2,288. Swarming Creatures of the Water

Maachalos Assuros 2:11

All the aforementioned volumes, as well as the differences between them, are laws that were transmitted to Moses at Sinai.

Maachalos Assuros 2:12

One who eats an olive-sized piece of a swarming creature of the water is liable for lashes under Biblical law as per Leviticus 11:43, “Do not render your souls detestable from any swarming creature... and do not become impure because of them.” This prohibition includes swarming creatures of the land, those that fly and those of the water. A “swarming creature of the water” includes both small water creatures like worms and leeches as well as the wild animals of the sea. The general rule of the matter is any water creature that doesn’t have the form of a fish – neither a non-kosher nor a kosher fish – such as a seal, a dolphin, a frog, etc.