Are turkeys kosher?

Eli Turkel (turkel@icase.edu)
Tue, 8 Jul 1997 08:52:15 -0400

In a previous submission I took it for granted that one cannot rely on the
tradition of other communities and that it is not the same as testimony. In
particular I have heard in the name of Rav Aharon Lichtenstein that an
Ashkenazi cannot eat locusts based on the Yemenite traditions.

Yitzchok Frankel has responded that Rav Dovid Feinstein disagreed and said
that one can accept the testimony of another Jew that a specific item is
kosher therefore that would include grasshoppers.

It would be interesting if other readers have heard rabbinic opinions about
this issue. I assume that it is not more popular since there is no major
push to eat grasshoppers. However, this issue might also have applications
to other areas.

Eli Turkel turkel@icase.edu