View source for Terefah

{{short description|Kosher animal disqualified from being kosher}}
'''Terefah''' ({{langx|he|טְרֵפָה}}, [[Literal and figurative language|lit.]] "torn by a beast of prey"; [[plural]] {{lang|he|טריפות}} '''''treifot''''') refers to either:

* A member of a [[kosher animals|kosher species]] of [[mammal]] or [[bird]], disqualified from being considered [[kashrut|kosher]], due to pre-existing mortal injuries or physical defects.<ref name=arzi>{{cite EJ|last=Arzi|first=Abraham|title=Terefah|volume=19|page=647}}</ref>
* 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 [[613 commandments|biblical prohibition]] of eating ''terefah'' stems from the verse:
{{quote|And you shall be holy people to Me, and flesh torn in the field you shall not eat; you shall throw it to the dog[s].|{{bibleverse-lb||Exodus|22:30|HE}} }}

According to the [[Talmud]],<ref>Hullin 37a</ref> 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.<ref name=arzi /><ref name=JE>The Jewish Encyclopedia. Funk and Wagnalls Company. New ed., Vol II. pp. 109-110</ref>

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]].<ref>[https://www.daat.ac.il/daat/toshba/halacha/kashrut3-2.htm נבלה וטרפה]</ref> 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 [[Tumah and taharah|ritual impurity]]).{{cn|date=April 2022}}

==The first eight types==
The Talmud enumerates eight types of ''terefah'' that would make an animal unfit for ritual sacrifice according to Mosaic law:<ref name=arzi /><ref name=JE />{{efn|According to Maimonides, if one eats from an animal which naturally developed one of the enumerated ''terefot'' and then received ''shechita'', they receive lashes by rabbinic rather than Biblical law ([[Sefer Hamitzvot]], negative commandment 181)}} 
*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 [[Yiddish]] word [[wikt:טרייף|טרייף]], ''treyf'', derived from ''terefah'', refers to any non-kosher foods, not just those that fall under the category of ''terefah'' as described above. The Yiddish word and its verb form ''treyfn'' gave rise to the [[Polish language|Polish]] word ''[[:pl:wikt:trefny|trefny]]'', meaning 'deficient, illicit'.

Certain [[food taboo]]s in [[Suriname]] are known in [[Surinamese Dutch]] as {{langx|nl|[[:fr:Treef (voedseltaboe)|Treef]]}}, 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]]'').

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{notelist}}

==External links==
*[http://religiousrules.com/Judaismfood00table.htm Laws of Judaism concerning food, including laws concerning terefah]

{{Kashrut}}

[[Category:Kashrut]]
[[Category:Negative Mitzvoth]]
[[Category:Hebrew words and phrases in the Hebrew Bible]]
[[Category:Hebrew words and phrases in Jewish law]]