Q&A: Parashat Shemini
Parashat Shemini
Question
As we approach Parashat Shemini, how can one deal with the question that the Torah states that the hyrax and the hare chew the cud?
Do you accept the answer that the Torah is speaking from the perspective of a formative eye, where in simple observation they appear to chew the cud?
And it is a bit funny that דווקא from here they prove that the Torah is from Heaven.
“But these you shall not eat”
Rabbi Akiva said: Was Moses our teacher a hunter or animal trapper?
Rather, from here is a response to one who says that the Torah is not from Heaven.”
(Sifrei, Parashat Re’eh 14:97)
Answer
I do not know whether the hyrax and hare of today are the animals the Torah is referring to. If Rabbi Akiva knew these animals and thought they chew the cud, then according to his view this really was evidence.
By the way, Rabbi Akiva’s very claim requires explanation. If this really can be seen, then what is the proof that the Torah is from Heaven? Why couldn’t Moses have seen what Rabbi Akiva himself saw? It seems his intention is to say that only these animals do not chew the cud (but do have split hooves), and then there really is evidence here, since someone who did not know the reality accurately would not have ventured to make a general statement that only these are the ones.