Chelev facts for kids
Two pieces of flank steak. The left one is covered with a sheet of real chelev, the right one has only some non-kosher tendons (Krumim).
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| Halakhic texts relating to this article | |
|---|---|
| Torah: | Leviticus 7:23-25 |
| Mishneh Torah: | Maachalot Assurot 7:5 |
| Other rabbinic codes: | Sefer ha-Chinuch mitzvah 147 |
Chelev (Hebrew: חֵלֶב, kheylev or ẖelev), or what is also known as "suet", is the animal fats that the Torah prohibits Jews and Israelites from eating (Leviticus 7:23). Only the chelev of animals that are of the sort from which offerings can be brought in the Tabernacle or Temple are prohibited (Leviticus 7:25). The prohibition of eating chelev is also, in addition to the Torah, one of the 613 commandments that, according to the Talmud, were given to Moses on Mount Sinai.
Hebrew Bible
Speak unto the children of Israel, saying: Ye shall eat no fat, of ox, or sheep, or goat. And the fat of that which dieth of itself, and the fat of that which is torn of beasts, may be used for any other service; but ye shall in no wise eat of it.
—Leviticus 7:23-24
Hebrew language
In Biblical Hebrew, the word for fat is chelev (חֵלֶב), and it is first used for the "fats" of Abel's offering, and most often used for fats of animal sacrifices on the altar of the Tabernacle or Temple. The same word is also used in the phrase "the fat of the land."
