What exactly is a Nesher? (It is important to note that the Sichas Chulin
concludes his discussion of the Nesher by citing a number of early
authorities who write that the exact identity of the birds mentioned in the
Torah have become unclear to us ("b'Avoseinu ha'Rabim") and difficult for us
to discern.)
(The following discussion is adapted from Rabbi Nosson Slifkin's forthcoming
work, "The Torah Encyclopedia of the Animal Kingdom.")
(a) The Nesher is commonly understood to be the eagle. The CHIZKUNI (Vayikra
11:13), SEFER HA'ITUR, and YALKUT ME'AM LO'EZ also define the Nesher as the
eagle ("eagila," "eagula," and "eagla" respectively).
TOSFOS (63a, DH Netz) says that it is a mistake to translate "Nesher" as
"eagle," and that it must be some other type of bird. The Gemara here says
that a Nesher has *none* of the signs of a Kosher bird, but we know that an
eagle has an Etzba Yeseirah. The CHIDUSHEI HA'RAN here adds that according
to both opinions of what the Etzba Yeseirah is (see Insights to Chulin
59:3) -- an additional toe at the back of the foot (RASHI), or a front toe
that is larger than the others (RAN) -- an eagle has an Etzba Yeseirah.
(b) The RAMBAN and RAN write that the Nesher is the "Nesher ha'Kere'ach,"
the "bald Nesher," whose front toes are all the same size (and thus it does
not have an Etzba Yeseirah, at least according to the Ran's definition of an
Etzba Yeseirah). They cite support for this from the verse, "Expand your
baldness like a Nesher" (Michah 1:16), implying that a Nesher is bald.
The Ramban and Ran are not referring to the bird known as the bald eagle,
since that bird is not indigenous to Eretz Yisrael (but only to America),
and nor is it actually bald (it merely has white feathers on its head, and
its name comes from the Old English word "balde," which means "white"). What
bird, then, is the "bald Nesher"?
There is another bird that fits the descriptions of the Nesher in the verses
and in the Gemara. RAV SA'ADYAH GA'ON and the IBN EZRA (Vayikra 11:13)
translate "Nesher" into the Arabic term "Nesr," which refers to the griffon
vulture.
While the griffon vulture is not entirely bald, as it has a white downy
covering on its head and neck, it has no feathers on its head and thus it
probably qualifies as being bald. There are other types of vultures that
indeed are entirely bald. This feature relates to their habit of feeding on
carrion. Vultures insert their heads into the carcasses of large animals in
order to eat. Were their heads to be feathered, these feathers would become
filled with blood and flesh of their prey, which would provide a place for
dangerous bacteria to develop. By not creating it with feathers in its head
and neck, Hashem made the vulture able to safely insert its head and neck
into the carcass without incurring this danger (SICHAS CHULIN, page 422).
While eagles were not so prominent in Eretz Yisrael, vultures formerly were
very common and were the most magnificent birds of prey in the area (today,
however, they are almost extinct). Moreover, there are a number of verses
that describe characteristics of the Nesher that match the characteristics
of the vulture, but not of the eagle. The verse describes the vulture as a
bird that eats carcasses: "Does the Nesher rise up at your command, and make
its nest on high? It dwells and abides on the rock, upon the crag of the
rock, and the strong place. From there it seeks the prey, and its eyes
behold from far away. Its young ones gulp blood; and where there are
carcasses, there it is" (Job 39:27-30). Similarly, the verse says, "The eye
that mocks his father, and scorns obeying his mother, will be picked out by
the ravens of the valley, and the young Nesher will eat it" (Mishlei 30:17).
Eagles generally do not feed on carrion, but rather they usually take live
prey which they kill themselves. Vultures, on the other hand, are renowned
for feeding on carrion; indeed, the griffon vulture eats nothing else.
Further evidence that the Nesher is the vulture and not the eagle is that it
is described as being the highest flying bird. The verse says, "The pride of
your heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose
habitation is high; who said in his heart, 'Who shall bring me down to the
ground!' Though you soar aloft like the Nesher, and though you set your nest
among the stars, from there I shall bring you down, says Hashem" (Obadiah
1:3-4). The IBN EZRA (Shemos 19:4), METZUDAS DAVID, and MALBIM (Iyov 39:27)
write that the Nesher is the highest flying bird. While many birds reach
high altitudes when migrating, the vulture is the only bird to reach high
altitudes in its daily routine. In the course of normal activities, most
birds fly below 500 feet, with no reason to expend energy in flying higher.
Vultures, however, rise to great heights, sometimes over 10,000 feet. One
reason for this is in order to scan larger areas for food. A second reason,
which is cause for them to fly even higher, is to watch for other vultures
heading towards a carcass. (The highest altitude recorded for any bird was
in 1973, when a Ruppell's griffon vulture collided with a commercial airline
over western Africa at an astonishing height of 37,000 feet).
We also find that the Nesher is referred to as the king of the birds, as the
Gemara in Chagigah (13b) says. (See also Midrash Shemos Rabah 23:13, Shir
ha'Shirim Rabah 3:23, and Koheles Rabah 2:29.) This may relate to the height
at which it flies, and its size -- the vulture has a wingspan that can
measure eight feet, and is majestic as it soars. While the eagle is
recognized today as a symbol of royalty, in ancient days it was the vulture
that symbolized royalty. The griffon vulture was the symbol of royalty in
ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Many the ancient cultures recognized the
vulture as the ultimate king, and they worshipped a vulture-god. Assyrians
and Persians depicted images of the griffon vulture, not the eagle, on their
battle standards. (It was only in the time of Alexander the Great that the
eagle was substituted as a symbol of royalty, due to the greater familiarity
that Europe had with the eagle.)
While today, in the West, the vulture is commonly regarded as a loathsome
creature, its natural characteristics are far from loathsome. The Torah
presents it as an example of a loving and caring parent: "As a Nesher stirs
up its nest, flutters over its young, spreads out its wings, takes them,
bears them on its pinions -- so did Hashem guide them, and there was no
strange god with them" (Devarim 32:11-12). We find that vultures are
particularly gentle parents. Female griffon vultures usually lay one egg,
which both parents then incubate for an unusually long period of time (about
seven weeks) until it hatches. The young are slow to develop and do not
leave the nest until three or four months of age. This powerful devotion to
their young causes the vulture to symbolize Hashem's love for the Jewish
people.
(While most evidence indicates that the Nesher is the vulture, there is one
statement in the Gemara that implies that it is the eagle. The Gemara
(Sanhedrin 12a, Pesachim 87b) says that the Nesher alludes to Rome, whose
symbol was the eagle. However, this difficulty on identifying the Nesher as
the eagle can be reconciled. It is interesting to note that RAV DAVID TZVI
HOFFMAN zt'l (cited by Torah Sheleimah, Parshas Shemini) says that the word
"Nesher" includes both vultures and eagles. He reasons that eagles
presumably need to be included somewhere in the list of non-Kosher birds. If
they are not included in any of the other types, then they must be included
in the category of Nesher.)
However, the Gemara here says that a Nesher has none of the four signs of a
Kosher bird. Is this statement true with regard to a vulture?
1. Does a vulture lack an Etzba Yeseirah? According to Rashi who defines an
Etzba Yeseirah as a fourth toe at the back of the foot, a vulture has such a
toe (indeed, all birds of prey have such toes, for it enables them to grasp
their prey). Rabbi Nosson Slifkin suggests that perhaps the hallux (back
toe) is rated as an extra toe only when it is comparable in length to the
other toes. In vultures, the hallux is far shorter than the outer front
toes, and vastly shorter than the middle toe. (The Sichas Chulin cites the
PRI MEGADIM (Mishbetzos Zahav 82:3) who says that there are different types
of Nesher, and perhaps one does not have such an extra toe. However, all of
the known birds of prey have such a toe, and unless the Pri Megadim's
intention is to say, as the SEFER YERE'IM (#68), that perhaps the features
of the Nesher have changed since the time of the Gemara, his explanation is
difficult to understand. The ARUCH HA'SHULCHAN (YD 82:3) says that according
to Rashi the back toe must be higher than the front toes in order to qualify
as an Etzba Yeseirah, while the hallux of the vulture is on the same level
as the front toes. This explanation also needs further elucidation, because
the Etzba Yeseirah of a dove (a Kosher bird) is also on the same level as
the front toes.)
The Ran, who defines Nesher as the vulture, and who defines Etzba Yeseirah
as a larger front toe, asserts that the vulture does not have an Etzba
Yeseirah, as all of its front toes are relatively equal in size. (The middle
toe actually is larger. Rav Levinger suggests in MAZON KOSHER MIN HA'CHAI
that perhaps it is not as large as the same toe on other birds of prey and
thus does not qualify as an Etzba Yeseirah, but this certainly does not seem
to be the case. See www.zootorah.com/essays/vulture.htm for a photograph of
the foot of a vulture, and for an in-depth analysis of the identity of the
Nesher.)
2. Does a vulture lack a crop (Zefek)? Anatomically, the griffon vulture
possesses a crop; its distended crop and gizzard can hold over thirteen
pounds of meat at a time. (The only bird of prey that lacks any form of crop
is the bearded vulture, but it is not bald and is therefore not a likely
candidate for the Nesher.) However, the Halachic definition of a crop may
differ from the zoological definition of a crop. The YAM SHEL SHLOMO (#115)
points out that the crop must be of standard appearance. We find that the
hawk, for example, possesses a crop according to the zoological definition,
but its shape is very different from the shape of a pigeon's crop, and the
RAMBAN states that it is therefore not rated as a crop by the Gemara. The
vulture's crop is similar to that of a hawk and likewise is not rated as a
crop (see diagram at www.zootorah.com/essays/vulture.htm).
In addition, the definition of a crop may also relate to its function.
Normally, a crop is used to soften the food (usually grain) that a bird
eats. The crop of a vulture, in contrast, functions merely to store excess
food. In fact, in a Kosher bird, the food goes first to the crop and then to
the gizzard, while in a vulture, the food goes first to the gizzard, and the
excess food then goes to the crop. The Sichas Chulin proposes that this is
what the Gemara means when it says that the Nesher lacks a crop. He suggests
that this is the intention of the ME'IRI who writes, "Some birds have a
pocket in the place where a crop is usually situated, but it is not a crop."
3. Can a vulture's gizzard be peeled off (Kurkevano Niklaf)? A vulture
certainly does not have this sign of a Kosher bird, as its gizzard cannot be
peeled. The gizzard in most diurnal birds of prey is relatively thin-walled
and saclike due to the soft nature of fish and meat (whereas birds that eat
nuts and other hard, sharp foods, have gizzards with thick walls that can be
peeled).
4. Is a vulture "Dores" when it eats? According to Rashi's first definition
of Dores (that a bird holds its food in its claws and lifts what it eats to
its mouth; see Insights to Chulin 59:2), a vulture is not Dores. However,
Rashi also explains Dores to mean that the bird uses its claws to pin its
food to the ground while it bends down to eat it, which the vulture indeed
does.
According to those who explain that Dores means that the bird kills with its
claws, and those who explain that it means that it eats live prey without
killing it, neither of these apply to the griffon vulture. Vultures
generally feed only on carrion and never kill an animal (except in times of
great need they may kill a small animal).