## Ba'al Shem Tov, Shmini

###### Ba'al Shem Tov, Shmini 9:1
[Ba'al Shem Tov, Shmini 9:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Ba%27al%20Shem%20Tov/s/Shmini/r/9:1)

**את זה תאכלו מכל אשר במים וגו'.**יש קבלה מהבעל שם טוב הקדוש זי"ע במין דגים הנקראים שלייען, או ציגיינר פיש, שלא לאוכלם, שיש עליהם חשש משום שרץ השורץ על הארץ:
(עי' דרכי תשובה סי' פ"ג סק"ז בשם אמרי שפר).

**Ami Silver, 2020:**
**This is what you may eat of all that is in the water: You may eat any creature that lives in the water, whether in seas or rivers, that has fins and scales.** (Leviticus 11:9)
There is a tradition from the Baal Shem Tov not to eat a type of fish called a tench,¹⁶ as there is a concern that it falls under the category of “a swarming thing that swarms on the earth” (ibid. 11:41).¹⁷
*Darchei Teshuva* #83:7, in the name of the *Imrei Sheifer*

footnotes:
¹⁶ Or “gypsy fish” (Tinca tinca). A freshwater game fish of Europe and western Asia noted for its ability to survive outside of water.
¹⁷ Even though this fish has fins and scales, the signs of a kosher species, its ability to survive on the ground may put into the category of forbidden crawling creatures.