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From: Russell Hendel <rhendel@mcs.drexel.edu>
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1999 19:12:39 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: An "evolutionary" midrashic insight into fish blood/kashruth

Just wanted to complement the discussion on Fish Blood (e.g Janet
Rosenbaum, v28n101) with a beautiful Midrash Rabbah that

--Animals that are closest (biologically) to man require slaughter
cutting both pipes in the neck

--Birds which are less close only require one of the pipes to be cut

--Fish which are farthest away from man (in biological similarity)
do not require Schitah.

Similarly it would appear that ANIMAL BLOOD which resembles HUMAN BLOOD
is forbidden (because it symbolizes the soul (lev 17) while FISH BLOOD
which does not resemble HUMANS does not have this symbolic link and hence
is not as severely prohibited.

Russell Jay Hendel; Phd ASA;rjhendel@juno.com; http://www.shamash.org/rashi/