Hallo everybody! I don’t know if this is the proper forum for this post – It has to do with a somewhat weird hypothetical situation, but is at the same time related to a “real world” question. Moderators, if you think this is not the proper forum for this post, please change it.
Anyway, here goes my hypothetical. Let’s imagine that an inhabitable Earth-like planet is discovered, and that we have the technology to send colonists over there. The biochemistry on the planet is compatible with us, and there are no sentient inhabitants – the place is available for us.
Now, although we have the technology to send expeditions over there, it is really expensive to send stuff there. Also, research shows that Earth plants don’t grow well over there. Luckily, humans can eat what is on that planet, although the life there does not really correspond to the classifications on Earth. There is not even a straight division between “plant” and “animal” life, fwiw.
The powers that be have decided that the colonists who go there (basically on one-way trips) will not take along Earth animals – the space taken by them on the trip might be better used to carry essential tools and materials for the establishment of the colonies.
OK, here goes my question – in these circumstances, imagining that among the colonists are Jewish people who are reasonably pious, how would it be determined whether what is on the other planet is kosher to eat or not? Also, who would have the authority to make such a determination? Taking into account that the beings there do not even appear to be classifiable according to Earthly biological lines.
Just a silly question that has been bouncing in my head for a while. All the best!
This situation already happened following the discovery of the Americas. Jews have argued for centuries over the permissibility of turkeys, so they would just argue for millenniums about what exactly if anything is kosher on your planet.
Yeah, it’s not like the folks in question can’t assess the situation themselves and reach a determination. And in the meantime each can reach their own conclusion. Plus, if that’s all there is for food, God will be ok on eating them until a determination is made. the kosher laws don’t require starving oneself to death in the absence of non-treyf.
There are rules delineated in the Old Testament, with further commentary over the centuries. So the Jews will be counting toes on the plantimals and animaplants, trying to determine if any of them have cuds and chew them, trying to determine if the fish-equivalents have scale-equivelants or not, arguing whether the insect and arthropod like things are sufficiently like those things as to be off limits, and so forth.
Rabbis. Just like on Earth. Presumably, also like on Earth, there will be differences of opinion between different groups of rabbis which is why we have different kosher certifications.
The critters don’t have to be classifiable by the current scientific convention (in which case science will create a new hierarchy for the new planet). What matters are the criteria Jews use to determine kosher when encountering any new food which, as noted already occurred when the New World was discovered.
I expect one of our actual Jewish authorities will be along shortly. You have broken tradition by NOT posting this during the Jewish sabbath, which is when we usually get this sort of question.
Thanks for the answer! Although I was under the impression that deciding what is and is not kosher was, at some level, in the hand of some kind of religious authority, not left to each individual.
As an aside – I can imagine, given the apparent love that Jewish people have for arguing, that the discussions on the subject would be epic (disclaimer: I am not Jewish, but I have had the pleasure of spending whole nights talking with Jewish scholars about basically everything).
“Two Jews, Three Opinions” as my Reb once told me.
In terms of their being some governing body? There are a few, but none would have influence in a situation like you describe. Heck, they only have influence NOW because a large weight of Jews assign them authority. It could go away tomorrow.
In the end, each Jew’s relationship with God is his/her own. Remember, rabbis are teachers, nothing more. Whether the student learns the lessons or heads off in their own direction is up to them.
The sheer amount of time it takes to run all the world’s media and banking makes it very difficult to get discussion of kosher rules on to the agenda for meetings of the International Jewish Conspiracy, um, Community.
There is a principle in Jewish law known as Pikuach Nefesh that places the preservation of human life above all any religious considerations, laws or rules.
Under this principle, non-kosher foods may be eaten under the following circumstances-
If no kosher food is available and failure to eat non-kosher food may result in starvation.
If a non-kosher food product specifically is needed to cure an illness.
But is it okay to knowingly put yourself in a situation where this is going to be an issue? Would it be moral for an observant Jew to volunteer as a space colonist knowing that he’s going to Planet Pork?
Until they get there and have an opportunity to argue over the matter they won’t know for sure one way or the other if there’s kosher food there, will they? So the first wave would be ethically in the clear.
… and isn’t the general rule that an edible something is kosher unless there’s a specific reason that makes it not kosher?
So some completely unclassifiable plantimal would be kosher, right?
No, you’d look at how this new plantimal fits into the rules and concepts that we use to categorize foodstuffs and decide if this qualifies as meat, non-meat, or unclean. The same is done when new foodstuffs are introduced here, and as was mentioned above, when the New World was explored.
[QUOTE=JoseB]
The powers that be have decided that the colonists who go there (basically on one-way trips) will not take along Earth animals – the space taken by them on the trip might be better used to carry essential tools and materials for the establishment of the colonies.
[/QUOTE]
You don’t read much science fiction, do you? Larry Niven advocated bringing fertilized eggs to new worlds, the thinking being that it’s easier to make more animals (and not much equipment needed! ) than bringing a factory to build machinery, at least in terms of pack animals though I suppose for food too.
) than bringing a factory to build machinery, at least in terms of pack animals though I suppose for food too.