Kashrus Kurrents, Spring 2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\nis a basic principle in Halacha: kol hayotzei m\u2019tamei tamei, kol hayotzei\nm\u2019tahor tahor<\/em>. The crux of that principle is that a product derived from a\nnon-kosher animal will be deemed not kosher (e.g., pig milk or ostrich eggs),\nwhile a product derived from a kosher animal will be kosher (e.g., chicken eggs\nand goat milk). This definition needs more investigation when it comes to stem\ncells.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before\nwe proceed with this discussion, let\u2019s first step back to the Beginning, to the\nSource of all that \u2018stems.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the Beginning \u2026 There Was Change<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Change\nis sometimes beneficial, at times detrimental, frequently challenging, and often\nintriguing. If we take a closer look, change<\/em> is actually the underlying\nforce behind brias ha\u2019olam<\/em> (creation). <\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nRamban offers a riveting insight into unlocking the secret of brias ha\u2019olam<\/em>\nwhen he draws us close and says, \u201cand now, let me tell you the secret of\ncreation. The Ribono shel Olam created the world yesh mi\u2019ayin<\/em> \u2013 ex\nnihilo<\/em> \u2013 Something out of Nothing.\u201d What exactly did He create? In the\nRamban\u2019s words: yesod dak me\u2019od<\/em> \u2013 what we would call a single element: \u05d4\u05b4\u05d9\u05d5\u05bc\u05dc\u05b4\u05d9<\/strong> (hiyuli<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Hashem\u2019s\ncreation of hiyuli<\/em>, He changed, shaped, expanded, molded, designed, and\nrefined the entire briah<\/em> \u2013 v\u2019hinei tov me\u2019od<\/em>! As we can clearly\nsee from the Ramban\u2019s perspective, change<\/em> is the fundamental driving\nforce behind all matter that envelops us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s\nillustrate the power of change with a few simple examples. Take two basic\nelements \u2013 hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O). Combine two parts hydrogen with one\npart oxygen, and the result is water<\/em>, H2<\/sub>O, the elixir of life.\nHighly beneficial! Add the element sulphur (S) to the hydrogen and oxygen, and\nthe result is sulfuric acid<\/em>, H2<\/sub>SO4<\/sub>, a corrosive\nacid that can damage skin, eyes and lungs. Potentially harmful!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Change in the World of Kashrus<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In\nthe world of kashrus, we are constantly dealing with change and transformation.\nCombining water and barley flour transforms the starch into a sugary liquid\ncalled wort<\/em> or malted barley. Combine the wort with yeast and you brew\nbeer. Distill the beer, and the water and alcohol separate into vapors. The\nalcoholic vapor condenses into a chometzdik<\/em> liquid called neutral grain\nspirits. Fascinating!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take\nnon-kosher grape wine seeds, wash them, dry them and extract the oil from the\nseeds. You now have kosher grapeseed oil. Intriguing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some\nproducts are grown and propagate from a small test tube filled with nutrients\nknown as growth media<\/em>. This is the initial growth stage of fungi,\npopularly known as yeast. Yeast cells grow from test tubes to laboratory\nflasks, to fermentation tanks, to tanks that may have the capacity to hold\n60,000 gallons of yeast. What happens to all that yeast if the protein nutrient\nin the original test tube came from pork? The yeast would be considered not\nkosher. Disappointing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n So is the Stem Cell Fleischig<\/em>? Is It Even Kosher?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As\nwe clearly see in the world of kashrus, not all transformations are created\nequal. In fact, one of the most fascinating kashrus questions before us today \u2018stems\u2019\nfrom recent developments in the area of stem cell research. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s\nbegin with a working definition of stem cells and how they could relate to kashrus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stem cells\nare an organism\u2019s basic raw material \u2013 undifferentiated cells from which all\nother cells with specialized functions are generated. Undifferentiated\ncells are pluripotent<\/em> \u2013 they have the capacity to become any kind of\ncell. Stem cells, under the right conditions, can divide into more cells\ncalled daughter cells<\/em>. Daughter cells can themselves become more\nstem cells or differentiate to become specialized cells \u2013 such as blood, brain,\nbone, fat, or muscle cells. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mammalian\nstem cells may be harvested from early animal embryos (at the so-called blastocyst<\/em> stage)\nor from certain adult animal sources like bone marrow. Such stem cells\ncould, in principle, be used to grow tissues or organs \u2013 like Black Angus steer\nmuscle (and fat) that could, in principle, be fashioned into a lab-derived\nsteak. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With\nresearchers discovering new methods to direct stem cells to become specific\ntypes of cells, we can engage in an interesting thought exercise.\nTheoretically, what would be the kashrus status of a bovine stem cell taken\nfrom a Black Angus steer that you let grow into a stem cell rib steak? Does the\npossibility exist to propagate beef stem cells and grow them into a geshmak<\/em>\nstem cell rib steak?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Indeed,\nit is an intriguing prospect. Researchers approached Rabbi Moshe Heinemann, shlit<\/em>\u201da,\nSTAR-K\u2019s Rav Hamachshir, for his opinion about stem cell beef. Rabbi Heinemann\nclearly maintained that kosher embryonic stem cells would have to be grown from\na beheima shechuta<\/em>, an animal that was properly slaughtered. As the Rav\nhas opined with genetically modified tomatoes, if it looks like a tomato and\ntastes like a tomato, it’s a tomato. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Stem\ncell\u2019 meat would be no different. When a stem cell is propagated, you are\nactually growing an animal, and not something that emanates from the animal. Since\nthe stem cell and the actual beheima<\/em> are one and the same, the kashrus\nstatus and gender of the stem cell follow suit. Unlike a pareve egg that comes\nfrom a chicken or dairy milk that comes from a goat, a kosher bovine stem cell\nis unquestionably fleishig<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The author wishes to thank Dr. Arie Michelsohn for his assistance\nwith this article. Dr. Michelsohn is a patent attorney and molecular biologist\nwho earned his PhD at Caltech, where he conducted stem cell research and wrote\nhis dissertation on the topic.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Kashrus Kurrents, Spring 2022<\/p>\n There Before In the Beginning \u2026 There Was Change<\/strong><\/p>\n Change The
\nis a basic principle in Halacha: kol hayotzei m\u2019tamei tamei, kol hayotzei
\nm\u2019tahor tahor. The crux of that principle is that a product derived from a
\nnon-kosher animal will be deemed not kosher (e.g., pig milk or ostrich eggs),
\nwhile a product derived from a kosher animal will be kosher (e.g., chicken eggs
\nand goat milk). This definition needs more investigation when it comes to stem
\ncells.<\/p>\n
\nwe proceed with this discussion, let\u2019s first step back to the Beginning, to the
\nSource of all that \u2018stems.\u2019<\/p>\n
\nis sometimes beneficial, at times detrimental, frequently challenging, and often
\nintriguing. If we take a closer look, change is actually the underlying
\nforce behind brias ha\u2019olam (creation). <\/p>\n
\nRamban offers a riveting insight into unlocking the secret of brias ha\u2019olam
\nwhen he draws us close and says, \u201cand now, let me tell you the secret of
\ncreation. The Ribono shel Olam created the world yesh mi\u2019ayin \u2013 ex
\nnihilo […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[224,27,318,226],"tags":[241,240],"class_list":["post-9256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kashrus-kurrents-2022","category-kashrus-kurrents","category-kashrus-kurrents-in-app","category-spring-kashrus-kurrents-2022","tag-lab-grown-meat","tag-stem-cells"],"yoast_head":"\n