Terefah ( he, טְרֵפָה,
lit. "torn by a beast of prey";
plural ''treifot'') refers to either:
* A member of a
kosher species of
mammal
Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...
or
bird, disqualified from being considered
kosher
(also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...
, due to pre-existing mortal injuries or physical defects.
* A specific list of mortal injuries or physical defects that disqualify a member of a kosher species of mammal or bird from being kosher.
Biblical prohibition
The
biblical prohibition of eating ''terefah'' stems from the verse:
According to the
Talmud,
[Hullin 37a] there were originally only eight types of terefah, however, the author(s) of the
Mishnah added eighteen items to the list. Eventually,
Maimonides added even more to finish the list of terefah conditions at 70. Rabbi
Joseph Caro organized all of these symptoms in the
Shulchan Aruch (
Yoreh De'ah, 29-60) by categorizing them according to parts of the animal, their minute malady, and any disease, fracture, or abnormality they may possess.
[The Jewish Encyclopedia. Funk and Wagnalls Company. New ed., Vol II. pp. 109-110]
This prohibition should not be confused with a separate category of prohibition, called ''nevelah'' (a carcass), of eating of any kosher species of mammal or bird which died by any means other than
shechita. Thus, an animal could only be considered a ''terefah'' while alive; once it dies of its ''terefah'' wound it would be considered a ''nevelah''. An important consequence is that a ''terefah'' which dies by ''shechita'', while not fit for kosher consumption, does not have the status and rules of ''nevelah'' (e.g. with regard to imparting
ritual impurity).
The first eight types
The Talmud enumerates eight types of ''terefah'' that would make an animal unfit for ritual sacrifice according to Mosaic law:
*Clawing: the clawing of an animal by a wild beast or of a bird by a bird of prey.
*Perforation: a perforation to the cavity of one of the following 11 organs: the pharynx, the membrane of the brain, the heart and its aorta, the gall bladder, the vena cava inferior, abomasum,
rumen,
omasum, intestines, the lung and trachea.
*Deficiency: the absence from birth of one of the lobes of the lung, or one of the feet.
*Missing: the absence of converging sinews in the thigh, or the liver, or the upper jaw.
*Severing: the severing of the membrane covering the spinal cord whether the spinal column be broken or not.
*Falling: the crushing of one of the internal organs of an animal as the result of a fall.
*Tearing: the tearing of most of the flesh covering the rumen.
*Fracturing: such as the fracturing of most of its ribs.
Influence in other languages
The word ''terefah'', via
Yiddish
Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...
(
טרייף, treyf) and its verb form ''tre''
'i''/''j''/''y'''f''
'e'''n'' (the latter formed by applying Germanic orthographic and generative-grammatical patterns to the Hebrew root), gave rise to the concept of ''
trefny'' (deficient, illicit) in Polish.
Certain
food taboos in
Suriname
Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...
are known in
Surinamese Dutch as ''
treef
(also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), from ...
'', derived from Sranan Tongo ''trefu'' and ultimately from ''terefah'' due to influence from Sephardi Jews who came to Suriname in the 17th century (similarly to Sranan ''kaseri'' 'ritually clean' from ''
kosher
(also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...
'').
References
External links
Laws of Judaism concerning food, including laws concerning terefah
{{Kashrut
Kashrut
Negative Mitzvoth
Hebrew words and phrases in the Hebrew Bible
Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish law