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22 Sivan 5765 - June 29, 2005 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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NEWS
No Halachic Scales For The South African Kingklip Fish

By B. Rabinowitz

The first Jews to encounter the kingklip were probably Russian and Lithuanian emigrants who began settling in South Africa just over a century ago. Living on the floor of the oceans of the southern hemisphere at depths ranging from fifty to five hundred meters, it is considered a very good eating fish. The expensive red and golden varieties are much in demand. It is a sea fish that is now caught near South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Chile and Argentina.

The kingklip's main feature of interest to us is its skin.

The fish is quite smooth externally but when the skin is opened, small scale-like pieces of flesh are found buried in between the outer and inner layers of skin. These "scales" are very soft and pliable and are quite unlike the regular scales attached to the outer skin of kosher fish. The scales cannot be seen externally, though on looking closely at the kingklip, square-shaped pockets within which the scales sit can be discerned beneath the fatty outer layer of the skin.

A single, central Beis Din has been serving the Jewish community of Johannesburg for the past century. It was established by the traditional element, which forms the clear majority of the city's Jewish population and its functions include kashrus supervision. Some years ago some of the local rabbonim had permitted the fish and others had forbidden it. A similar question was brought before the Chazon Ish zt'l, (niftar over fifty years ago) and he forbade it. Though it is unclear by whom or where from, it is likely that it really was a kingklip.

The first documented official stand on the question of the kingklip's kashrus was taken forty years ago when the South African Beis Din permitted its consumption since, it maintained, the kingklip sheds its scales in the water — though there is extensive debate among the poskim as to how this can actually be ascertained.

The chareidi rabbonim of Johannesburg issued a ruling forbidding the fish to their communities. Among them were HaRav Yaakov Selzer zt'l, HaRav Aharon Pfeufer zt'l and ylct'a HaRav Moshe Sternbuch. In view of their ruling, the Beis Din designated the fish as "kosher but not lemehadrin" — a surprising status for a fish. If a fish possesses the signs of kashrus required by the Torah it is one hundred percent kosher and if not, it is one hundred percent non-kosher.

There was a significant shift around five years ago when the Beis Din revised its earlier ruling and declared the kingklip "kosher lemehadrin" by virtue of its "scales." It dismissed the earlier rulings of the chareidi rabbonim by claiming that they had been unaware of the scales' existence — an argument that is contradicted by a document from the nineteen fifties noting the presence of the "scales."

This move prompted a number of South African chareidi rabbonim to reexamine the entire issue which no longer only concerns South African consumers, for the fish is now exported to other countries as well. The investigations have been going on now for several years and include a close study of the actual "scales," in the light of the characteristics of the type of scales that render a fish kosher as described by the Rishonim and Acharonim. Extensive consultations have also been held with other rabbonim and kashrus experts, a majority of whom have expressed their opinion that the fish is not kosher.

All these efforts have been coordinated in the course of frequent consultations that the researchers have held with HaRav Aharon Leib Shteinman, who has been generally guiding the chareidi community in South Africa. While HaRav Shteinman's own opinion is that the fish is not kosher, he directed the rabbonim to HaRav Eliashiv for a practical ruling on what course to take (see the accompanying box for the text of Maran's ruling).

The beis din of the Eida HaChareidis has also issued a notice declaring the kingklip to be, "like the other types of unclean crawling things that are forbidden by the Torah." HaRav Nissim Karelitz mentioned to this writer that he also forbids the fish and that he now rules that it is best to kasher pots that were used for cooking it. Several American rabbonim with long years of experience in kashrus have ruled likewise, despite the accepted leniencies there in many other areas of kashrus.

7th Iyar 5765

Maran HaGaon HaRav Y.S. Eliashiv has instructed me to publicize his ruling concerning the kingklip, which is found in several countries in the southern hemisphere.

The fish has been brought before Maran and he saw a drastic difference in what is argued are its scales and ruled that there is no tradition for regarding them as [halachic] scales and that the fish is forbidden.

Maran has recently heard that a lenient ruling has been publicized in his name and he has asked me to strongly refute these false rumors, which can pose a serious stumbling block to the public.

Moshe Mordechai Karp

Kiryat Sefer

Author of Hilchos Chag Bechag and Mishmeres Hamo'adim

HaRav Eliashiv added that a rav should be consulted as to whether pots in which the fish was cooked need kashering.

 

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