פירוש על ויקרא 11:10

שרץ THE PROLIFIC CREATURES — Everywhere this word denotes a low (small) being that creeps and moves along upon the ground (cf. Rashi on Genesis 1:20).

OF ALL THAT SWARM (‘SHERETZ’) IN THE WATERS, AND OF ALL THE LIVING CREATURES THAT ARE IN THE WATERS. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra wrote that sheretz (“swarming” things) are the small species that are born [and bred] in the waters, while “the living creatures” are the species of male and female. But in my opinion the term ‘sheretz’ that swarm in the waters denotes the fish which swim in the waters, for every expression of sheretz means movement, and the term all the living creatures that are in the waters, refers to the sea-animals, some of which have legs which they walk upon like creatures of the field. Thus there is one law alike for all of them [namely that those which do not have fins and scales are forbidden to be eaten]. The interpretation of the Torath Kohanim is:¹⁹⁴Torath Kohanim, Shemini 4:7. “Living, this denotes the sea-animal. Creature, this includes the siren. I might think that its carcass conveys impurity in a tent [like that of a human body], as Ben Chachinai indeed says? Scripture therefore says [in the verse before us], they are detestable” [as food, but they do not convey impurity to a person who comes into the tent where their carcass lies].¹⁹⁵See my Hebrew commentary p. 57, Note 56, for another reading in the Torath Kohanim at this concluding point.

שקץ הם לכם, they are a detestable thing unto you. The letter in ו verse 11, beginning with the words ושקץ יהיו לכם, is to be understood as the rationale; "because the Torah has determined in verse 10 that certain kinds of fish and other animals which populate the sea and the rivers are detestable, they must be regarded as detestable by Jews." We are taught in Chulin 5 that G'd protects the animals of the righteous so that they will not consume the kind of food forbidden to their owners. If G'd is so concerned about the food eaten by the property of the righteous, how mcuh more concerned must He be that the righteous themselves do not consume such food? Tossaphot comment there that we observe that a famous scholar committed judicial murder by executing a certain witness believing him to be an עד זומם, the type of false witness for whom the Torah legislated this penalty. How do we square this with the statement just quoted? Tossaphot answer that the rule applies only to food-intake, not to the commission of other sins. It would be demeaning for the צדיק to eat something the Torah characterised as שקץ even if he did so inadvertently. It is this idea the Torah refers to by writing ושקץ יהיו לכם, i.e. to include even people who eat these creatures inadvertently. The negative effect on the Jewish soul is not determined by whether such foods have been eaten deliberately or unintentionally. The words יהיו לכם tell us of the permanent effect consumption of such fish or crustaceans has on our personality, נפש.