Mice

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The Impurity of the Mouse

TANAKH

The Torah specifically identifies the mouse as an impure creature among other swarming things on the earth. The book of Leviticus, the third book of the Torah, outlines various laws of impurity, including those related to specific animals.

The following shall be impure for you from among the things that swarm on the earth: the mole, the mouse, and great lizards of every variety;

Leviticus 11:29

Miracles on Noah's Ark

MIDRASH

The miraculous transformation of animals, such as the mouse, during Noah's Ark showcases divine intervention in the natural world. Louis Ginzberg's early 20th-century work, Legends of the Jews, weaves together a rich tapestry of Jewish folklore and aggadah, expanding on biblical events with imaginative narratives.

Even the physical peculiarities of certain animals were not original features with them, but owed their existence to something that occurred subsequent to the days of creation. The mouse at first had quite a different mouth from its present mouth. In Noah's ark, in which all animals, to ensure the preservation of every kind, lived together peaceably, the pair of mice were once sitting next to the cat. Suddenly the latter remembered that her father was in the habit of devouring mice, and thinking there was no harm in following his example, she jumped at the mouse…

Legends of the Jews 1:1:63

The Curious Case of the Spontaneously Generating Mouse

TALMUD

The rabbis discuss whether a mouse that is half-flesh and half-earth, which generates spontaneously from the earth, imparts impurity. The Talmudic tractate Chullin explores the laws of kosher and non-kosher animals, including unique cases like the spontaneously generating mouse.

The baraita raises an alternative interpretation: Or perhaps the term “that creep [hashoretz]” should not be interpreted in this manner, as it could rather be interpreted to mean that any creeping animal that breeds [hammashritz] imparts impurity, but a creeping animal that does not breed does not impart impurity. I shall therefore exclude a mouse that is half-flesh half-earth, i.e., that generates spontaneously from the earth, as it does not breed and therefore does not impart impurity.

Chullin 127a:2

The Plague of Mice and the Ark of the Covenant

SECOND TEMPLE

The divine retribution and miraculous events, including a plague of mice, that occurred when the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant are both fascinating and terrifying. Josephus, the 1st-century Jewish historian, recounts these events in his comprehensive historical work, 'The Antiquities of the Jews'.

The Destruction That Came Upon The Philistines, And Upon Their Land, By The Wrath Of God On Account Of Their Having Carried The Ark Away Captive; And After What Manner They Sent It Back To The Hebrews.
1. When the Philistines had taken the ark of the Hebrews captive, as I said a little before, they carried it to the city of Ashdod, and put it by their own god, who was called Dagon, (1) as one of their spoils; but when they went into his temple the next morning to worship their god, they found him paying the same worship to the ark, for he lay along…

The Antiquities of the Jews 6:1:1

The Golden Mice

COMMENTARY

Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz's commentary on I Samuel 6:18 recounts the Philistines' act of atonement by presenting more golden mice than required, symbolically corresponding to each Philistine city from fortified towns to small villages.

As for the golden mice, they gave far more than the amount the diviners had suggested. Instead, they were according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines, of the five governors, both fortified cities and unwalled villages. These gifts came until the great stone [avel] upon which they placed the Ark of the Lord, which is in the field of Yehoshua the Beit Shemeshite until this day. Alternatively, avel means a large valley.

Steinsaltz on I Samuel 6:18

The Mouse and the Loaf

HALAKHAH

In Mishneh Torah, Maimonides explains that if a mouse enters a house with bread and leaves with it, or if a mouse enters with bread and a weasel exits with it, further search for chametz is unnecessary. However, if a mouse exits with dough or both a weasel and a mouse exit with bread, additional examination is required since the bread in the mouse’s mouth is deemed the same bread initially brought in.

A mouse entered a house with a loaf in its mouth. Afterwards, a mouse left there with a loaf in its mouth; we presume that the same mouse who entered originally was the one which ultimately left, and [the owner] need not search [again]. If the first mouse which entered was black and the one which left was white, he must search [again].
If a mouse entered with a loaf in its mouth and a weasel left there with a loaf in its mouth, he must search [again]. If a weasel left there with a mouse and a loaf in its mouth, he does not have to search [again]…

Mishneh Torah, Leavened and Unleavened Bread 2:13

When Mice Kill the Cat

TALMUD

The Talmud explores the fascinating legal implications of a borrowed cat being killed by mice, raising questions about liability and responsibility. In the Talmudic tractate Bava Metzia, the rabbis discuss whether the borrower of a cat is liable if the cat is killed by the very mice it was meant to hunt.

The Gemara relates: A certain man borrowed a cat from another to hunt and kill mice for him. The mice banded together against it and killed it. Rav Ashi sat and raised a dilemma: In a case like this, what is the halakha? Is this case comparable to a case where a borrowed animal died due to ordinary labor, or not? Rav Mordekhai said to Rav Ashi: Avimi of Hagronya said this in the name of Rava: With regard to a man who women killed, there is a need for neither judgment nor a judge, i.e., it is obvious that they are liable…

Bava Metzia 97a:4

Uncertainty in Leaven

TALMUD

The uncertainty of whether the morsel of leaven found in the house is the same as the one brought in by the mouse has significant legal implications. The Talmudic tractate Pesachim discusses a scenario that parallels a dispute between Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi and Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel.

The Gemara analyzes yet another case: If one saw a mouse enter a house with leaven in its mouth and one searched and found a morsel of leaven there, but there is uncertainty whether or not the morsel that he found is the morsel that the mouse took into the house, this would be akin to the dispute between Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi and Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel.

Pesachim 10a:10

Chametz and the Sneaky Visitor

HALAKHAH

The laws of searching for chametz before Passover are so detailed that they even address what to do if a mouse enters a house with a loaf of bread. In the 16th-century Shulchan Arukh, Rabbi Joseph Karo provides specific procedures for such scenarios, emphasizing the need for re-inspection due to the behavior of mice.

[The Laws that Apply when] a Mouse Enters a Place that was Previously Searched with a Loaf in Its Mouth, 2 Seifim 1. If a mouse enters a house that has been checked, carrying a loaf in its mouth, and one enters after it, and one finds crumbs, even if enough crumbs to constitute the entire loaf, one must return and inspect the house after the loaf that the mouse brought in, as it is not the nature of a mouse to break up bread, and these crumbs likely came from elsewhere and not from that loaf…

Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 438:1

The Legal Implications of Consuming Mice

HALAKHAH

The Torah’s laws regarding the consumption and ritual impurity of certain animals, including mice, have specific legal implications that are still relevant for those who observe kosher laws. In his 12th-century legal code, the Mishneh Torah, Maimonides details the minimum measure that makes one liable for lashes and how these animals can be combined to reach the measure of a lentil.

The eight teeming animals that are mentioned in the Torah are: the weasel, the mouse, the ferret, the hedgehog, the chameleon, the lizard, the snail, and the mole. A person who eats a lentil-sized portion of their meat is liable for lashes. The minimum measure that one is prohibited to partake of their meat is the same as the minimum measure that conveys ritual impurity. They all may be combined together to reach the measure of a lentil.

Mishneh Torah, Forbidden Foods 2:7

Divine Judgment on Idolatry and Impurity

TANAKH

The divine judgment and ultimate destruction will befall those who engage in idolatrous and impure practices, including the consumption of mice. The prophet Isaiah warns of the fate awaiting those who abandon God and engage in forbidden practices.

Those who sanctify and purify themselves to enter the groves, imitating one in the center, eating the flesh of the swine, the reptile, and the mouse, shall one and all come to an end—declares GOD.

Isaiah 66:17

Trapping Mice on Festivals

TALMUD

The Talmud discusses the permissibility and methods of trapping moles and mice during specific times, such as the intermediate days of a Festival, to prevent financial loss. Tractate Moed Katan, part of the Talmud, explores the nuanced laws of work permitted on the intermediate days of Passover and Sukkot, including pest control.

MISHNA: One may trap moles [ishut] and mice in an orchard and in a field of grain in his usual manner, i.e., as he would trap them all year round, both on the intermediate days of a Festival and during the Sabbatical Year. But the Rabbis say: In an orchard he may trap them in his usual manner, but in a field of grain, where there is no danger of substantial financial loss, he may only trap them in a way that is not his usual manner.

Moed Katan 6b:12

The Unique Prohibition of Mice

TALMUD

The Torah uniquely prohibits the flavor imparted by a mouse, even though it is repulsive and detrimental to the mixture. In Tractate Avodah Zara, the rabbis discuss the stringent prohibition against consuming mice, highlighting the Torah's unique standard.

Rav Sheshet said to them: Rav generally maintains that in a case where the forbidden substance imparts flavor to the detriment of the mixture, it is permitted. But here, in the case of a mouse, it is a novelty that the Torah prohibits the flavor from a mouse at all, as it is repulsive and people distance themselves from consuming it, and even so the Merciful One prohibits it. Therefore, although it imparts flavor to the detriment of the mixture, it is still forbidden.

Avodah Zarah 68b:12

Ritual Impurity from Mice

MUSAR

The Torah includes a commandment that addresses the ritual impurity caused by contact with the dead bodies of certain creatures, including mice. In his 17th-century work, Shenei Luchot HaBerit, Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz discusses the laws of ritual purity, specifically focusing on the impurity conferred by contact with dead reptiles and mice.

Commandment 161 deals with ritual impurity conferred upon Jews who come into contact with the dead bodies of 8 categories of שרצים, reptiles, mice, etc.

Shenei Luchot HaBerit, Torah Shebikhtav, Sefer Vayikra, Ner Mitzvah, Shmini 10

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