The existence of certain rules concerning killing animals for food
included in the oral teaching of the Torah is derived from the
following passage: “Thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock which
the Lord hath given thee as I have commanded thee” (Deut. xii. 21). In
the Commentary of Rashi, ad locum, we read: “Here we see that certain
commandments have been given with regard to the killing of animals, how
this should be done. These commandments are comprised in Hilchoth
Shechitah, which form part of the Oral Law, revealed to Moses on
Sinai.” They are fully discussed and explained in the first chapter of
the treatise Chullin.
Any deviation from these rules in the act of killing the animal renders
the shechitah unlawful (פסולה). The killing of cattle, beasts, or
fowl for food is therefore entrusted only to such persons as possess a
knowledge of the rules of shechitah and are skilled and trustworthy.
The beth-din or the Chief-Rabbi decides whether a person has duly
qualified himself for the office of shochet (שוחט), and whether he
may kill animals for kasher food.
It is the duty of the shochet to examine the animal before killing it,
and to satisfy himself that it is not in a dying condition; after the
shechitah of any cattle or beast (בהמה or חיה) he must examine the
lungs to assure himself that they are in a normal condition. If he
finds them in a diseased state he declares the flesh of the animal as
t’refah (טרפה) and unfit for food. In the case of poultry the
examination is not made by the shochet; but if any deviation from the
normal state is discovered in the lungs or in any other part, the meat
must not be used as food unless the animal has been examined by a
competent person (Rabbi or dayyan), and declared by him to be kasher.
As to the beneficial influence of these examinations on the general
condition of health in the Jewish community, see Dr. H. Behrend’s
articles in Jewish Chronicle, November 12, 1880, and October 24, 1890,
and Nineteenth Century, October 1890.