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WE ALL KNOW that eggs from kosher birds are kosher, but why are they not considered eiver min hachai (a limb of a living creature)? The answer comes directly from the Torah, and is elaborated on in Gemara Chullin, based on two mitzvos:
1. The mitzvah of Shiluach HaKen1 – The Torah tells us to send away the mother bird from the nest before taking the eggs.2 This teaches us that the eggs are permissible to eat.
2. The prohibition of eating eggs from non-kosher birds3 – The Torah lists non-kosher birds4 and one is called bas haya’ana (daughter of the ya’ana) and the Gemara infers that both the egg and the bird are not kosher. The fact that the Torah must tell us the egg of a non-kosher bird is not kosher is how we know that the egg of a kosher bird is allowed, even though the egg is from a live bird.
How do we know that an egg came from a kosher bird? A kosher egg will be round on one side and oval on the other, and the albumen (egg white) will surround the yolk. Non-kosher eggs have a few different indicators: both ends of the egg are round, or both are oval, and the yolk is not surrounded by the white. The signs indicating a kosher egg are not definitive, because some non-kosher eggs also have these signs, but a merchant is believed if he says that the eggs came from a specific kosher bird. Today, commercial egg operations use kosher breeds of chicken, and eggs from non-kosher birds are uncommon, even from small farms, so one is allowed to purchase whole eggs in their shell without further investigation.5 Obviously, eggs that look unusual should not be consumed without proof that they come from kosher birds and have the signs of a kosher egg.
Eggs from treifa (mortally wounded) chickens are not kosher, even when the breed itself is kosher, but one may purchase eggs without concern that they came from a treifa, since the rov (majority) of chicken are not treifos.
WHY ARE EGGS CONSIDERED PAREVE?
After all, they come from chickens and chickens are fleishig!
The prohibition of mixing chicken and milk is Rabbinic, and the Chachomim did not include the eggs in the prohibition6, only the meat. In addition, eggs are considered a separate entity once they have been laid; they are no longer part of the chicken.7
It is important to note that only fully formed eggs are considered pareve.8 If a fully formed egg is found inside a shechted chicken, it may be consumed with dairy, but if the egg is not fully formed, it cannot (but dairy can be consumed afterward without waiting). These unlaid eggs were referred to as eyerlekh (little eggs) and historically were a common delicacy in Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine.
CHECKING EGGS
The Gemara explains that an egg with a blood spot is forbidden because it may indicate the beginning of an embryo.9 According to the Rema10, checking is not required since most fertilized eggs do not contain blood spots; however, he says the minhag is to check eggs regardless, but only during the day, as artificial lighting was not yet available.
Today, most commercial eggs are not fertilized, as there are no roosters in industrial egg farms. In such cases, blood spots are merely a concern of ma’aras ayin, as they resemble prohibited blood but do not render the egg non-kosher. According to Halacha, the blood spot may be removed, allowing the rest of the egg to be consumed. Nevertheless, the common minhag today is to check eggs even at night and to discard any egg found with a blood spot.11
When buying eggs from smaller companies or private farms, it is important to check the label to see if they are fertilized. Fertilized eggs cannot grow into chickens without proper incubation, so there is no inherent Halachic issue with fertilized eggs. Blood spots are more common
in fertilized eggs and if a blood spot is found in a fertilized egg, the entire egg must be discarded according to all opinions.
Commercial eggs go through a candling process where a bright light shines through the eggs and a person or machine identifies and removes any eggs with defects, such as blood spots. Therefore, it is uncommon to find blood spots in commercially produced eggs, but no system is foolproof. The candling process is less effective on brown eggs, due to the pigment in the shell.
Brown eggs are also more likely to contain protein spots (about 20% of brown eggs do), which can be mistaken for blood spots. When the egg forms inside the chicken, pigment from the hen colors the shell brown, and some of this pigment leaks into the egg white, where it gathers in
small clumps that look like blood spots. A closer look reveals that the actual color of the spot is brown, and the shape is not round, like a blood drop. These spots are not blood and are permitted.
WHAT ABOUT LIQUID EGGS?
It states in Shulchan Oruch12 that one may not purchase cracked eggs from a Gentile, because eggs are typically sold whole, so if they are being sold cracked, there is reason to suspect that they came from a questionable source. Despite this prohibition, where Pas Palter is allowed, even bread with eggs as an ingredient in the dough is allowed because it is normal to crack eggs into batter.
Today, liquid eggs are common, both in commercial and consumer settings, and the manufacturing plants process only eggs from kosher birds, so there is no reason to suspect the source of the liquid eggs sold by a non-Jew.
Liquid eggs do require reliable kosher supervision. In industrial settings, there is no practical way for a mashgiach to check the eggs individually (after the candling) since they process thousands of eggs per hour, but the Halachic requirement to check eggs is only when practical.13 The certification process ensures that the equipment and any additives are kosher.
DO EGGS REQUIRE BISHUL YISROEL?
Although raw egg can be consumed, it is not the normal way to eat eggs. Even though only food that is not edible raw (and fit for a king’s table) is part of the prohibition against Bishul Akum, eggs are included in the prohibition because they are not usually eaten raw.14
What about bread glazed with eggs for those that consume Pas Palter? According to the Shulchan Oruch, the egg glaze is considered insignificant and part of the bread (just like when it is mixed in the dough), so it is permitted. The Rema rules that the eggs are visible and not part of the bread, so they are not included in the heter of Pas Palter and are prohibited.15 Some understand the Rema’s ruling to indicate that any egg glaze is prohibited16, but the mainstream approach is to follow the opinion of the Aruch HaShulchan17 who explains that the Rema is referring to a thick layer of egg (like in French toast) and not a thin glaze that is considered insignificant to the bread.
EGGS LEFT OVERNIGHT
The Gemara18 says that a person who eats eggs, onions, or garlic that were left overnight after peeling endangers his life because they have ruach ra’ah. This Halacha is not brought down in the Shulchan Oruch and there is discussion between the Poskim if it is still relevant nowadays. According to most Poskim this Halacha is still relevant.19 This Halacha does not apply when the egg, onion, or garlic is mixed with other ingredients.
There is a debate between the Poskim if the issue of ruach ra’ah on eggs applies to raw eggs20 or cooked eggs. The terminology in the Gemara is “peeled” eggs, which implies that the discussion is regarding cooked eggs.21 Many Poskim leave this issue unresolved, and the common custom is to be concerned with both raw and cooked eggs.
When it comes to industrial settings, the major kashrus agencies follow the psak of Rav Moshe Feinstein22 that the warning in the Gemara is limited to home or food service settings where the eggs are peeled with the intention to use them within the next day or two, which is similar to the usage at the time of the Gemara, but does not include industrial egg manufacturing where the eggs are cracked with the intention for usage days or weeks later (since this did not exist at the time of the Gemara).
HARD-BOILED EGGS
Many people have a minhag to boil at least three eggs when making hard-boiled eggs and may even designate a specific pot for this purpose since the eggs cannot be checked before cooking. This practice ensures that if one of the eggs contains a blood spot, it will be nullified by the other two, preserving the kashrus of the pot. Additionally, if more than one egg has a blood spot, the issue remains confined to that specific pot.
Why does cooking three eggs together help? The Shulchan Oruch writes that an egg with a blood spot that was cooked with other eggs needs sixty-one kosher eggs to be botul.23 However, only a blood spot indicating the formation of a chick renders the entire egg prohibited. Since there are differing opinions on where in the egg such a problematic blood spot is found, the Rema24 writes that the prevailing minhag is to prohibit all blood spots, regardless of location. The requirement for sixty-one eggs for bittul applies only
when it is certain that the blood spot results from chick development; otherwise, nullification in a simple majority is sufficient.
The Taz explains that according to Torah law, the taste of a non-kosher egg is nullified when a majority of kosher eggs are present, as they share the same taste (min b’mino). However, the Chachomim required nullification in sixty-one. The minhag is to prohibit any egg with a blood spot regardless of its location because of a safeik. When there are at least two other eggs in the pot (botul b’rov) the question about the status of the rest of the pot is only d’rabbanan and safeik d’rabbanan l’kula.
The Shach takes a different approach, arguing that the prohibition applies only to the egg itself and does not extend to its taste in other foods. Based on this view, cooking two eggs would be sufficient. Nevertheless, the custom developed in accordance with the Taz’s position, requiring a minimum of three eggs to be cooked together. Many continue this minhag even today, despite fertilized eggs being uncommon.
Additionally, the Gemara says that people should not eat or drink things in pairs or they will come to danger.25 This is a phenomenon known as zugos (pairs) and one should be careful to avoid cooking an even number of eggs.
MINHAGIM INVOLVING EATING EGGS
Aveilus – The custom is that the mourners eat peeled hard-boiled eggs during the first meal after the funeral. There are three reasons for the minhag: 1) Eggs are round and so is the lifecycle from birth to death; 2) The eggs do not have a mouth, similar to a mourner who is grieving silently; 3) It alludes to techiyas hameisim just like a live chick hatches from an egg.26
Lag B’Omer – There is a Chassidic custom to eat colored eggs on Lag B’Omer (onion peels are added to the pot of eggs and they turn the eggs brown). Rabbi Issac Shwei explained that color expresses joy, and coloring eggs, which are typically a sign of mourning, expresses that the mourning of Rashbi is a joyous occasion.
Erev Tishah B’Av – The custom is to eat eggs at the last meal before the fast as a sign of mourning for the destruction of the Bais HaMikdash.27
Shabbos – There is a widespread custom to eat eggs at the Shabbos day meal. These are the reasons: 1) To remember Moshe Rabbeinu who passed away on Shabbos since eggs are associated with mourning28; 2) We want to add a special dish on Shabbos day, because the day seudah is more important than the Friday night meal29.
Pesach – On the Seder plate it is customary to have two cooked dishes – zeroa (the shank or neck of a chicken) to remind us of Korban Pesach and egg to remind us of the Korban Chagigah. Why an egg? 1) In Aramaic, an egg is called bey’a, which also means “to ask”, and we ask
Hashem to redeem us with His outstretched arm; 2) Eggs are the food of aveilus and we mourn the destruction of the Bais HaMikdash and that we can’t bring the actual korbonos; 3) Eggs are easy to cook.30
G-d willing, when we sit down to this year’s Seder there will be no zeroa and egg and we will be celebrating with korbonos at the Bais HaMikdash.
תוספות ד”ה שאם – חולין סד, א 1
דברים פרק כב, ו-ז 2
בה”ג חולין, פ”ד 3
ויקרא פרק יא, טז 4
שו”ע יו”ד פו, א-ב 5
תוספות ד”ה ושוין – חולין נח, א 6
רש”י ד”ה לאכלה בחלב – ביצה ו, ב 7
שו”ע יו”ד פז, ה 8
חולין סד 9
שו”ע יו”ד סו, ח 10
אגרות משה, יו”ד א, לו 11
יו”ד פו,י וראה פמ”ג ש”ד לא 12
שו”ע יו”ד סו, ח 13
שו”ע יו”ד יד ובט”ז יד 14
שו”ע יו”ד קיב, ו 15
ביאור הגר”א יו”ד קיב, יד 16
יו”ד קיב, כא 17
נדה יז, א 18
ראה בשו”ע הרב הל’ שמירת גוף ונפש סעיף ז שהביא הלכה זו 19
כף החיים או”ח תקד, א ובשו”ת בית שלמה יו”ד א, קפט 20
שו”ת שבט הלוי ח”ו, קיא, ו 21
אגרות משה, יו”ד ג, כ 22
שו”ע יו”ד צח, ז 23
שו”ע יו”ד סו ג-ד 24
פסחים קט:ד 25
מנהגי ישורון סי’ ריב 26
שו”ע אורח חיים תקנב, ה 27
פרי מגדים או”ח רצ, א בא”א 28
הליכות שלמה תפילה פ”ב הערה 103 בשם הגרש”ז אוירבך 29
כל בו סימן נ 30
Rabbi Hendel is a member of the OK Kosher Vaad HaKashrus.
