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Does Judaism have an opinion on bugs?

by rabbi Mendy Hecht

  

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A. Yes. Ants teach us to be industrious, bees teach us to be productive, and caterpillars teach us that we can change. The giant forest of a bug’s life is a front lawn to us, and remembering that there is One who’s beyond our scope keeps us humble. (Which is not to say we should feel negative, like lowly insects—rather, we should simply remember that we don’t know it all, keep our chins up and do the best we can.)

B. Many bugs are pests, but without them, life wouldn’t be the same. Bees give us honey, silkworms give us silk. According to the Midrash, a spider once saved King David’s life by spinning a web across the mouth of a cave he had just entered, throwing off his pursuers who reasoned he couldn’t have got past that spidery net without breaking it. And an unimaginably huge horde of ants disassembled a large hill held aloft by the Biblical giant Og by each grabbing a grain of dirt and carting it off.

a spider once saved King David’s life by spinning a web across the mouth of a cave he had just entered, throwing off his pursuers who reasoned he couldn’t have got past that spidery net without breaking it
C. While these Biblical beetles may leave you bug-eyed, bugs, insects, worms and all creeping, crawling little critters are considered tamei, or spiritually negative, by the Torah, with a few exceptions. Still, the prohibition of animal torture applies to little buggies too—you may stamp out ants, kill flies, spray and bait for roaches, and do whatever you must do to rid your pad of pests, but you may not torment them just for kicks. When you must dispatch them, Torah advises to do so swiftly and painlessly.

What are the mitzvahs of bugs?

1. Winged Things

Eating flies, fleas, bees, wasps, hornets, flying ants and any flying insect is rendered illegal by Negative Mitzvah #175. Who would want to, anyway? Oh, you’d be disgustingly surprised—in many ancient cultures and in several today, eating certain insects is as normal as eating fungus, which most of us do. (Mushrooms, remember?) The Torah actually permits certain species of grasshopper, instructing us in Positive Mitzvah #151 what to look for in a fine Kosher locust—it must have four legs, four body-length wings, and jointed additional legs above its walking legs. But this sort of treat is virtually unheard of in Jewish circles today.

2. Creepy-Crawly and Slimy Things

Negative Mitzvah #176 renders illegal eating ants, beetles, cockroaches, doodlebugs, worms (this is getting gross) or anything that crawls, swarms or slithers on or in the earth. Like all other mitzvahs (except for adultery, murder and idol-worship), you may violate the bug-mitzvahs if your life depended on it. So, if you happen to get shot down over Bosnia one day and you can’t find food except for those little Bosnian ants—bon apetit.

3. Things that Spawn in Unlikely Places

We’ve all heard of the worm in the apple and the maggots in the rotting food. It’s doubtful you’d want to eat them, but just in case you do, Negative Mitzvahs #177-178 respectively outlaw eating any of the above critters that grow in fruits or seeds, or that spawn from airborne spores and thrive in organic garbage.

TAGS: insects, bugs

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RELATED CATEGORIES

Miscellaneous » Animals/Pets
Mitzvah
(pl. Mitzvot). A commandment from G-d. Mitzvah also means a connection, for a Jew connects with G–d through fulfilling His commandments.
Torah
Torah is G–d’s teaching to man. In general terms, we refer to the Five Books of Moses as “The Torah.” But in truth, all Jewish beliefs and laws are part of the Torah.
Kosher
Literally means "fit." Commonly used to describe foods which are permitted by Jewish dietary laws, but is also used to describe religious articles (such as a Torah scroll or Sukkah) which meet the requirements of Jewish law.
Midrash
(Pl. Midrashim). Non-legal material of anecdotal or allegorical nature, designed either to clarify historical material, or to teach a moral point. The Midrashim were compiled by the sages who authored the Mishna and Talmud (200 BCE-500 CE).
David
King of Israel who succeeded Saul, becoming king of Israel in 876 BCE. Originally a shepherd, he became popular after he killed the Philistine strongman, Goliath. He is the progenitor of the Davidic royal dynasty -- which will return to the throne with the arrival of King Messiah.
tamei
Ritually impure.