The  Basur  IS  Asur

Bugs

by Aleeza Dickstein

" These also are unclean to you among all creeping creatures that crawl on the ground: the measel, the mouse the toad.  The hedgehog, the chameleon, the lizard, the slug and the mole.  These are unclean to you among all the creeping creatures - whoever touches them when they are dead shall be unclean until the evening.  Everything, wherever a part of them may fall when they are dead shall become unclean, such as a wooden vessel or a garment or a hide or a sack. Every vessel with which work is done shall be brought into water and remains unclean until the evening (then) it becomes clean."(Vayikra 11:29-32)

    The Sefer HaChinuch tells us that there are indeed 8 types of insects that can be eaten. They
are: 1.Hagov-grasshoppers,  2.d'vanith--hammer-locust,  3.Hargol---cricket, 4.certain species of Arbeh-bird of the vinyard, 5.Utzravya--a species of Hargol, 6.Arbeh, 7.Sol'am-the bald locust        8.the Jerusalem Yohana-a species of Sol'am. All of these insects have 4 wings which cover most of its body lengthwise and cover most of the surface of its body, have 4 legs, and 2 joined upper legs.

    There are 8 types of bugs that cannot be eaten and are considered unclean.
They are: 1.Holed--weasel                           2. Achbar--mouse
               3. Tzav--great lizard                     4. Anaka--hedgehog]
               5. Co'ach--chameleon               6. L'ta'ah--slug
               7. Homet--slug                            8. Tinshameth--mole

    The Pasuk says: "Whoever touches them when they are dead, shall be unclean". Only these 8 creatures cause you to be defiled (for you to be unclean).  The way to get "undefiled" is by doing T'Shuva and having Hashem accepting it, going to the Mikva (ritual immersion), once one does
"immersion" he must wait for the sun to go down in the evening.  People who were defiled in the time of the Beit HaMikdosh were forbidden to: eat T'runah (the Kohen's portion of produce), meat of Kurbanot, or enter the Beit HaMikdosh.

    Masechet  Makot #16b teaches us that a  person who is O'ver on this I'sur gets Malkus. Rabbi Yehudah tell us that there was a certain person who ate a cabbage worm and R' Yehudah flogged him.

    There are different prohibitions concerning what type of insect a person has consumed.   There are 2 prohibitions covering all creeping things in general.  There are 2 prohibitions covering all aquatic varieties.  There are 3 prohibitions covering all land crawlers.  There is 1 prohibition
covering all flying insects.  Each prohibition is punishable by Malkus. 

    Abaye says if someone eats a Putisa (also known as: an aquatic non-kosher creature) he is liable for 4 separate Malkus penalties.  2 penalties for the 2 prohibitions against swarming things in general and 2 penalties for 2 prohibitions for aquatic varieties.  If somebody consumed a hornet, he gets 6 separate Malkus penalties. 1 for the prohibition against all flying insects, 2 for the 2 prohibitions concerning all insects in general, and 3 for the 3 prohibitions against land crawlers.
A hornet both flies and creeps on the ground.  If somebody consumes an ant, they would get 5 separate Malkus penalties, 2 penalties for the 2 prohibitions against all creeping things in general and 3 for the 3 prohibitions against all land crawling insects.

    The Ge'morah and the Sefer HaChinuch differ slightly on how much has to be consumed to cause a person O'ver this I'sur.  The Sefer HaChinuch says the minimal size of a creature to cause defilement is the size of a lentil.  If an insect is smaller than a lentil, it is not prohibited, but if you squish more than 1 creature together to make a lentil size, that would cause you to be defiled.  The Gemorah says that the amount that was consumed was an olive's worth, not a lentil's worth.  Ruva Bar Hunnah says; if someone mashed up 9 ants which combined formed just less than the volume of an olive  he added one live ant he would be O'ver on 6 separate Malkus penalties. 5 penalties for eating an entire live creature, and 1 penalty for eating an olive's bulk of the meat of animals that died without proper slaughtering.  These 6 penalties would apply even if the olive's bulk is not 9 mashed ants, but 2 plus the intact one. Even 1 mashed ant and 1 whole living ant would be O'ver the same I'surim as long as they were an olive's worth.  The Tosfos says, these same 6 I'surim would apply even for 1 large living ant.  The Ge'morah does not mention this because it is very unusual to have an ant that is just as big as an olive. 

    Rabbi Avraham Bluminkrantz explains to us in his annual Pesach book what we should do with all of this knowledge and how we should prevent ourselves from consuming any of these insects.   He explains that today Sheratzim (insects and worms) have become immune to insecticides, so we have to be even more careful not to be lax in our checking.  It is hard for restaurants to check with such conscientiousness all of the produce used.  Some restaurants have Shomrim to watch and assist and make sure there are no bugs in the food that is served.  Some are lax in checking in the proper way, therefore if a customer has a doubt whether or not the
produce is bug-free, he should not eat it.  

    You must check all fruits and vegetables leaf-by-leaf, side-by-side, or you must know that there isn't any even minuscule bugs. Sometimes, one must even check frozen fruits and vegetables.     Many pre-washed packaged salads, advertise that they do not need to be checked.  Some of these companies are misleading for the following reason.  Fruits and vegetables today are grown Mi'ut HaMotzui which means some of every species are for sure infested.  Not the majority of the species, but we don't know which part of the species.  This Ha'lacha demands us to check every leaf. These companies wash and process fresh and frozen produce which minimizes normal infestation to a negligible amount.  This Mi'ut HaMotzui becomes a Mi'ut She'Eino HaMotzui, which means it does not have to be checked.      The Shulchan O'rech does not agree with this reasoning.  It says that when you have a Mi'ut HaMotzui produce, you must visually check every
leaf and washing is not enough.  Many bugs stick to leaves and don't die or fall off with water.  These bugs can only be detected visually and some even under a bright light.  Checking each leaf is impractical for most companies.

    Aleh Katif is a company in Israel.  They grow their produce in hothouses and they make sure their produce does not get infested.  They therefore do not have to check every leaf. Companies that advertise that their produce is Mi'ut She'Eino HaMotzui from the time it was grown do not need to be checked.  Example: Bodek and the O.U.. 

    This is how Rabbi Bluminkrantz says that lettuce can be made bug-free in an average household.  The bugs are normally green flies that are camouflaged into the color of the lettuce, so you must be extremely careful.  You have to separate the leaves and soak them in saltwater for 2 minutes.     You must use 1 teaspoon of salt for 10 cups of water.  You can't put more because it will cause the bugs to die but then to stick to the leaves.  One can also use vinegar for this solution.  You may use 5 tablespoons of vinegar for every 10 cups of water and let it soak for 5
minutes, instead of salt.  You then rinse the leaves and check the leaves visually under a light so that the light shines through the leaf. 

    Strawberries also require  tedious cleaning.  Many bugs are found under the leaf.  One should cut 2 mm before the leaf.  You should be careful not to cut too far, because the bugs will fall through the hollow center. One should then soak the berries in a weak solution of dish washing
liquid for 5 minutes.  The Ministry of Health advises this.  Just the soap helps the dirt come off a surface, it gets the bugs off of a strawberry.  One should then swish the berries around in a circular
motion and remove the berries.  Most of the bugs came off during the soaking process.  In order to get the remaining bugs off you can rinse the berries 3 to 6 at a time under a strong stream of water, turning them so that water goes on every part of each berry.