How do the People of Israel know which birds and animals are those the Torah deems kosher and which are not? The answer, as in Fiddler on the Roof, is one word: Tradition. But with the advent of commercial food production and the tendency toward centralized Shechitah [ritual slaughter], there is concern that the tradition on many birds and animals may be on the verge of being lost. For this reason, two young shochetim (ritual slaughterers] - Rabbi Dr. Ari Zivotofsky of Beit Shemesh and Dr. Ari Greenspan of Efrat - have organized a \"Halakhic [Jewish legal] Dinner\" to be held this Thursday evening at a well-known Jerusalem restaurant.
The evening will include short discourses on various Halakhic aspects of each item on the menu, such as water buffalo, chicken, deer, goose, duck, mulard, Muscovy duck, quail, dove, pigeon, guinea hen, partridge, cows, goats, sheep, and pheasant. A request to the Nature Authority for the right to serve two protected species - gazelle and sparrow - was not granted, however. Traditions regarding the five grains and the Land of Israel\'s seven species will also be discussed.
In attendance will be several dozen invited and paying guests, including rabbinical experts and scholars such as Rabbi Dr. Moshe Tendler, Professor Yehuda Felix, Rabbi Shabtai Rappaport, Dr. Mordechai Kislev - and Rabbi Dr. Levinger of Switzerland, whose book on shechitah convinced Irish authorities to rescind their ban on kosher slaughter. Dr. Zohar Amar of Bar Ilan University will discuss the traditions of locusts, which will also be served. The meal and the Shechita will be under the supervision of the Jerusalem Rabbinate, the Chief Shochet of Jerusalem, the OU, and/or the Badatz.
The evening will include short discourses on various Halakhic aspects of each item on the menu, such as water buffalo, chicken, deer, goose, duck, mulard, Muscovy duck, quail, dove, pigeon, guinea hen, partridge, cows, goats, sheep, and pheasant. A request to the Nature Authority for the right to serve two protected species - gazelle and sparrow - was not granted, however. Traditions regarding the five grains and the Land of Israel\'s seven species will also be discussed.
In attendance will be several dozen invited and paying guests, including rabbinical experts and scholars such as Rabbi Dr. Moshe Tendler, Professor Yehuda Felix, Rabbi Shabtai Rappaport, Dr. Mordechai Kislev - and Rabbi Dr. Levinger of Switzerland, whose book on shechitah convinced Irish authorities to rescind their ban on kosher slaughter. Dr. Zohar Amar of Bar Ilan University will discuss the traditions of locusts, which will also be served. The meal and the Shechita will be under the supervision of the Jerusalem Rabbinate, the Chief Shochet of Jerusalem, the OU, and/or the Badatz.