Dinos and Rhinos

And horns for shofars

Several years ago I was at the home of a frum Jewish family in Brooklyn for a Shabbos meal. The conversation turned to Torah and science, and eventually the topic of dinosaurs came up. The daughter, who was around twenty years old, had an opinion to share.

“The only dinosaur I believe in is the rinosaurus,” she said.

Now, I’m fairly proficient in dinosaur species, but I had never heard of a rinosaurus. “What’s that?” I asked.

“That’s the one with the horn on its head,” she replied. “I’ve seen one in a zoo.”

Ah. Not a rinosaurus, but a rhinoceros.

I was remembering this incident because I’ve been thinking about rhinos. The reason for that is that it’s shofar season.

People sometimes ask me whether you can make a shofar from the horn of a non-kosher animal. This is actually something discussed by halachic authorities. (Skip to the end of the post for some announcements if you haven’t got patience for a halachic discussion.)

The Rema (Orach Chaim 586:1) rules that a shofar of a non-kosher animal may not be used. This is attributed to Ran, but the truth is that Ran is not unequivocal about this. The grounds for this prohibition would be if there is a principle that only kosher animals may be utilized in acts of Divine service. One might presume that such a principle does indeed exist; after all, Tefillin may only be written on parchment from a kosher animal. But Ran proves that there is no such absolute law. Furthermore, a shofar is not an item of sanctity, as are Tefillin; a shofar can be discarded in the garbage without requiring any respectful treatment.

Ran therefore leaves the question of whether a shofar can be made from a non-kosher animal as unresolved. Still, a principle that only kosher animals may be utilized in acts of Divine service may indeed exist. Since it is a case of doubt regarding a Biblical requirement, Rema rules stringently that the horn of a non-kosher animal may not be used.

But an interesting question is raised by Rabbi Mordechai Kraschnik of Cracow and in Responsa Chavos Ya’ir. They point out that in any case, there is no such thing as a non-kosher animal with horns! This conclusion is based on a statement in the Talmud (Niddah 51b) that every animal with horns also possesses split hooves (and chews the cud). The question is therefore asked: why did the Ran discuss a law with no application?

Several authorities defend the necessity of Ran’s discussion. They argue that there could indeed be non-kosher animals with horns, as the Talmud’s statement that all animals with horns are kosher was limited in application; either it was a lone view that the Rabbis disputed, or it was not referring to domesticated animals, or it was only referring to certain types of horns, or that it was only referring to animals with two horns, or that it does not preclude the possibility of a non-kosher animal giving birth to a mutant offspring with horns, or that it was otherwise misunderstood.

R. Hezkiyah da Silva, in Pri Chadash, takes a different line with regard to the Talmud’s statement that all horned animals are kosher. After presenting various difficulties with this position (which he attributes as being the lone view of Rabbi Dosa) based on other sources in the Talmud, he presents a refutation based on his zoological research. (Note how things have changed in some circles since then - imagine a rabbi today saying that he has done scientific research which disproves an opinion in the Talmud!) R. Hezkiyah notes that there are clear reports of a horned animal which is not kosher: the rhinoceros. This would seem to contradict the Talmud’s principle (unless one adopts one of the interpretations suggested above; other solutions are also possible).

Still, while the rhinoceros does show that there are animals with horns that are not kosher, it cannot be the subject of Ran’s ruling that shofars made from non-kosher animals may not be used. The reason is that the horn of a rhinoceros is not a hollow horn, like that of a ram or antelope. Instead, it is a sold mass of keratin. It is thus in any case entirely unsuitable for being made into a shofar, just as with the antlers of a deer.

Anyway, in our Hall of Shofars at the Biblical Museum of Natural History, we have a rhino horn on exhibit, in order to demonstrate how not every horn can be used as a shofar. It’s a replica, as genuine rhinoceros horn is more valuable by weight than gold and is illegal to purchase (at a zoo in Paris, poachers broke in, killed the rhino, and cut off its horn to sell on the black market). It’s always been my dream to exhibit a complete rhino head, to match the other horned animal heads on display in that hall, but this appeared to be impossible to obtain.

But I just found someone selling a carefully crafted artificial replica of a rhino head! See the picture below. I really want to get it for the museum, but there’s a challenge; it’s enormous, it’s located in North Hampton, New Hampshire, and the seller cannot deliver it. If anyone happens to be driving there with a large vehicle and can transport it to New York - where we have a shipper who sends large exhibits to the museum - please be in touch! (You can also be in touch if you’d like to sponsor this exhibit!)

Meanwhile, I mentioned to my wife that I’m getting a rhinoceros head. She replied, “What, instead of your own?”

In other news, I will be visiting Toronto, New Jersey (Teaneck) and New York (the Five Towns) in November. If you’re interested in participating in a parlor meeting for the Biblical Museum of Natural History, please write to Ellen Levi at advancement@biblicalnaturalhistory.org.