“Speak to the Children of Israel saying, “these are the animals you may eat from among the animals that are on the earth. All that have a cloven hoof and the hooves are split and they chew their cud, these animals may be eaten.” (Vayikra 11:2-3)

Many ask the famous question, “are giraffes kosher?” They have all of the signs of a kosher animal, but where on the giraffe’s neck does one slaughter it? Therefore, many people think giraffe meat cannot be made kosher. I once heard differently from a lecture given by a shochet. The shochet mentioned giraffes are certainly kosher and they are actually the easiest animal to slaughter. The reason is because they can be slaughtered anywhere on their neck. Someone in the crowd then asked the obvious question: “since it is kosher, why don’t we eat giraffe?” The shochet gave a simple answer: “because it tastes like giraffe.” The reason we don’t eat giraffe meat is because no one does. Go onto “google” and put in recipes for giraffe meat. You won’t find any real recipes because even the non-Jews don’t eat giraffe. The lesson we can learn from this is that even if something is kosher, it does not mean we have to eat it. Even if something is permissible, it does not mean we need to do it.

On Purim, I received many Shalach Manos packages and I am very thankful I did. One thing that makes my taste buds very happy is many of the Shalach Manos included treats full of sugar. But my heart does not agree with my taste buds. All of the foods I received in the Shalach Manos packages is kosher and if I wanted to, I could eat numerous treats in one afternoon without doing anything forbidden by Jewish law. This does not mean I should do it though. Just because it is permissible does not mean I need to do it.

I enjoy playing games. If a person wanted to play PacMan for hours and hours each day, he would not be violating any negative commandment in the Torah. When this person makes it to the Next World and asked how he spent his days, he will happily tell Hashem he never committed any sins. He did not murder. He did not steal. He did not talk Lashon Hara. He did not lie. He did not cheat in business (this is assuming he played on one of his days off, of course). But he wasted the whole day! He could have been doing so many better things. Of course, people are entitled to relax and take breaks. If a person has PacMan fever, he is allowed to play. But excessive playing is not proper, even though a person does not actually do anything against Torah law during that time.

Are giraffes permitted? I don’t know. As stated earlier, I once heard a shochet say it is, but there are other opinions. Even if it is kosher, it does not mean you need to eat it. Just because something is permitted does not mean we need to do it. We might not be breaking any laws, but it might not really be the best thing for us. Too much sugar will give a person a stomach ache. Too much PacMan is just a waste of time. And from what I hear, giraffe meat does not taste good.

Good Shabbos!
-yes
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