[net.religion.jewish] Babirusa and Kashrut

de@moscom.UUCP (Dave Esan) (11/28/84)

From postnews Wed Nov 28 10:54:42 1984

> I saw an AP story about an Indonesian animal that looks like a
> rather thin and tall boar.  It is said to be "pig-like", to
> have cloven hoofs, and a second stomach.  It's not clear whether
> a determination will be made that it "chews the cud".  The story
> indicated that a detrmination might conceivably be made that the
> animal's meat is kosher.  There are hopes that it will be easy to
> domesticate, since it "roots" less than pigs do, and is therefore
> less destructive.
> 
> Anybody know anything about the Babirusa?
> 
> My vague understanding is that the main question is whether the
> animal has cloven hoofs, chews the cud, and is classified as
> an animal similar to the other ruminants.  For really different
> animals (such as birds) the rules of determination are different,
> and could exclude a new animal simply because it is not listed.
> 
> The Torah contains a list, claimed to be exclusive, of all animals
> that either chew the cud or have cloven hooves, but not both.
> If the Babiirusa is not kosher, it is at least a new exception.
> 
>   - Toby Robison (not Robinson!)
>   {allegra, decvax!ittvax, fisher, princeton}!eosp1!robison


At a recent weekly study session we asked the Rabbi about this "pig".
He said that while it may be kosher due to the cloven hooves and the
fact that it chews it cud (a point refuted later on this net), he 
questioned the existence of tusks.  He could site no kosher animal that
had tusks, equated tusks with fangs (so does Webster's), and pointed
out that fanged animals are not kosher by definition (eg lions and
tigers and bears).  Besides could you really go home to a dinner of
barbirusa hocks and greens -)?

					--David Esan