The  Basur  IS  Asur

  Eating Blood

 by Menucha Zimmerman  and Chani Agar  

Every orthodox Jew knows it is against Halacha to eat blood. We are so careful not to eat blood. Our meat is soaked and salted as to remove all the blood. But why? Why can’t we eat blood? What is the purpose of this Lo Tahsay? What is the philosophy behind the prohibition of eating blood?

The prohibition against eating blood can be found in Vayikra , Parshas Tzav (7:26-27) and in Vayikra, Parshas Acharei Mot (17:10-14) . There are also Pesukim in Divarim, Parshas Re’eh (12:23-24) that discuss this prohibition.

 Interestingly enough, this is the only dietary law in the Torah that has a specified reason. (the reason the posuk gives is “damo binafsho who” )

There are many Mafarshim who comment on this issue and give reasons why Jews are forbidden to eat blood. The Sefer HaChinuch ( Sidrah TZAV ) states that blood is prohibited because in eating it, a person acquires the quality of cruelty. Life depends on blood. Blood allows the organism to live and retain its soul. When you eat the blood you are consuming the animal’s life substance which is a cruel and inhumane thing to do.  Similarly, Rashi, while clarifying and explaining the Posuk, states that the words “Dam Binafsho Who” (Vayikra 17:14) mean Shehanefesh tiluya bo-that the soul depends on the blood and when you eat the blood you are cutting away the “life support” of the soul. This is the reason why we can’t eat blood.

The Rambam approaches this question differently. In his Moreah Nivuchim (chapter XLVI), the Rambam explains that pagans used blood in their religious rites (a.k.a. Avoda Zara). The pagans would kill an animal and collect its blood in a vessel. Then, they would eat the flesh of the animal while sitting around the pot containing the blood. The pagans believed that the spirits would come and consume the blood, thereby establishing a connection between the “godly spirit” and the pagan. Then the “godly spirit” would appear to them in dreams, act favorably towards them, tell them the future, help them etc. So as to distinguish between Judaism, which uses blood for purification and holiness, from Paganism, which uses blood for Avoda Zara and tumah, the Torah forbids the use of blood except certain rituals, purification, and sacrifices.           

Furthermore, every animal that was shected whether as a karban or not, all of its blood was specifically poured out and not collected as to make a distinction between the paganism and Judaism. If the animal was a karban, then its blood was poured on the Misba’ach, like it says in Divarim 12:27

“and the blood of your feast-offering shall be poured upon the Altar of HaShem…”  If the animal was just shected as food, then the blood was poured on the ground like it says in Divarim 12:24 -“you shall pour it onto the ground like water.” But when the blood of non-karban animal was poured on the ground, the blood was required to be covered with earth as it says in Vayikra 17:13-“he shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth.” This halacha was to prevent people from sitting around the blood while eating, thereby further separating paganism from Judaism.

 Interestingly, the Rambam also states that the Torah uses the same lashon for the prohibition of eating blood (Vayikra  17:10) as it does for the prohibition of Avoda Zara (Vayikra 20:5). This, he says, shows that eating blood will lead to Avoda Zara, which is another reason why blood is prohibited.

The Ramban  gives three answers for the reason behind prohibition against eating blood. Firstly, he says that man is the only organism that recognizes G-d. Therefore man is allowed to eat the flesh of animals, but not the blood (which is the animal’s life source) because that is cruel and savage. This is similar to the Sefer  HaChinuch and Rashi. Secondly, the Ramban states that a human who eats the blood of animals will begin to behave like an animal himself. The Ramban feels this could be due to the fact that the human’s blood mixes with the animal’s blood and that causes the human to became like the animal. Thirdly, blood is used in Karbanot as a substitute for the blood of a Choteh. So how can man eat the very thing that is substituted for his own blood and saves him?    

Although it is forbidden to eat animal blood, there are some exceptions to the rule. Rashi explains on the words “leAof uleBihama” (Vayikra 7:26) Prat leDam Dagim - that this prohibition excludes the blood of fish and locusts and thereby saying that completely mutar to eat the blood of kosher fish and locusts. (However, the Sefer HaChinuch says that it is ashur to eat the blood of non-kosher fish and locusts because the fish or locust itself is ashur so obviously the blood is as well.) The eating of kosher fish and locust blood is permitted (and eating any other animal blood is not), is because fish and locusts don’t have to be shected. Therefore, their blood doesn’t have to be removed and is mutar to eat. However the Shulcan Aruch (Yoreh De’ah 66:9,10) says that because of Maras Iyin a person must clearly show it is fish or locust blood being eaten which is mutar and not the blood of animals and fowl which in ashur. (The suggested method of doing this is to leave fish scales in the blood so it is clear to all that it is fish blood.)

As for human blood, says the Shulcan Aruch (Yoreh De’ah 66:10) it was only restricted because of Maras Iyin. So it permissible to suck a drop of blood that is from your gums or teeth because there is no issue of Maras Iyin since it is not visible to anyone. But once it leaves your body it is ashur to eat. So for example it is ashur to suck the blood from a scratch on a finger because the blood is not in the mouth and is visible to others.

The Sefer HaChinuch says that according to the Torah the blood of eggs is mutar, even if it had begun to develop embryonically, because it is not considered to be the blood of fowl. The Rabbanim, however, restricted eggs with blood in them because of the possibility that the egg had begun to form into an embryo. But even in cases where there was no doubt that the egg had not began to develop, the egg is still ashur because of Maras Iyin. So if there is blood found in the white part of the egg, it is mutar to throw out the blood and eat the rest of the egg. But most people are  strict, and throw out the entire egg if any part had blood.

The Shulcan Aruch (Yoreh De’ah 67:2, 76:3) says that raw meat which has had proper shecitah is mutar to eat provided that all the surface blood was rinsed off and that all the arteries, veins and blood vessels were removed. The arteries, veins and blood vessels retain quantities of blood, which are forbidden to eat even raw.

As every orthodox Jew knows, it is ashur to eat blood. But is selling blood permitted? Are you allowed to derive benefit from blood in any way? The Gemora in Peasachim 22a answers these questions. The Gemora says that in the days of the  Bait HaMikdash the blood of the karbanot was poured on the Misba’ach. This blood flowed through two holes located at the base of the Misba’ach  into a special channel where all the blood from the different karbanot mixed. This channel carried the blood out of the Bait HaMikdash. The officials of the Bait HaMikdash would then sell the mingled blood to farmers who used it on their fields as fertilizer. The money earned would go to the treasury of the Bait HaMikdash.  So according to this it is mutar to derive benefit from blood.

But Rabbi Abahu has a rule which is supported by Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yehudah, that states that you may not derive any benefit from a substance that is prohibited to eat (i.e. blood, neveilah, etc.), so how could they do this? The Gemora says that blood is an exception to this rule because in the Torah there is a posuk that compares blood to water. This posuk is Divarim 12:24 -“you shall pour it onto the ground like water.” So just like it is mutar to derive benefit from water, it is mutar to derive benefit from blood.  But that is assuming that the posuk meant ordinary water. What if the posuk meant water that was poured on the Misba’ach which is holy and forbidden to derive benefit from? R’ Abahu says that the posuk implies like most water to which benefit is permitted. But the Gemora rejects this answer saying there is no proof that this is what the Torah meant. But Rav Ashi says that the posuk says to “pour it (blood) on the ground like water” which shows it is ordinary water, which is poured and you may derive benefit from it. So the Halacha LiMa’ashe it is mutar to derive benefit from blood (i.e. sell blood, etc.)

The punishment for eating blood is Karas. In the Gemora (Makot 13a) it is stated that a person who eats blood is punished with both whiplashes and Karas. The HaChinuch says that if eaten, some types of blood are ashur and the punishment is Karas, while other types of blood are ashur and the punishment is whiplashes. The Sefer HaChunich clarifies that punishment is Karas only when the blood that was eaten was lifeblood. This means any time in says “nefesh” in the pasuk, the blood being discussed is lifeblood and therefore the punishment for eating it is Karas. Every place in the Torah where lifeblood is discussed the words nefesh and Karas are used. The Rabbanim explain that a person is only punished with Karas if the blood that was eaten poured out of the animal during shecitah or was amassed in the heart and pours out during the bloodletting. This is because these types of blood are considered to be lifeblood.

The blood of the limbs and organs of the animal is not considered to be lifeblood therefore the punishment is not Karas. The blood collected in the kidneys, spleen and heart during shecitah (and didn’t pour out during the bloodletting), is not lifeblood therefore the punishment for eating this blood is whiplashes and not Karas. In the posukim that speak about blood that is not lifeblood, the words Karas and nefesh are missing. In terms of the Halacha LiMa’ashe, all blood is ashur to eat whether it is lifeblood or not.

The punishment for eating blood is Karas, which is very severe. This only shows us how important it is not to eat blood. There are many posukim  in the Torah devoted to this topic. This also demonstrates the importance of keeping this Mitzvah.  

Sources:

1)   Gemora- a. Peseachim 22a    b. Makot 13a

2)   Rambam- Moreh Nivuchim- Guide to the Perplexed-chapter XLVI

3)   Rashi                 7:26, 17:14

4)   Ramban             17:14

5)   Sefer HaChinuch- Sidrah Tzav pgs 123-129

6)   Shulcan Aruch Yoreah De’ah 66: 9,10 (from Torah.org)

7)   The Mitzvot by R’ Avroham Chill pgs 168-169