Midrash su Levitico 11:5

1) (Vayikra 11:24) "And by (touching) these you will become unclean; all who touch their carcass will be unclean until evening." (Vayikra 11:26) By (touching) every beast whose hoof (parsah) is parted (mafreseth), and cloven (shesa) is not cloven (shosa'ath) or the cud (gera) does not chew …" I might think that in respect to all that is mentioned in the (preceding) section, viz.: Beasts, animals, birds, fish, and grasshoppers, (I would think that) ever min hechai (flesh torn from a living animal) [to which these verses also refer, viz., below; 2) and Vayikra 11:5)]) renders one unclean in all of them; it is, therefore, written (Vayikra 11:26) "beast." I would exclude fish, which are found in the sea, which do not contract tumah, but I would not exclude grasshoppers; it is, therefore, written "mafreseth." I would exclude grasshoppers, in whose species we do not find tumah, but I would not exclude birds, in whose species we do find tumah; it is, therefore, written "parsah." I would exclude unclean birds, but I would not exclude clean birds. And it would follow a fortiori, viz.: If a beast, which does not render one's clothes tamei (if a piece of neveilah is stuffed down) his throat, ever min hechai of it does confer tumah, then a bird, that renders one's clothes tamei (if a piece of neveilah is stuffed down) his throat, how much more so should ever min hechai confer tumah. It is, therefore, written "shesa." This tells me (that ever min hechai tumah is conferred) only on a clean beast. Whence do I derive the same for an unclean beast? From "every beast." Whence do I derive (the same for) a clean animal? From "mafreseth." Whence do I derive (the same for) an unclean animal? From "parsah." Whence do we derive (the same for) the cloven-footed? From "and shesa." Whence do we derive the (same for) the non cloven-footed? From "is not shosa'ath." Whence do we derive (the same for) one that chews the cud? From "that chews gera." Whence do we derive (the same for) one that does not chew the cud? From "that does not chew."

5) (Vayikra 11:4): "the camel, because it chews the cud, etc. (Vayikra 11:5) and the coney because it chews the cud, etc. (Vayikra 11:6) and the hare because it chews the cud, etc." What is the intent of this? It is already written (Devarim 14:7): "the camel, and the hare, and the coney, for they chew the cud, etc."! Why are they mentioned? To include the aforementioned inclusions.

And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass (Exod. 4:20). This is one of the ten verses our rabbis altered when they translated the Torah into Greek for King Ptolemy.¹⁶Megillah 9a. The Septuagint, begun during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285–246 B.C.E.). The ten changes are: “God created in the beginning” (Gen. 1:1);¹⁷Instead of In the beginning God created, in order to emphasize that God alone created. “I shall make man in My image and My likeness” (ibid., v. 26);¹⁸Instead of Let us make man in our image. etc. “And He finished on the sixth day, and rested on the seventh day (ibid. 2:2);¹⁹Instead of And on the seventh day God finished, thus giving the impression that God actually worked on the seventh day. “Male and female He created him” (ibid. 5:2);²⁰Instead of Male and female He created them, etc. “Come, let Me descend and confound their tongue” (ibid. 11:7);²¹Instead of Come, let us go down, etc. “And Sarah laughed among her relatives” (ibid. 18:12);²²Instead of And Sarah laughed within herself. “For in their anger they slew an ox, and in their wrath they digged up a stall” (ibid. 49:6);²³Instead of For in their anger they slew men, and in their self-will they houghed oxen. “And Moses took his wife and his sons, and made them ride on a carrier of men” (Exod. 4:20);²⁴Instead of… and set them upon an ass. “Now the time that the children of Israel dwelt in Egypt, and in the land of Goshen and in Canaan was four hundred and thirty years” (ibid. 12:40);²⁵Instead of Now the time that the children of Israel dwelt in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years, etc. “And he sent the elect of the children of Israel” (ibid. 24:5);²⁶Instead of And he sent the young men of the children of Israel. “And against the elect of the children of Israel he put not forth his hand (ibid., v. 11);²⁷Instead of And upon the nobles of the children of Israel He laid not His hand. “Since the Lord thy God hath arranged to give light to all the peoples under the entire heavens” (Deut. 4:19);²⁸The words “to give light” were added. “Which I had not commanded the people to serve” (Deut. 17:3);²⁹Instead of Which I have commanded not. they wrote about “the slender-footed,” but they did not write the word ‘arnevet (“the hare”) (Lev. 11:5) because the name of Ptolemy’s wife was ‘Arnevet,³⁰Actually, her name was Arsinoe. and he might say: “The Jews are ridiculing me by writing my wife’s name in the Torah.”