（申14）犹太人吃鱼 (Deut 14) The Jewish People Eating Fish

(ChatGPT was applied for translation from Chinese. 中文在后面）

Deuteronomy 14:9: “Of what is in the water, these you may eat: whatever has fins and scales you may eat.”

In Chinese dietary health culture, there is a saying:

“Those with four legs (pig, cow, sheep) are not as good as those with two legs (chicken, goose); those with two legs are not as good as those with one leg (mushrooms); those with one leg are not as good as those with no legs (fish).”

https://www.ebiotrade.com/newsf/2010-12/20101215144103861.htm

Fish, for Jews who keep the Bible’s dietary requirements, are also a great grace from the Creator to them.

The Bible has requirements for many aspects of Jewish life, and very much so for food. The Bible does not require Jews to be vegetarians. But there are many regulations that make it difficult if they want to eat meat. First, many kinds of animals are considered not kosher—for example, pork and rabbit are considered not ritually clean; it must be animals that both have split hooves and chew the cud, such as cow and sheep. But these animals also require special slaughter and draining of the blood, and many parts of their fat may not be eaten. As for birds, although there is no prohibition concerning their fat, they also must be of kosher species such as chicken, duck, goose, and also require special slaughter and draining of the blood. Moreover, meat and dairy may not be eaten together.

Although fish must have both scales and fins to be kosher (Deut 14:9), most fish meet the requirement. And Jews have a tradition: although fish that have fins do not necessarily have scales, fish that have scales always have fins.

https://www.sefaria.org/Chullin.66b.3?lang=bi

Therefore, this criterion becomes relatively easy to explain and apply.

In addition, kosher fish do not require special slaughter or draining of the blood, their fat may be eaten, and they may also be eaten together with dairy products. So for Jews living in gentile society, if they need to supplement animal protein, fish is one of the easiest choices. Unexpectedly, according to Chinese views of health, fish are also one of the best health foods. I do not know how reliable this view is, but of course the Creator knows.

Eating fish is a Jewish custom when celebrating the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah, the “head of the year”). They eat the head of the fish and quote the blessing of the Bible, saying, “May it be the Creator’s will that we be the head and not the tail” (from Deut 28:13). And when eating the flesh of the fish they quote another blessing of the Bible, saying, “May it be the Creator’s will that we be fruitful and multiply like the fish” (perhaps from Gen 48:16, where the original word for “be fruitful and multiply” has a root related to “fish”).

https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/79306?lang=bi

Fish also became the classic food for Jews on the Sabbath, the seventh day. The Jews keep the Sabbath every seventh day, remembering that the Creator rested on the seventh day after creating the world in six days. Eating fish on the Sabbath may be because the number of “fish” in Hebrew is seven (it is called DA-G, formed from the fourth letter and the third letter of their alphabet).

Concerning eating fish on the Sabbath, there is a Jewish story:

https://www.sefaria.org/Shabbat.119a.5?lang=bi

A Jewish poor man named Yosef especially honored the Sabbath, every week being very willing to spend money on Sabbath food, even though he was very poor. Nearby there was a wealthy gentile who heard from a fortune-teller that one day all his wealth would be enjoyed by Yosef. So this rich man sold off his estate, bought a precious large pearl, sewed it inside his hat, and wore it on his head, thinking that this way it would be safer. Unexpectedly one day, while he was crossing a bridge, a gust of wind blew his hat into the river, and a big fish swallowed that pearl. Before the Sabbath began, this fish was caught and placed in a fish shop. The shopkeeper thought, “It is already so late—who will still come to buy fish? Let’s take it to Yosef; he is always searching for good food for the Sabbath.” Yosef really did buy that fish. When he split the fish open, he found that pearl, and later sold it for thirteen boxes of gold coins. The elders, when speaking of this matter, said, “To those who ‘lend’ to the Sabbath, the Sabbath will ‘repay’ him.”

（申14）犹太人吃鱼

申命记14:9 “水中可吃的乃是这些，凡有翅有鳞的都可以吃。”

中国人饮食养生有这样的说法， “四条腿(猪、牛、羊)的不如两条腿的(鸡、鹅)，两条腿的不如一条腿的(菌类)，一条腿的不如没有腿的(鱼)。”

https://www.ebiotrade.com/newsf/2010-12/20101215144103861.htm

鱼类，对遵守圣经饮食要求的犹太人来说，也是造物主给他们的一大恩典。

圣经对犹太人的生活很多方面都有要求，饮食上更是如此。圣经对犹太人并不要求他们素食。但是有很多规定让他们想吃肉会很困难。首先有很多种类的动物被认为不清真（比如猪和兔），必须是脚分蹄的反刍动物才行，比如牛羊，但这些动物也需要专门的宰杀放血，而且很多部分的脂油也不能吃。另外鸟类虽然没有脂油的禁忌，但也需要是清真的种类如鸡鸭鹅，也需要专门的宰杀和放血。而且肉类与奶制品还不能一起吃。

虽然鱼类需要是有鳞有鳍的才清真（申命记14:9），但大多数鱼类都是符合要求的，而且犹太人有个传统，就是虽然有鳍的鱼类不一定有鳞，但有鳞的鱼类一定有鳍，https://www.sefaria.org/Chullin.66b.3?lang=bi

所以这个判据就变得比较容易解释和操作。

另外，清真的鱼类不需要专门的宰杀和放血，脂油也可以吃，也可以和奶制品一起吃。所以对生活在外邦社会中的犹太人，如果需要补充动物蛋白，鱼类是最容易的选择之一。没想到，按中国人的养生看法，鱼类也是最好的保健食品之一，我不知道这个说法的可靠性如何，但造物主当然知道。

吃鱼，是犹太人在过犹太新年（Rosh Hashanah 岁首）的一个风俗。他们吃鱼头，并引用圣经的祝福，说愿造物主喜悦我们作首不作尾（出于申命记28:13），又在吃鱼肉时引用另一处圣经的祝福，说愿造物主喜悦我们如鱼一样生养众多（可能出于创世记48:16，原文的生养众多有鱼的字根）。https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/79306?lang=bi

鱼，也成了犹太人周七安息日的经典食品。犹太人每周第七天过安息日，记念造物主六日创世后第七日安息。在第七日安息日吃鱼，可能是因为鱼在希伯来语的数字是七（叫DA-G，是他们字母表第四个字母和第三个字母拼出来的）。

关于安息日吃鱼，有这样一个犹太故事，https://www.sefaria.org/Shabbat.119a.5?lang=bi

一个叫约瑟的犹太穷人特别尊重安息日，每周都为安息日的食品很舍得花钱，即使他很穷。附近有一个外邦富豪，听算命的说他的财产有一天都会被约瑟享用，于是这个富豪就变卖了家产，买了一颗名贵的大珍珠縫在帽子里，戴着头上，以为这样会比较安全。没想到有一天他过桥时，一股旋风把他的帽子吹到河里去了，一条大鱼吞下了那颗珍珠。安息日快开始之前，这条鱼被捕获放在一个鱼铺里。店主想，这么晚了，谁还会来买鱼呢？把鱼带给约瑟吧，他常为了安息日寻找美食。约瑟真的买下了这条鱼，他掰开这条鱼，发现了那颗珍珠，后来变买了十三盒金币。有老人说起这件事，说“借给”安息日的人，安息日会“还给”他。