For vaxjedi: Undead Kosher Cows...

[arib]

(I've aleady posted bits and pieces of this to the weirdjews community, but I was talking about this with eleri, and some of it bears re-explaining.

The technical term is Ben Pekuah

See, let's assume you have a cow. This cow receives Kosher slaughter in the usual and proper manner. Lo and behold, shortly thereafter, a viable calf is found inside the now-slaughtered cow.

Technically speaking, this calf doesn't require it's own seperate Kosher slaughtering, as it was part of it's mother when she was slaughtered, and is, as one teacher of mine described it "a walking hamburger."

(as a side note, a Ben Pekuah would still receive Kosher slaughter, both for the sake of appearance and the belief that Kosher slaughter is more humane.)

This, of course, begs the following question.

If a cow receives Kosher slaughter, and scientists take a cell from this cow and make themselves a clone cow, does the clone fall under this heading?

(The last time I asked a rabbi about this was pre-Dolly, I should really find an answer for this one...)

Comments

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

This is a great question. May I pass this along to Rabbi Ben Samuels of Newton? He's the one I usually consult with when it comes to these sorts of questions.

[arib.livejournal.com]

Feel free, I'd be interested in hearing his response.

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

You are a freak. :D

A.
delighted

[kylakae.livejournal.com]

Hehe...excellent question! I can't wait to hear the answer.

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

"Undead Kosher Cows"

That would be a great name for a band or an album...

[cellio]

I would be interested in hearing the results if this question is taken to rabbis.

Personally, I would think that a key factor is whether outside aid is needed. Does "viable" in the case of the calf mean "will live now"? Or does it mean "would live if we put it in an incubator and fed it drugs and stuff"? (I realize that the sages wouldn't have phrased it that way. :-) ) The single cell is not viable; it's an ingredient that requires major outside processing. Heck, you don't even need cloning to ask this question: if you take an egg (or sperm from a bull) and use that to make a test-tube bovine, what is its status?

I'm guessing that the ben pekuach is different from both the clone and the test-tube cases.

Rabbi's response

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

Here's what Rabbi Samuels said:

"I don't think the cloned cow would be considered a ben pekuah because during gestational changes it would be seen as a newly created entity and would be linked geneologically after the gestational mother. If an artificial womb were created then the calf would have no mother but most likely still be considered an independent life form."