Why Do Jews Not Eat Pork or Crab?

Question:

I was wondering, why can't Jews eat pork or crab?

Answer:

In the Bible, G‑d lists two requirements for an animal to be kosher (fit to eat) for a Jew: Animals must chew their cud and have split hooves. Pigs do have split hooves but do not chew their cud, so we cannot eat pig meat and its derivatives. In the seafood department, we may only eat fish that have both fins and scales.

Here is a translation of the original Divine command, from Deuteronomy, Chapter 14:8-10:

And the pig, because it has a split hoof, but does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. You shall neither eat of their flesh nor touch their carcass.

These you may eat of all that are in the waters; all that have fins and scales, you may eat.

But whatever does not have fins and scales, you shall not eat; it is unclean for you.

While the commandment to follow a kosher diet falls under the category of laws which do not necessarily seem logical,1 observing them only because G-d commands us to,2 there are moral lessons we derive from them.

Here are several given:

The birds and many of the mammals we do not eat are predators, while the permitted animals are not. We are commanded not to eat those animals possessive of a cruel nature, so that we should not absorb these qualities into ourselves.3
The commandment refines the person and instills self-discipline.4

I hope this helps.

For more extensive information please see Which Animals Are Kosher? and Buying Kosher Meat & Fowl from our Kosher section.

For spiritual insights see Why Do We Keep Kosher? and Judaism and the Art of Eating.

Best wishes,

Chani Benjaminson
Chabad.org

FOOTNOTES
1.	See Rashi Leviticus 18:4
2.	G-d's 613 commandments can be divided into three categories: mishpatim (judgments), chukim (decrees), or eidot (testimonials). The first category includes those observances which have an obvious reason, such as giving charity, not stealing or murdering, etc. The second category, chukim, includes laws which do not necessarily seem logical, and we observe them only because G-d commands us to. The third category, eidot, includes those mitzvot that commemorate an event, such as Shabbat or Passover. Following a kosher diet falls under the category of chukim.
3.	Nachmanides Deuteronomy 4:3.
4.	Midrash Rabbah, Genesis 44:1.

By Chani Benjaminson

Chani Benjaminson is co-director of Chabad of the South Coast, coordinator of Chabad.org's Ask the Rabbi and Feedback department and is a member of the editorial staff of Chabad.org

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April 30, 2013

Answer

That's a great question.
Nothing changed about the animals. What did change was the people - the Jewish nation was created, and we have rules about what we can eat. Every creature has distinct spiritual qualities that may manifest in physical traits and behaviors as well. G-d told us which animals have the good qualities and which have the bad, and therefore commanded us not to eat the bad ones for our own sake, much like a caring parent giving his children rules so they won't harm themselves. One should note, though, that the issue has nothing to do with pigs and shrimp being dirty animals; rather, these traits are only outward manifestations of what these animals represent in a spiritual sense. The real heart of the matter is simply that G-d told us not to eat them, and that's all we need to know.

Anonymous
Jerusalem

April 30, 2013

Question

So what about Genesis 9:3 Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. What changed between then and when Deuteronomy was written? Just curious.

Anonymous

April 20, 2013

Crab meat is proven to be incredibly healthy for you

Anonymous

February 18, 2013

Then why did God even create pigs if they are so filthy Glendale, WI?

stillgoingtoheaven
Louisville, KY

December 10, 2012

But in this scenario, you become the Predator - you are already cruel

"1. The birds and many of the mammals we do not eat are predators, while the permitted animals are not. We are commanded not to eat those animals possessive of a cruel nature, so that we should not absorb these qualities into ourselves" In the above statement the implication is that the human is then the predator and hence also cruel.

Anonymous

February 4, 2012

More surface level logic

So how do you explain Tilapia and Carp? They have fins and scales and eat the waste off the bottom of the ocen and rivers respectively.

Anonymous
Windsor, NY

December 4, 2011

Pork and shellfish

I am not a Jew, but observe the health food laws in Leviticus. As far as pork is concerned, my understanding is that they do not have sweat glands except around the nostrils where they root in filth. They are scavengers, and scavengers should not be eaten. Our bodies are the same today as when God created them. What should not be eaten then should not be eaten today.

Anonymous
Norcross, GA/USA

April 29, 2011

practical logic

I always figured it was a way to keep from eating animals that are parasite carriers or that commonly trigger food allergies. There would be no way to counter such things in the old days, and so they would obviously have to be avoided or risk one's health or very life.

Anonymous
San Antonio

March 13, 2011

More surface-level logic

Look at these animals. They are filthy. They live in filth. They eat filth. Pigs eat whatever they can get their mouths around, and shellfish eat whatever happens to be on the ocean floor. That's disgusting. Kosher animals are more selective; they aren't garbage-eaters.
This way of looking at it shows G-d's majesty. He knows that they eat garbage and they're bodies are made of garbagey materials (you are what you eat). It's very unhealthy to eat that filth, just as it's unhealthy to eat a lot of mercury from fish. So he wants to help us out and lift us from the garbage my making us eat only animals that are pure in form, that don't have trash running through their blood, sustaining their cells. And if you argue my mercury point, saying "then why are fish allowed at all?"...fish are not inherently high-mercury. Their environment makes them like that. The nature of shellfish and swine is to eat everything. It's in their genes. There's no truly "clean" pig/shellfish.

Anonymous
Glendale, WI

March 11, 2011

Frum/unfrum

I am not a rabbi. Just a Baal Teshuvah (returneed to Judaism). But one compelling reason pork should not be eaten- cannibals call human flesh "LONG PIG". They say it tastes exactly like pork. It can be cooked like pork...not that I know. But when you factor in that pig hearts and valves and miscellaneous parts are tolerated amazingly well by the human body..maybe that is something to think of.

Anonymous
J''Lem, IL

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Why Do Jews Not Eat Pork or Crab?

On why pig and Crab are not kosher foods