[Avodah] Rav Yisroel Belsky on Anisakis Worms

[Prof. Levine]

 From 
http://www.rationalistjudaism.com/2010/06/rav-belsky-on-anisakis-worms.html

I [R. Noson Slifkin] recently received Rav Yisroel Belsky's formal 
responsum on the anisakis worms that are found in fish (you can 
download it 
<http://www.zootorah.com/Rav_Belskys_Teshuva_about_worms_in_fish.doc>here). 
It is an excellent, powerful responsum in which he makes two main points:

    * There is no significant difference between the phenomenon of 
anisakis worms today and any other worms that have existed.
    * No halachic authorities, from Chazal through Shulchan Aruch, 
have ever given qualifiers on their permission to eat worms found in 
the flesh of fish.
Rav Belsky draws the clear (and to my mind, undisputable) conclusion 
that you either say that all worms have always been prohibited, or 
you say that all worms have always been, and still are, permitted.

Now, Rav Belsky's own conclusion is that Chazal were correct, and the 
heter is based on the fact that the worm completes its growth in the 
flesh of the fish, not that it spontaneously generated there. As I 
discussed in an 
<http://www.rationalistjudaism.com/2010/04/worm-controversy.html>earlier 
post, I think it's clear that Chazal did mistakenly believe in 
spontaneous generation. But, following Rav Herzog etc., I would say 
that Chazal's ruling is still valid and thus all worms found in the 
flesh of fish are kosher. In other words, I agree with Rav Belsky's 
conclusion, while disputing a component of the reasoning. I can also 
understand (although I dispute) those who take the approach of R. 
Lampronti and say that, since Chazal's science was in error, the 
heter was invalid from the outset.

The link to the actual Psak is 
http://www.zootorah.com/Rav_Belskys_Teshuva_about_worms_in_fish.doc

Yitzchok Levine
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