Why Many Jews Don't Eat Shellfish

Nadene Goldfoot                                               

                               Crabs are bottom feeders that eat a wide variety of things, primarily as omnivores that consume both plant and animal matter. Their diet includes detritus, algae, and vegetation, as well as animal-based foods like worms, mollusks, crustaceans, other crabs, and carrion.  the decaying flesh of dead animals; even human bodies.

                          Chef Vicky Bisht's Post of Poster

Crab salad?  Lobster Tail?  Oysters on the half-shell,  Shrimp of all sizes?  No thank you.  It isn't a kosher fish.  If a Jewish person, Orthodox or Conservative, is keeping kosher-that is following the laws of Kashrut, he or she does not eat shellfish or any other non-kosher fish.  Read on.  

According to kashrut, the Jewish dietary laws, shellfish is not kosher because it lacks fins and scales. This prohibition is found in the Torah and is considered a divine commandment, for which no additional reason is required by observant Jews. The specific criteria for which aquatic life is permitted are detailed in Leviticus 11:9–12 and Deuteronomy 14:9–10. 

• Leviticus 11:9-10: "These you may eat, of all that are in the waters: Everything in the waters that has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat. But anything in the seas or the rivers that has no fins and scales, of the swarming creatures of the waters and of the living creatures that are in the waters, is an abomination to you".
• Application: Shellfish such as crabs, shrimp, oysters, and lobsters do not have fins and scales, so they are not kosher. Other non-kosher aquatic creatures, like whales and dolphins, are also excluded.
  
                           ocean catfish
•                                              
  
                                Eels
• People worldwide eat eels, but they must be cooked because their blood contains a toxin that is poisonous when raw. Eel is prepared in many ways, including grilling, smoking, stewing, and frying, and is a staple in various cuisines, but never in Jewish ones.  
•  Fish with fins but no scales are called scaly or scaleless fish, and include groups like catfish (very popular in the southern USA), and eels, so popular among many other peoples;  sturgeons ( For meat and caviar: Some Gentiles consume sturgeon for its meat and eggs (caviar), sharks, and some types of skates and chimaeras. Instead of scales, they have evolved other forms of protection, such as bony plates, tough skin, or a slimy coating.  Catfish is popular in the South due to its historical abundance, cultural significance, and role in Soul Food traditions. It became a staple as an affordable protein, and large-scale farming in states like Mississippi and Alabama, which produce the majority of US farm-raised catfish, further cemented its place in Southern cuisine. A common preparation is deep-frying the fillets after coating them in cornmeal

Just as many of us have asked, "Why?" Why do we follow such a law?  

• Divine decree: The primary and most direct reason given within Orthodox Judaism is simply that God commanded it in the Torah. From this perspective, the law is a chok, a divine statute without a knowable reason, and is a way for Jews to show their discipline and connection to the divine.
• Health and safety: Some suggest that the dietary laws may have originated from health and safety concerns. In ancient times, shellfish were more likely to cause illness if not properly prepared, and many varieties are bottom-feeders that consume waste. This theory holds some weight for certain food laws, but it is not a complete explanation for kashrut as a whole.
• Symbolic distinction: Another interpretation suggests that the laws were intended to set the Israelites apart from neighboring cultures. Prohibiting certain animals that were common staples for other coastal peoples, like the Philistines and Canaanites, helped establish a unique identity for the Israelites.
• Order and classification: The criteria of "fins and scales" can also be seen as an attempt to create order within the aquatic world. The rules categorize animals based on consistent physical attributes, or phylums and creatures that don't neatly fit the categories for kosher animals are excluded. This contrasts with invertebrates like shellfish, which do not conform to the model of a kosher fish. 
• Remember your high school biology class and learning about thephylums animals are listed under?  Isn't it amazing that this ispretty much what Moses was following under G-d's command-ment?     Do we eat any Cartilaginous fishes?   
• Yes, we do, if we are not Jewish.  Yes, many species of cartilaginous fish, including various sharks, skates, and rays, are eaten by humans around the world. They are consumed in diverse ways, such as dried, smoked, or salted, and are a part of traditional diets in many cultures, particularly in Asia and parts of Africa and South America.                              

  Cartilaginous fishes Temporal range: 439–0 Ma  PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Early Silurian (Aeronian) - Present
  Example of cartilaginous fishes: Elasmobranchii at the top of the image and Holocephali at the bottom of the image.
  Scientific classification
  Kingdom:	Animalia
  Phylum:	Chordata
  Subphylum:	Vertebrata
  Infraphylum:	Gnathostomata
  Clade:	Eugnathostomata
  Class:	Chondrichthyes Huxley, 1880

  Crabs are a very popular cuisine for many people, but not Jewish ones that keep kosher to the best of their ability.    Crabs generally have five pairs of legs=10 legs, and they have "pincers" or "claws" on the ends of the frontmost pair,

• Crab Temporal range: Early Jurassic–Present  PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
  Top row, left to right: Dromia personata (Dromiidae), Dungeness crab (Cancridae), Tasmanian giant crab (Menippidae); Middle row: Corystes cassivelaunus (Corystidae), Liocarcinus vernalis (Portunidae), Carpilius maculatus (Carpiliidae); Bottom row: Gecarcinus quadratus (Gecarcinidae), Grapsus grapsus (Grapsidae), Ocypode ceratophthalmus (Ocypodidae).
  Scientific classification
  Kingdom:	Animalia
  Phylum:	Arthropoda
  Class:	Malacostraca
  Order:	Decapoda
  Suborder:	Pleocyemata
  Clade:	Reptantia
  Infraorder:	Brachyura Linnaeus, 1758
  Sections and subsections[1]
  Dromiacea Raninoida Cyclodorippoida Eubrachyura Heterotremata Thoracotremata