jews trying to decide if pork grown in a lab is kosher, so they can eat it

[yankeedoodle]

Is Lab-Grown Pork Kosher?   
https://aish.com/is-lab-grown-pork-kosher/

For the first time in history, lab-grown meat was recently given a kosher certification. Now you can understand why this is big news.

The Orthodox Union, a leading kosher certification agency, recently granted its first kosher certification to lab-grown meat made by Super-Meat, an Israeli startup that uses stem cells from eggs. This is a significant development for the world of Kosher supervision.

The requirements for Kosher meat are complex and traditionally only meat from a Kosher species of animal that was ritually slaughtered is permitted. However, there has been ongoing debate in rabbinic circles that lab-grown meat, even pork, is perhaps different and doesn't have the same strict kosher requirements of regular meat.

In order to avoid this controversy, the Super-Meat company used chicken eggs, an obviously kosher item that doesn't require ritual slaughter, to avoid this debate. While it is doubtful that any reputable Kosher certification agency will certify lab-grown pork, this article presents aspects of this fascinating discussion.

The basic concept of lab-grown meat is that living cells are taken from an animal and are grown in a laboratory under special conditions into a piece of meat. This process could alleviate the need for farming and slaughtering animals. The question has been raised: what is the status of this meat in Jewish law? If it comes from a non-kosher source, does it retain its prohibition or is it viewed as synthetic and permitted? Likewise, if lab-grown beef is not beef, would it be permitted to it eat with cheese, like in a cheeseburger?

At the heart of this debate lies an important question as to whether or not meat created through unnatural means still has the kosher status of regular meat. We begin our discussion with two conflicting sources.

Heavenly Donkeys

The Talmud1 relates that sage, Rabbi Shimon ben Chalafta was traveling and met up with hungry lions, endangering his life. He recited a verse and two pieces of meat descended from the heavens. The lions ate one piece of meat and left the second. Rabbi Shimon ben Chalafta took the piece of meat with him to the Rabbis in the study hall and asked, "Is this heavenly meat kosher or not?"

The Rabbis answered, "An impure item does not descend from the heavens." Another Rabbi asked, "Would the law be the same if the meat came in the form of a donkey?" which is an obviously non-kosher animal. Rabbi Abahu answered, "Didn't I tell you that an impure item does not descend from the Heavens?!" The Yad Ramah, a medieval commentator, explains that if this would happen, the donkey would still be kosher.

Apparently, a donkey made in heaven is kosher!

Some contemporary Rabbis contend that any meat produced in a laboratory has the same status as heavenly meat and is kosher. This is because they understand that the reason why the heavenly donkey is permitted is because it is unnatural. As such, lab-grown meat, although not heavenly, is produced by unnatural means and is therefore permitted.

Heavenly Wheat
The assertion that anything produced in an unnatural way doesn't have regular kosher laws is far from conclusive. Many contemporary Rabbis challenge this position from a different passage in the Talmud. The Talmud asks if "wheat kernels that came from the clouds" could be used for the meal offering in the Temple?2 The Talmud answers that generally such wheat may be used. What are wheat kernels that came from the clouds? According to the explanation of Tosafos, a classic commentary, the Talmud is referring to wheat that came miraculously from the heavens.

According to this passage heavenly wheat is still wheat despite its unnatural origin. As the saying goes, "If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is a duck!" This source could indicate that generally Jewish law views an item based on its present consistency, not their origin. Based on this source it should follow that artificially grown meat, if it has all the characteristics of regular meat, is considered meat, so lab-grown pork is still pork and prohibited. This seems to contradict the previous passage considering heavenly donkeys to be kosher, which could indicate that lab grown pork is kosher.

Is Killing a 'Golem' Considered Murder?
These conflicting sources could be reconciled based on the approach of the 19th century Hassidic scholar, the Rebbe of Radzin, to another puzzling Talmudic passage. The Talmud3 tells a story that Rava created a man through Jewish mysticism (often referred to as a "golem" -- think of the Golem of Prague or Frankenstein!) and sent it to Rabbi Zeira. Rabbi Zeira was unable to converse with it and destroyed it.

The commentaries ask how could Rabbi Zeira destroy the golem? Doesn't this transgress the prohibition of murder? Some answer that since the golem was not born from a human mother it does not have the status of a human and is not considered murder. However, the Rebbe of Radzin4 disagreed and offered an important alternate approach.

The Radziner Rebbe observes that the golem described in this story was 'unable to converse'. Speech is a defining human characteristic and if golems categorically cannot speak, they are lacking a basic human characteristic. Being that a golem is not completely similar to a human being, it is not included in the prohibition of murder.

This approach could answer the conflicting sources cited in this article. The 'heavenly wheat' was only suitable as an offering because it had all the regular characteristics of wheat. However, when it comes to the 'heavenly donkeys' the wording of the Talmud it that it had the 'likeness' of a donkey. This could mean that it had the likeness of a donkey but wasn't exactly the same. As such, similar to the golem, almost a donkey is not a donkey! If it would be exactly the same then we would have to concede that it has the status of a regular donkey and is prohibited.

Based on the approach of the Radziner Rebbe, lab-grown meat, which is exactly the same as regular meat, doesn't have a special kosher status. Therefore, lab-grown pork, despite its unnatural origin, is still pork and not kosher.

Is Lab Grown Meat Really Miraculous?
We have seen conflicting sources regarding the status of items created through miracles. However, there is a strong case to be made that lab-grown meat should not be viewed as miraculous altogether. Unlike a real miracle it is simply growing existing biological material under special man-made conditions.

Based on our discussion, it is understandable why the Orthodox Union only certified meat made from chicken eggs. As we have learned, lab-grown pork may still be considered pork. Furthermore, even if lab-grown meat is made from a Kosher species of animal, like a cow, there is still a requirement of ritual slaughter. As such, if lab-grown beef is made from stem cells that were harvested before ritual slaughter, it could still be an issue.

Chicken eggs, unlike beef or poultry, have a unique status in Jewish dietary law and do not require ritual slaughter. By using chicken eggs, the Orthodox Union hopes to introduce a lab-grown meat that will be universally accepted.

[abduLMaria]

Is Lab-Grown Pork Kosher?   
https://aish.com/is-lab-grown-pork-kosher/

Why don't they just eat Dead Jews ?

It's supposed to taste like Pork - and it frees up Precious room in Jewish Cemeteries.