# Are Whales Kosher? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 21, 2007, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-whales-kosher/430832 "2007-12-21T14:10:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-whales-kosher/430832/1 "2007-12-21T14:10:56Z")
According to [this BBC article](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7150627.stm), whales, camels, pigs and hippos are all related. > [@](#): > > \*Indonyus \*belongs to an ancient order of mammals that had two or four toes on each foot. Modern day representatives of the group include camels, pigs, and hippopotamuses. > > DNA studies show that hippos are in fact closely related to modern whales. They do not appear in the fossil record, however, until about 15 million years ago, some 35 million years after the cetaceans originated in south Asia. I realize that it’s a bit of a stretch to connect whales to pigs, but I do have to wonder what would happen if DNA analysis tightly connected an animal considered “clean” with an “unclean” animal. Would that change how it’s considered? Or would people just say, “Well, it wasn’t forbidden, so even though they’re related, we don’t have a problem with eating them.”? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-whales-kosher/430832/2 "2007-12-21T14:28:43Z")
Leviticus 11:12 (NIV) states: _Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales is to be detestable to you._ So, lacking scales, whales and dolphins would not be kosher no matter how their fins are formed. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-whales-kosher/430832/3 "2007-12-21T14:35:49Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] I do have to wonder what would happen if DNA analysis tightly connected an animal considered “clean” with an “unclean” animal. Would that change how it’s considered? [/QUOTE] Probably not. Which animals are kosher and which are not is at least as much a function of tradition as it is of biology. I really don’t see rabbis today declaring that new biological evidence indicates that an animal that has traditionally been considered non-kosher is now kosher. ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-whales-kosher/430832/4 "2007-12-21T14:39:02Z")
And even if you try to reclassify whales as land animals, the order is clearly described as having toes and not fully-cloven hooves. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-whales-kosher/430832/5 "2007-12-21T14:55:22Z")
And even if they were biologically kosher it would be impossible to slaughter one in the approved manner (single quick slash of the throat with an unserrated knife that cuts the veins, arteries and windpipe) ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-whales-kosher/430832/6 "2007-12-21T17:15:05Z")
[QUOTE=sciurophobic] And even if they were biologically kosher it would be impossible to slaughter one in the approved manner (single quick slash of the throat with an unserrated knife that cuts the veins, arteries and windpipe) [/QUOTE] Aren’t exceptions made for hunting wild animals? ---
**Author:** ![mks57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@mks57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mks57)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-whales-kosher/430832/7 "2007-12-21T17:17:37Z")
[QUOTE=psychonaut] Aren’t exceptions made for hunting wild animals? [/QUOTE] No. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-whales-kosher/430832/8 "2007-12-21T17:37:15Z")
> [@](#): > > I really don’t see rabbis today declaring that new biological evidence indicates that an animal that has traditionally been considered non-kosher is now kosher. Didn’t this discussion occur about tuna? And I want to say nomething like javolinas as well, though “javolina” may not be the animal that was under discussion. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-whales-kosher/430832/9 "2007-12-21T17:51:40Z")
This reminds me of a B. Kliban cartoon. A bunch of Jews (black frock coats, black hats, beards, etc.; Star of David flag) with harpoons in a whale boat are nose-to-nose with a whale. Dialog balloons over the lead whaler and over the whale: ‘Avail!’ ‘Avail yourself!’ ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-whales-kosher/430832/10 "2007-12-21T18:05:49Z")
At least you waited until the proper time to post a question about Kashrut-- after sundown on Friday in Israel. 🙂