, 1886-06-12
The JEWISH BUTCHERS SKILL.


Jewish Method of Slaughter.
The shochet, about whom and his work
attention has been attracted by the So
ciety for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals, is a person authorized after an
examination before a rabbi, to slaughter
animals and determine their cleanliness.
He must, of course, be n Jew, and a man
of good character, SO recommended to
the rabbi, before his petition can be con-
sidered. Any one who can withstand
the horrors of a butchering establish
ment, may any day, by visiting the West
Philadelphia abattoir, witness the aston
ishing skill of the Jewish butcher, who,
with one sure cut of his keen knife, sew
ers windpipe, gullet and artery. a
specially expert shochet can thus dispose
of two animals in less han a minute of
time. Ills knife must be as keen as a
razor. and the slightest nick in it
is a cardinal offense. To determine
whether a shochet has a touch
sufficiently delicate to test the keenness
of the blade, the rabbi who is examining
a candidate for Endorsement sometimes
himself makes little hicks and hands the
knife over for inspection. If the candi-
date is satisfied with the edge without
further preparation, he is at once re-
jected. The blade of the knife is about
"A foot and a half long, and has no point
at the end. This is to prevent sticking
the animal and thus giving pain, the
purpose being to cut so swiftly that the
bullock is rendered at one unconscious
and dies without a culver.
Before the shochet is prepared to deal
his deadly stroke the animal has been
tripped upon its back, with one of its
legs tied with a rope. In this position
the bullock is m~otionless and his neck
exposed. The shochet must deal his
blow exactly in the middle of the vic
TINS throat, neither too high up nor too
low down. A failure to make the cut in
the proper place would render the OPP
orator liable to have his commission re-
voked. They seldom, if ever, although
Strengthening hundreds of animals each
day, make n mistroke, so really wonder
full is their skill.
Said Rev. S. Morals, rabbi at Mickve
Israel: There are two objects in this
method of Straightforward, to get the
vital blood out of the animal, and let it
run upon the ground, and second, to
render that death of the animal painless
The society for the prevention of cruelty
to ANIMALS, represented by its president,
II. w. Ryerss, is in favor of the Chicago
plan, of shooting the animals, and in the
conference, in which DIR. Morris took a
prominent part in the defense of the
Jewish system, suggested this
plan. I'VE could not agree to that
or the other suggested plan of spearing
the animals in the neck, because either
you'd do away with the fundamental
Jewish doctrine of getting the blood out.
The conference committee visited the
abattoir and some of the slaughter
houses. and the Jewish plan was exhib-
ted, and President Ryerss expressed his
approval of it as a humane method, ex-
,ept that the tying of the animals leg
wa cruel and should be done away with.
This cannot very well dispensed with,
and the question is still an open one,'
said DIR. Morals.
The work of the shochet does not end
with the fatal stroke of his knife. When
the ANIMAL is quite dead and before the
hide has been taken off, the shochet re-
turns from the killing of other victims,
and makes an opening into the stomach.
This is for the purpose of enabling him
to examine the vitals, and especially the
lungs. If he finds that there is any dis
ease of any of these parts, or in any
other part of the animal, he pronounces
it "trefah.' or unfit, and it can not be
sold as good meat to the Jews.
This is the reason why SO many Chris
tian families are as particular to get meat
approved by the shochet as the Jews
themselves. 1t is pretty sure to be clean
and without disease. Philadelphia
Record.