Chelev (, ḥēleḇ), "suet", is the that the Torah prohibits Jews and Israelites from eating.[Leviticus 7:23] Only the chelev of animals that are of the sort from which offerings can be brought in the Tabernacle or Temple are prohibited (). The prohibition of eating chelev is also, in addition to the Torah, one of the 613 commandments that, according to the Talmud,[Talmud, Makkot 22b] were given to Moses on Mount Sinai.[Maimonides, Sefer Hamitzvot, Negative Commandments ( lo sa'aseh) number 185]
Hebrew Bible
Hebrew language
In
Biblical Hebrew, the word for fat is
chelev (חֵלֶב), and it is first used for the "fats" of
Abel's offering, and most often used for fats of
on the altar of the Tabernacle or Temple. The same word is also used in the phrase "the fat of the land."
Rabbinical interpretation
The punishment for eating
chelev bemeizid (on purpose) is
kareth (exclusion from the after life). The atonement for eating it by mistake is to bring a
Sin-offering (atonement sacrifice).
The prohibition on chelev is only regarding those animal types which were used as a korban: cattle, domestic sheep and goat, which are the only kosher domestic animals livestock. Fats from bird and deer may be eaten, and different types of bovinae are in a state of doubt.
Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook suggested that the prohibition of chelev reminds us that we may only take the lives of domesticated animals for our essential needs. "We are permitted to slaughter these animals for their meat, to give us energy and strength, but … we should not kill them merely for the pleasure of eating their fatty meat, so pleasurable to the palate of the gastronome."
In order that fat should be considered chelev it must look like a sheet of fats, like a thick fibrous skin that can be removed (see picture). Some and are also removed due to the rabbinic law, since they are neighboring and resolving some chelev.
The chelev must be removed by a qualified menaker in a process called nikkur (surgical removal).
Kidney fats
The fats surrounding the
are called
chelev hakloyoth, and are considered non-kosher.
Abdominal fats
The sheet of fat which is covering the interior of the abdominopelvic cavity is real
chelev, except at some regions where it is covered with muscle, not with skin or tendon. However even where it is covered with meat, there is some fat which is still forbidden, since it could occasionally get uncovered while the animal walks. Therefore, one must be well trained in order to identify kosher fat.
Digestive system fats
There are many fats around the
digestive organs such as the
stomach and
, and one must be highly educated and trained in order to identify them.
Tail fat
The
tail fat of the
fat-tailed sheep, called
alyah in Hebrew, is a large fatty membrane located on the hindquarters of certain breeds of sheep. The
Torah uses the term
chelev of this fat, but only in the sense of "the good part"; its consumption is permitted.
[Rambam, Maachalot Assurot 7:5] The Karaites, however, understand this fat to literally be forbidden
chelev, and thus do not allow eating the tail fat.
Rabbi
Judah HaLevi, in his 12th century work
The Kuzari, questioned the practicality of the Karaite position: "Where exactly does the end? Some might prohibit only the tip of the sheep tail, while others the entire hind part."
[Kuzari III:35]
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