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What is Shechita?

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Shechita is the Jewish religious and humane method of slaughtering permitted animals and poultry for food. It is the only method of producing kosher meat and poultry allowed by Jewish law. It is a most humane method as explained below.

There is no ritual involved in shechita. It is a cardinal tenet of the Jewish faith that the laws of shechita were divinely given to Moses at Mount Sinai (Deuteronomy XII:21); the rules governing shechita are codified and defined and are as binding and valued today as ever and they ensure a swift and painless dispatch of the animal. Infringing the laws of shechita renders the meat unconditionally forbidden as food to Jews. The time hallowed practice of shechita, marked as it is by compassion and consideration for the welfare of the animal, has been a central pillar in the sustaining of Jewish life for millennia.

Shechita is performed by a highly trained shochet. The procedure consists of a rapid and expert transverse incision with an instrument of surgical sharpness (a chalaf), which severs the major structures and vessels at the neck. This causes an instant drop in blood pressure in the brain and immediately results in the irreversible cessation of consciousness. Thus, shechita renders the animal insensible to pain, dispatches and exsanguinates in a swift action, and fulfils all the requirements of humaneness and compassion.

It is noteworthy that since 1928, shechita has been protected by various enactments of primary and secondary legislation. Article 9 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, now incorporated into British law, protects freedom of religious belief and practice. In the United States and Canada, the humaneness of shechita is acknowledged in the Humane Methods of Animal Slaughter Legislation.

Reprinted with permission from the board of Shechita UK
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Discussion (5)
February 7, 2013
@ Boruch Siper

The article here states that the laws of Shechita were given to Moses according to Deuteronomy XII:21. The only instruction given is "thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock as I have commanded thee." Therefore, pre-stunning would not be in contradiction to this command.

You claim the omission of the slaughter method proves that God gave the instruction orally, which is why it's not in The Bible. This is highly spurious because if God told Moses this "orally", then why is it not referred to in Deuteronomy XII or anywhere else? Are you suggesting this article is incorrect, and that the Shechita laws have only been passed on through the many generations via Chinese whispers? If that's the case it's unreliable.
Ian
England
January 31, 2013
Re: Deuteronomy XII:21
@Ian,
Demanding a source for the prohibition against stunning in Tanach specifically is the same as someone who, for whatever reason, decides he only believes in The Book of Ezekiel and demands to bring a proof from there. The Torah is not just The Old Testament. The fact that some other religions decided to concatenate the Torah and believe only in Tanach is not our problem.

Our "Bible" is the Jewish Mesorah which includes Tanach, Talmud, Rishonim and Achronim .

Additionally, the fact that the Torah does not explain how to slaughter but merely states "thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock as I have commanded thee" proves that G-d explained how to do it OUTSIDE OF THE BIBLE, ie: Orally.
Boruch Siper
December 16, 2012
Apart from the fact that the time between stunning and cutting of the throat is too short to make any difference to the health of the animal, there is no definitive stipulation in Deuteronomy XII.21 or adjacent verses as to how the slaughter is performed. It does not state that the animal must be conscious, and it does not state that it may not be pre-stunned, neither does it make any stipulation with regard to the physical health of the animal, nor does it even state that its throat should be cut. However, it does appear that someone has extracted a 'command' that is not there. That is effectively putting words into God's mouth, and therefore blasphemous.
Ian
England
December 12, 2012
Re: Deuteronomy XII:21
If you look at Deuteronomy 12:21 you will see that it actually does discuss any of the laws of shecitah. The only thing that can be deduced from Deuteronomy is that there is a certain way to do it (i.e. you need to slaughter it) but it does not get into any detail of what that means. The actual laws of Shecitah are part of the Oral Torah which was given to Moses by G-d on mount Sinai, and are codified in the Talmud and code of Jewish Law. With regards to stunning in particular, the issue is that other methods of stunning, (for example by captive-bolt shot into the brain, electric shock, or gas, cause injuries to an animal and delay the slaughter unnecessarily. In order for an animal to be kosher it must be healthy and uninjured, when slaughtered.
Yehuda Shurpin for Chabad.org
December 10, 2012
Deuteronomy XII:21
I have checked various translations of Dueteronomy XII:21 and nowhere there does it say that animals must be slaughtered whilst alive and conscious, which is the Shechita way. All it says in that and adjacent verses is that the herds and flock (of animals) given by God may be killed and eaten, but the blood must be avoided. So if the laws of Shechita are based on Deuteronomy XII:21 then Jews have got it wrong, for there is no particular ritual dictated by God. Therefore, pre-stunning would not be contrary to the laws given to Moses. Kindly address this matter.
Ian
England
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