Leviticus 11 · Parashat Shemini

And the Lord spoke to Moshe and to Aharon, saying to them,

Speak to the children of Yisra᾽el, saying, These are the beasts which you shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth.

Whatever parts the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and chews the cud, among the beasts, that shall you eat.

Nevertheless these shall you not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: the camel, because he chews the cud, but does not part the hoof: he is unclean to you.

And the coney, because he chews the cud, but does not part the hoof; he is unclean to you.

And the hare, because he chews the cud, but does not part the hoof; he is unclean to you.

And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he chews not the cud; he is unclean to you.

Of their flesh shall you not eat, and their carcass shall you not touch; they are unclean to you.

These shall you eat of all that are in the waters: whatever has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall you eat.

And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they are abominable to you:

and they shall be abominable to you; you shall not eat of their flesh, but their carcasses you shall abominate.

Whatever has no fins or scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination to you.

And these are they which you shall have in abomination among the birds; they shall not be eaten, they are abominable: the eagle, and the bearded vulture and the black vulture.

And the kite, and the buzzard after its kind;

every raven after its kind;

and the owl, and the kestrel, and the gull, and the sparrow hawk after its kind.

And the little owl, and the fish fowl, and the great owl,

and the barn owl, and the jackdaw, and the gier eagle.

And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the hoopoe, and the bat.

All swarming things that fly, going upon four, shall be an abomination to you.

Yet these may you eat of every flying creeping thing that goes upon four, which have legs above their feet, to leap with upon the earth;

these of them you may eat; the locust after its kind, and the grasshopper after its kind, and the ĥargol after its kind, and the ĥagav after its kind.

But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination to you.

And for these you shall be unclean: whoever touches the carcass of them shall be unclean until evening.

And whoever bears aught of the carcass of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until evening.

The carcasses of every beast which parts the hoof, and is not clovenfooted, nor chews the cud, are unclean to you: everyone that touches them shall be unclean.

And whatever goes upon its paws, among all manner of beasts that go on all four, those are unclean to you: whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until evening.

And he that bears the carcass of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until evening: they are unclean to you.

These also shall be unclean to you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth; the rat, and the mouse, and the tortoise after its kind.

And the gecko, and the monitor, and the lizard, and the skink, and the chameleon.

These are unclean to you among all that creep: whoever touches them, when they are dead, shall be unclean until evening.

And whatever any of them falls upon, when they are dead, shall be unclean; whether it be any vessel of wood, or clothing, or skin, or sack, whatever vessel it be, in which any work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until evening, then it shall be clean.

And every earthen vessel, into which any of them fall, whatever is in it shall be unclean; and you shall break it.

Of all food which may be eaten, that on which water comes shall be unclean: and all drink that may be drunk in every vessel shall be unclean.

And everything upon which any part of their carcass falls shall be unclean; whether it be oven, or ranges, they shall be broken down: for they are unclean, and shall be unclean to you.

Nevertheless a fountain or pit, wherein there is a collection of water, shall be clean: but that which touches their carcass shall be unclean.

And if any part of their carcass fall upon any sowing seed which is to be sown, it shall be clean.

But if any water be put upon the seed, and any part of their carcass fall on it, it shall be unclean to you.

And if any beast, of which you may eat, die; he that touches its carcass shall be unclean until evening.

And he that eats of the carcass of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until evening: he also that bears the carcass of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until evening.

And every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth shall be held abominable; it shall not be eaten.

Whatever goes on its belly, and whatever goes upon four, or whatever has many feet among all creeping things that creep on the earth, them you shall not eat; for they are an abomination.

You shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creeps, neither shall you make yourselves unclean with them, that you should be defiled by them.

For I am the Lord your God: you shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall you defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creeps on the earth.

For I am the Lord that brings you up out of the land of Miżrayim, to be your God: you shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.

This is the Tora of the beasts, and of the birds, and of every living creature that moves in the waters, and of every creature that creeps on the earth:

to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten.