש). The serpent hisses but has no voice box and is unable to speak. The neanderthal had a voice box and made a hissing sound as it spoke. Hence the reason Adam gave the two animals the same name, and they are not the only animals he gave the same name to in the course of 930 years (see below).
• LAT’AH (לטאה) means “to wrap”. This is the so-called pangolin, so named because it wraps itself up into a tight ball whenever it feels threatened. The hedgehog also rolls itself up into a ball, but its feet and toes are only made for walking and running.
• KHAMAT (חמט) is the masculine form of khamatah (חמטה). The name combines kham (חם) “hot, heat” with the participle matah (מטה) “the one turning aside or turning away” (Thorah 5.27:19). This is the so-called salamander. The mucous-like venom secreted by this creature in order to defend itself from predators also protects it from fire. In the presence of fire, they will coat their bodies entirely with their venom, and it will allow them to escape safely without being burnt from the heat of the flames. When there is fire, the fire salamander survives because it “turns away” the heat.
• THANASH-MATH (תנשמת). An animal with this same name has already been mentioned among the unclean non-insect flying creatures. Yet unlike the flying colugos, the so-called flying squirrels and marsupials have somewhat human-like hands for their forefeet. Death-defying jumps from dizzying heights is what earned these animals their shared name. Some can maintain their glide for over 200 metres (660 ft).

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“And whatever which will fall upon it from them among them that are dead will be unclean; from every vessel of wood or clothing or skin or sack, any vessel which will be made workmanship in them, in water it will go, and be unclean until the sunset, and be clean. And every vessel of earthenware which will fall from them to within it, all which is within it will be unclean, and it will you break. From all the food which will be eaten, which will come upon it water will be unclean, and all drink which will be drunk in all vessels will be unclean. And all which will fall from their dead corpse upon it will be unclean: oven and ranges of pots, unclean are they, and unclean will they be to you all” (Thorah 3.11:32-35).

Garments and utensils become defiled by contact with the dead animal’s corpse, or any portion of it falling on or touching these items. The items must be put into water and be unclean until the sunset. If the item is earthenware it must be broken and discarded. If it is food prepared with water it is polluted. If it is a drink from a vessel it is polluted.

“Only a fountain or a well, a collection of water, it will be clean, but the one touching in their dead corpse will be unclean” (Thorah 3.11:36).

An exception is made for fountains or wells, a collection of replenishing fresh running water. These remain clean if an unclean animal falls into them.

“And that which will fall from their dead corpse upon all sowing seed which will be sown, clean it is” (Thorah 3.11:37).

Another exception is made for seed that is to be sown. It remains clean if it comes in contact with a dead animal’s corpse.

“And that which will put water upon the seed, and it will fall from their dead corpse upon it, unclean it is to you all” (Thorah 3.11:38).

But if water has been added to the seed, and any part of a dead animal’s corpse comes in contact with the wet seed, then the seed is unclean and must not be sown.

“And that which will die from the hoofed terrestrial animal which it is to you all for food, the one touching in the dead corpse of it will be unclean until the sunset. And the one eating from the dead corpse of it will wash his clothes and be unclean until the sunset. And the one bearing the dead corpse of it will wash his clothes and be unclean until the sunset” (Thorah 3.11:39-40).

Now we learn that even if the hoofed terrestrial animal is clean, if it dies on its own its dead corpse pollutes whoever eats from it or whoever touches it. He must wash his clothes and be unclean until the sunset.

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“And all the creeping things that crawl upon the earth, an abomination it is, not will it be eaten anything going upon the belly, and anything going upon four always, anything multiplying their feet for all the creeping things that crawl upon the earth, not will you all eat them for an abomination are they. Not will you all make abominable with your souls with all the creeping things that crawl, and not will you make yourselves unclean in them, and you all be polluted by them” (Thorah 3.11:41-43).

If the non-flying or gliding creeping thing that crawls has no legs at all, or always moves on four legs, or has more than four legs, it is unclean and must not be eaten.

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“For I am YA’OH, your High Power, and you will sanctify yourselves and be holy, for holy am I, and not will you all pollute your souls in any of the creeping things that crawl upon the earth. For I am YA’OH, the one bringing you all from the land of Matsraym to be for you all for a High Power, and you all will be holy for holy am I” (Thorah 3.11:44-46).

The emphasis put on who YA’OH is, that He is holy, that He is the one who brought the people from Matsraym, and that they must be holy just like He is holy, even in the foods they eat, is striking. To be His chosen people they must diligently avoid anything He deems to be unclean. It is mandatory. There are no ifs, no buts, and no maybes.

“This is the thorah of the hoofed terrestrial animals, and the flying creature, and all the living creatures that move in the waters, and for every soul that creeps upon the earth, to cause a division between the unclean and between the clean, and between the creature that is eaten and between the creature which is not eaten” (Thorah 3.11:46-47).

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For a nation to be re-born and to keep these laws exactly as written, the High Power who created that nation will need to bring them together into a solitary place where they can be left alone and deal with Him face-to-face. Somewhere on an archipelago in the far east from where He has caused His glorious name to return and to be proclaimed once again by a ravenous bird. (Yashai-Ya’oh 46:11).

His name is YA’OH
Always has been. Always will be.

#EXODUS2023

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