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3 [1] Any food that is produced from forbidden species for which lashes are given for partaking of is forbidden to be eaten according to Scriptural Law, e.g., milk from a forbidden species of domesticated animal or wild beast or the eggs of a forbidden species of birds or fish. [This is derived from Leviticus 11:16 which mentions]: "the *bat* of the ostrich." [Our Sages commented:] "This refers to its egg." The same law applies to all species that are forbidden like an ostrich and all entities [that are produce] like eggs. [2] Human milk is permitted to be eaten, although the meat of a human is forbidden to be eaten. We have already explained that it is forbidden by virtue of a positive commandment. [3] Honey produced by bees and hornets is permitted. [The rationale is that] it is not a product of their bodies. Instead, it is collected in their mouths from herbs and then expelled in their hive so that they will be able to partake of it in the rainy season. [4] Although human milk is permitted, our Sages prohibited an adult to nurse from [a woman's] breasts. Instead, the woman should express it into a container and the adult should partake of it. An adult who nurses from [a woman's] breast is like one who nurses from a teeming animal. He is given stripes for rebellious conduct. [5] An infant may continue to nurse for even four or five years. If, however, he was weaned for three days or more in a state of health and not because of sickness, he should not be allowed to nurse again. [The above applies] provided he was weaned after 24 months. If he was weaned within that time, even if he was weaned for a month or two, it is permitted to have him nurse again until the conclusion of 24 months. [6] Although the milk of a non-kosher animal and the egg of a non-kosher fowl are forbidden according to Scriptural Law, [one is] not [liable for] lashes [for partaking of them. [This is derived from Leviticus 11:8] which states: "You may not eat from their flesh." [Implied is that] one is liable for lashes for [partaking of] their flesh, but is not liable for lashes for [partaking of] their eggs and milk. One who partakes [of these substances] is like one who eats half the minimum measure [of a forbidden substance]. This is forbidden according to Scriptural Law, but one is not liable for lashes. Instead, he receives stripes for rebellious conduct. [7] It appears to me that eating the eggs of non-kosher species of fish that are found in their bellies is comparable to eating the insides of the forbidden fish themselves and one is liable for lashes according to Scriptural Law. Similarly, when a person partakes of the eggs of a non-kosher fowl that are hanging in a cluster without being separated from the mother's body or completed, he is liable for lashes as if he ate the insides of [the fowl itself]. [8] When one partakes of the egg of a non-kosher fowl inside of which an embryo has begun to take form, he is liable for eating a flying teeming animal. If, however, one partakes of the egg of a kosher fowl inside of which an embryo has begun to take form, he is liable for stripes for rebellious conduct. [9] [The following laws apply if] a blood spot is found on an egg. If it is found on the white, one should discard the blood and eat the remainder of the egg. If it is found on the yolk, the entire egg is forbidden. Unfertilized eggs - a refined person partakes of them. [10] When a chick is hatched, even if its eyes have not opened, it is permitted [to slaughter it and] eat it.
When a kosher animal became *trefe*, its milk is forbidden like the milk of a non-kosher animal. Similarly, the egg of a kosher fowl that became *trefe* is comparable to the egg of a non-kosher fowl and is forbidden. [11] When a chick is hatched from an egg from a *trefe* fowl, it is permitted, for it is not from a non-kosher species. When there is an unresolved question whether a fowl is *trefe* or not, we retain all the eggs it lays in its first batch. If it grows another batch and begins laying them, the first ones are permitted. For if it was *trefe*, it would no longer lay eggs. If it does not lay eggs, [the first batch] are forbidden. [12] The milk of a non-kosher animal will not congeal and solidify as the milk of a kosher animal does. If the milk of a non-kosher animal is mixed together with the milk of a kosher animal, when the mixture is [set aside for cheese to be made], the kosher milk will solidify and the non-kosher milk will be expelled together with the whey of the cheese. [13] Accordingly, logic would dictate that any milk found in the possession of a gentile is forbidden, lest the gentile have mixed the milk of a non-kosher animal with it. And the cheese of the gentiles should be permitted, for the milk of a non-kosher animal will not form cheese. Nevertheless, during the age of the Sages of the Mishnah, they issued a decree against gentile cheese and forbade it, lest they use the skin of the stomach of an animal they slaughtered - which is forbidden as a* nevelah* - to cause it to solidify.
If one would say: The stomach skin is a very small entity when compared to the milk that it is used to solidify. Why is it not nullified because of its insignificant size? Because it is used as the catalyst to cause the cheese to curdle. Since the catalyst which causes it to curdle is forbidden, everything is forbidden, as will be explained. [14] [The following laws apply when] cheese is left to solidify with herbs or fruit juice, e.g., fig syrup, and it is apparent [that these substances were used for] the cheese. There are some of the *Geonim* who have ruled that it is forbidden, for [our Sages] already decreed that all the cheeses of gentiles are forbidden, whether they caused them to solidify with a forbidden entity or with a permitted entity. This is a decree, [instituted] because they cause them to solidify using forbidden entities. [15] When a person partakes of cheese from gentiles or milk that was milked by a gentile without a Jew observing him, he is given stripes for rebellious conduct. With regard to butter produced by gentiles, some of the *Geonim* permit it, for [our Sages] did not decree against butter and some of the *Geonim* forbid it, because of the drops of milk that remain in it. For the whey in the butter is not mixed with the butter so that it will be nullified because of its minimal quantity. And we suspect that any milk [from gentiles] is mixed with the milk of a non-kosher animal. [16] It appears to me that if one purchased butter from gentiles and cooked it until the drops of milk in it disappeared, it is permitted. For if one will say that [drops of non-kosher milk] were mixed with the butter and it was all cooked together, they became insignificant because of the small quantity [involved]. When, however, the butter is cooked by gentiles themselves, it is forbidden because of the effusion of gentile [foods], as will be explained. [17] When a Jew sits near a herd belonging to a gentile and the gentile brings him milk from the herd, it is permitted [for him to partake of it] even though there are non-kosher animals in the herd. [This applies] even though he did not see him milk the animal, provided he could have seen him were he to stand. [The rationale is that] the gentile is afraid to milk the non-kosher animal lest [the Jew] stand and see him. [18] When both of the ends of an egg are rounded, both are pointed, or the yolk is on the outside and the white is on the inside, it is certainly from a non-kosher species. If one end is pointed, the other rounded, and the white is on the outside and the yolk is on the inside, it is possible that it is the egg of a non-kosher species and it is possible that it is the egg of a kosher species. Accordingly, the Jew should inquire of the Jewish hunter who sells them. If he tells him that they are from such-and-such a fowl and that this fowl is kosher, he may rely on him. If, however, he tells him that they are from a kosher fowl, but does not mention its name, he may not rely on him. [19] For this reason, we do not purchase eggs from gentiles unless one recognizes the eggs and can identify them as being from a particular kosher species of fowl. We do not suspect that they came from a fowl that was *trefe* or *nevelah*. And we do not purchase an [unshelled and] stirred egg from a gentile at all. [20] The distinguishing signs of fish eggs are the same as those for fowl. When both of the ends of an egg are rounded or both are pointed, it is non-kosher. If one end is pointed and the other rounded, he should inquire of the Jew who sells them. If he tells him that he salted them and removed them from a kosher species, he may partake of them on the basis of his statements. If he tells him that they are kosher, he may not rely on him unless he is a person who has an established reputation for observance. [21] Similarly, we may not purchase cheese and pieces of fish that do not have distinguishing signs except from a Jew who has an established reputation for observance. In *Eretz Yisrael*, at the time it was populated primarily by [observant] Jews, one could purchase these items from any Jew located there. And it is permitted to purchase milk from any Jew, anywhere. [22] When a person pickles non-kosher fish, the brine produced is forbidden. The brine produced by non-kosher locusts, by contrast, is permitted, because they do not possess any moisture. Accordingly, we do not purchase brine from gentiles unless there is a kosher fish floating in it. Even one fish is sufficient. [23] When a gentile brings a trough filled with open barrels of brine and there is a kosher fish in one of them, they are all permitted. If they are closed, one opens one and finds a kosher fish and one opens a second and finds a kosher fish, they are all permitted. [This applies] provided the head of the fish and its backbone are present so that it is recognizable that they are from a kosher species of fish.
For this reason, we do not purchased crushed, salted fish from gentiles which are called *terit terufah*. If, however, the head and the backbone of a fish is recognizable, even though it is crushed, it is permitted to purchase it from a gentile. [24] When a gentile brings a keg of pieces of evenly cut up fish and it is obvious that they are from one fish, they are all permitted if he finds scales on one of the pieces.
Version: Mishneh Torah, trans. by Eliyahu Touger. Jerusalem, Moznaim Pub. c1986-c2007
Source: https://www.nli.org.il/he/books/NNL_ALEPH001020101/NLI
License: CC-BY-NC