Shochet
| Halakhic texts relating to this article | |
|---|---|
| Torah: | Deuteronomy 12:21, Deuteronomy 14:21, Numbers 11:22 |
| Babylonian Talmud: | Chullin |
| Mishneh Torah: | Sefer Kodashim, Hilchot shechita |
| Shulchan Aruch: | Yoreh De'ah 1:27 |
| Other rabbinic codes: | Sefer ha-Chinuch mitzvah 451 |
The Hebrew term shechita (anglicized: /ʃəxiːˈtɑː/; Hebrew: , [ʃχiˈta]), also transliterated shehitah, shechitah, shehita, means the slaughtering of certain mammals and birds for food according to Jewish dietary laws (Deut. 12:21, Deut. 14:21, Num. 11:22).
The Torah (Deut. 12:21) states that sheep and cattle should be slaughtered “as I have instructed you” but nowhere in the Five books of Moses are any of the practices of shechita described. Instead, they have been handed down in Judaism's traditional Oral Torah, and codified in halakha.
The animal must be of a permitted species. For mammals, this is restricted to ruminants which have split hooves. For birds, although Biblically any species of bird not specifically excluded in Deuteronomy 14:12–18 would be permitted, doubts as to the identity and scope of the species on the biblical list led to rabbinical law permitting only birds with a tradition of being permissible.
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