Chaim Loike (born 1977 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to Marian Stoltz-Loike and John Loike) is an American

Rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

who works for the Orthodox Union Kosher. He is an expert on

kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, ), from the Ashke ...

species of

birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

."A Quacky Visitor at the OU", ''Jewish Action'' (Winter 2013) He is the director of the Biblical Ornithological Society.

Kosher bird species

The Bible gives a list of non-kosher birds in and . (See

kosher animals Kosher animals are animals that comply with the regulations of ''kashrut'' and are considered kosher foods. These dietary laws ultimately derive from various passages in the Torah with various modifications, additions and clarifications added to th ...

for full article). However, today it is not clear which species the Bible had in mind. People who keep kosher rely on several rules listed in the Talmud and on tradition to know which birds may be consumed. Jewish law also dictates that birds that interbreed can be considered members of the same species. This is one of the reasons why

turkeys The turkey is a large bird in the genus ''Meleagris'', native to North America. There are two extant turkey species: the wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') of eastern and central North America and the ocellated turkey (''Meleagris ocell ...

, which were unknown in the Middle East in ancient time, are considered kosher by many Jewish groups. Over the past decade, Chaim Loike has interviewed Jewish elders from far-flung communities, such as

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, to document their traditions regarding kosher bird species. He has also extensively bred and raised many exotic birds in order to determine their kosher status. Loike worked extensively on different species of quails in order to determine if they are kosher, and his research was used by Rabbi

Yisroel Belsky Chaim Yisroel HaLevi Belsky (August 22, 1938 – January 28, 2016) was an American rabbi and posek of Orthodox and Haredi Judaism. He was one of the roshei yeshiva (deans) at Yeshiva Torah Vodaas, and rabbi of the summer camp network run by Agudat ...

as the basis for his ruling on the matter.''The Daf Hakashrus: A Monthly Newsletter for the OU Rabbinic Field Representative'', Vol. 13, No. 7 (April 2005) p.19 He has also written on the subject of partridges, ruling that several different species should follow the precedent set by the chukar partridge and be considered kosher."Crested-Wood Partridge Not Accepted as a Kosher Partridge", ''Behind the Union Symbol'' (Winter 2009) p.18 In another instance, he raised runner ducks. Rabbi Loike lectures extensively for the Orthodox Union on the subject, often bringing live birds for the presentations.''Durbach, Elaine, "Kosher Food Seminar is for the Birds - and Bugs" in ''New Jersey Jewish News'' May 18, 2011. He is also a lecturer at

Touro College Touro University is a private Jewish university system headquartered in New York City, with branches throughout the United States as well as one each in Germany, Israel and Russia. It was founded by Bernard Lander in 1971 and named for Isaac a ...

Philby's Partridge

In 2013, Loike launched an online campaign to fund an investigation into the kosher status of Philby's partridge. He aimed to raise a captive population of this endangered species, indigenous to Northern

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

. By proving the birds to be kosher, Loike hoped to create a market for them and thus stave off their extinction.

Publications

Loike has compiled a source book on the subject of kosher birds and eggs, published by the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loike, Chaim American Orthodox rabbis 1977 births Living people 21st-century American rabbis