Instruct: Given a question, retrieve passages that can help answer the question.
Query: Can Orthodox Jewish people eat shellfish?
Among the numerous laws that form kashrut are prohibitions on the consumption of certain animals (such as pork and shellfish), mixtures of meat and milk, and the commandment to slaughter mammals and birds according to a process known as shechita. There are also laws regarding agricultural produce that might impact the suitability of food for consumption.
Eating fish or shellfish from lakes with a bloom nearby is not recommended. A study has shown that algal toxins may be the cause for as many as 60,000 intoxication cases in the world each year. This is due to the accumulation of potent toxins in shellfish that consume those algae and then these shellfish are later consumed by humans which may result in Amnesic shellfish poisoning, Diarrhetic shellfish poisoning, Neurotoxic shellfish poisoning, and Paralytic shellfish poisoning. Toxic paralytic shellfish poisoning in the Philippines during red tides has caused at least 120 deaths over a few decades. After a HAB in Monterey Bay, California, health officials warned people not to eat certain parts of anchovy, sardines, or crab caught in the bay. In 1987 a new illness emerged which was called amnesic shellfish poisoning. People who had eaten mussels from Prince Edward Island were found to have amnesic shellfish poisoning. The illness was caused by domoic acid, produced by a diatom found in the area where the mussels were cultivated. In 2015 most shellfish fisheries in Washington, Oregon and California were shut down because of high concentrations of toxic domoic acid in shellfish. People have been warned that inhaling vapors from waves or wind during a red tide may cause asthma attacks or lead to other respiratory ailments.
The Molokans () are a religious sect, among Russian peasants (serfs), who broke away from the Russian Orthodox Church in the 1550s. They reject the Trinity as outlined by the Nicene Creed, the Orthodox fasts, military service, adhering to the Old Testament kosher dietary laws and do not eat pork, shellfish, or other unclean foods. They also refuse many accepted Christian practices, including water baptism. They claim to be the direct descendants of the ancient Armenian "Paulicians". They became known as the "Bogomils" of Thrace, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Serbia. 
Jewish dietary law ("kashruth"), which forbids the eating of, among other foods, non-ruminant mammals, shellfish and reptiles, would have most likely caused Jewish communities to stand out from the surrounding mainstream Chinese population, as Chinese culture is typically very free in the range of items it deems suitable for food.
The Kaifeng Jews intermarried with local Chinese sufficiently to be indistinguishable in appearance from their non-Jewish neighbors. One trait that differentiated them from their neighbors was not eating pork. Qu Yinan, a Chinese woman who discovered her Jewish ancestry after her mother attended a conference on minorities in 1981, says her family did not eat pork or shellfish and her grandfather always wore a blue skullcap.
Today, Pesach Sheni on the 14th of Iyar has the status of a very minor holiday (so much so that many of the Jewish people have never even heard of it, and it essentially does not exist outside of Orthodox and traditional Conservative Judaism). There are not really any special prayers or observances that are considered Jewish law. The only change in the liturgy is that in some communities "Tachanun", a penitential prayer omitted on holidays, is not said. There is a custom, though not Jewish law, to eat just one piece of matzo on that night.
The Torah forbids the consumption of shellfish (i.e. the only permitted seafood is fish with fins and scales), in the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Jews (of all religious traditions) who fully observe the dietary laws thus do not eat shellfish. Neither do Seventh-day Adventists, who follow Jewish dietary law because the Torah is part of their Old Testament. Islamic dietary laws are divided on the question. Most Muslim traditions consider some or all shellfish to be halal while some others classify all shellfish as haram.
A number of modern Orthodox rabbis advocate good relations with their non-Orthodox peers. In 1982, "Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought" published a symposium on the state of Orthodox Judaism, with contributions by many leading Orthodox rabbis. The first question the editor asked the rabbis was: "Do you believe that recent developments warrant the triumphalism exhibited by segments of Orthodoxy which predict the total disappearance of non-Orthodox movements?" Rabbi Marc D. Angel replied that "we should be frightened by the possibility. With all our theological differences, yet we part of one Jewish people and work together in so many ways for the benefit of the Jewish community... It is not a happy prospect that the overwhelming majority of American Jews will lose their Jewishness. It is also unlikely that the vast numbers of the non-Orthodox community will move into Orthodoxy in the relatively near future." Rabbi David Berger replied, "I confess that I would not look forward to such a disappearance... The Jewish loyalties and observances of non-Orthodox Jews are decidedly better than nothing... The only weakening of Conservatism and Reform for which Orthodoxy can legitimately hope would come through conversion to Orthodoxy. No such development appears imminent in statistically significant numbers." The message of other rabbis rings a similar note; no rabbis profiled in the symposium believed that most non-Orthodox Jews would ever convert to Orthodoxy. Thus Orthodoxy should work together on some issues with non-Orthodox Judaism, and it is far better for Jews to be members of non-Orthodox Judaism than to assimilate and not be religious Jews at all.
For the most part Islamic dietary laws allow the eating of seafood, though the Hanbali forbid eels, the Shafi forbid frogs and crocodiles, and the Hanafi forbid bottom feeders such as shellfish and carp. The Jewish laws of Kashrut forbid the eating of shellfish and eels. In the Old Testament, the Mosaic Covenant allowed the Israelites to eat finfish, but shellfish and eels were an abomination and not allowed. In ancient and medieval times, the Catholic Church forbade the practice of eating meat, eggs and dairy products during Lent. Thomas Aquinas argued that these "afford greater pleasure as food [than fish], and greater nourishment to the human body, so that from their consumption there results a greater surplus available for seminal matter, which when abundant becomes a great incentive to lust." In the United States, the Catholic practice of abstaining from meat on Fridays during Lent has popularized the Friday fish fry, and parishes often sponsor a fish fry during Lent. In predominantly Roman Catholic areas, restaurants may adjust their menus during Lent by adding seafood items to the menu.
The American oystercatcher feeds almost exclusively on shellfish and other marine invertebrates. Oysters are a staple of their diet, as their name suggests, but they also eat mussels, clams, limpets, sea urchins, starfish, crabs, and worms. In general, they use their bills to catch shellfish. As they walk across a shellfish bed, they look for a mollusk with a partially opened shell. When they find one, they jab their bill into the shell and sever the muscle that causes the shell to clamp shut. This can be dangerous, however, as they are sometimes drowned when they don't completely severe this muscle and the shell clamps down on their bill. A strong, tightly rooted mollusk can hold the bird in place until the tide comes in. They also feed by carrying loose shellfish out of the water and hammering at the shell or by probing the sand for soft-shell or razor clams.
Jewish law prescribes that an olive-sized piece of matzo be eaten to fulfill the mitzvah of eating the "afikoman". Many people eat an additional, olive-sized piece of matzo together with it. The first piece of matzo commemorates the "Korban Pesach" (Paschal lamb), whose meat was eaten at the very end of the festive Seder meal in the days that the Temple stood. The second piece commemorates the matzo that was eaten together with the meat of the Paschal Lamb in the days of the Temple, in fulfillment of the Torah commandment, "They shall eat [the Passover lamb] together with matzo and maror" (Exodus 12:8). Like the eating of the matzo earlier in the Seder, the "afikoman" is eaten while reclining to the left (in some Orthodox Jewish circles, women and girls do not lean).
They do not eat pork or shellfish of any kind for religious reasons. It is also a common cultural practice of Amhara to eat from the same dish in the center of the table with a group of people.
A bloom of certain dinoflagellates can result in a visible coloration of the water colloquially known as red tide, which can cause shellfish poisoning if humans eat contaminated shellfish. Some dinoflagellates also exhibit bioluminescence—primarily emitting blue-green light.
The growth and persistence of an algal bloom depends on wind direction and strength, temperature, nutrients, and salinity. Red tide species can be found in oceans, bays, and estuaries, but they cannot thrive in freshwater environments. Certain species of phytoplankton and dinoflagellates found in red tides contain photosynthetic pigments that vary in color from brown to red. When the algae are present in high concentrations, the water may appear to be discolored or murky. The most conspicuous effects of red tides are the associated wildlife mortalities and harmful human exposure. The production of natural toxins such as brevetoxins and ichthyotoxins are harmful to marine life.Red tides occur naturally off coasts all over the world. Marine dinoflagellates produce ichthyotoxins, but not all red tides are harmful. Where red tides occur, dead fish wash up on shore for up to two weeks after a red tide has been through the area. In addition to killing fish, the toxic algae contaminate shellfish. Some mollusks are not susceptible to the toxin, and store it in their fatty tissues. Shellfish consume the organisms responsible for red tide and concentrate saxitoxin (produced from these organisms) in their tissues. Saxitoxin blocks sodium channels and ingestion can cause paralysis within 30 minutes. Other animals that eat the shellfish are susceptible to the neurotoxin, leading to neurotoxic shellfish poisoning and sometimes even death. Most mollusks and clams filter feed, which results in higher concentrations of the toxin than just drinking the water. Scaup, for example, are diving ducks whose diet mainly consists of mollusks. When scaup eat the filter-feeding shellfish that are concentrated with high levels of the red tide toxin, their population becomes a prime target for poisoning. However, even birds that do not eat mollusks can be affected by simply eating dead fish on the beach or drinking the water. The toxins released by the blooms can kill marine animals including dolphins, sea turtles, birds, and manatees. Fish such as Atlantic herring, American pollock, winter flounder, Atlantic salmon, and cod were dosed orally with these toxins in an experiment. Within minutes of receiving doses of the toxin, fish started to exhibit a loss of equilibrium and began to swim in an irregular, jerking pattern followed by paralysis and shallow, arrhythmic breathing and eventually death after about an hour. Scientists concluded that the toxic red tide had negative effects on fish that were exposed to it.
Clean Monday is a public holiday in Greece and Cyprus, where it is celebrated with outdoor excursions, the consumption of shellfish and other fasting food, a special kind of azyme bread, baked only on that day, named "lagana" () and the widespread custom of flying kites. Eating meat, eggs and dairy products is traditionally forbidden to Orthodox Christians throughout Lent, with fish being eaten only on major feast days, but shellfish is permitted in European denominations. This has created the tradition of eating elaborate dishes based on seafood (shellfish, molluscs, fish roe etc.). Traditionally, it is considered to mark the beginning of the spring season, a notion which was used symbolically in Ivan Bunin's critically acclaimed story, "Pure Monday".
Shellfish should form an essential part of any healthy diet. Shellfish provide protein, vitamins and minerals, are low in fat and a wonderful source of the Omega-3 fatty acid. Different shellfish have different health benefits so, to make the most of these, we should vary the types we eat. There over 20 species available to eat in the UK alone.
American Jewish cuisine may or may not be kosher. For example, some delicatessens follow Jewish dietary law in the preparation and serving of food, while others do not. Followers of Orthodox Judaism, the most traditional form of Judaism, generally eat only kosher food. Some other more-observant Jews also eat kosher food most or all of the time. However the majority of American Jews are less observant of traditional rules, and eat non-kosher food. According to a 2012 study by the Pew Research Center, 22 percent of American Jews keep kosher in their homes.
From eating shellfish, under which mussels, clams, whelks and scallops, multiple illnesses can result. One of them is sensory and motor paralysis, known as paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP), which results from ingestion of saxitoxin and its derivatives, such as decarbamoylsaxitoxin. Shellfish can concentrate a dinoflagellate known as Gonyaulax tamarensis, which elaborates saxitoxin. Mussels are known to filter up to 20 litres of water a day, which is why they are very likely to carry the toxin when the surrounding water is contaminated. This dinoflagellate does not affect the shellfish, but when an organism eats the scallop shuckings, it risks getting poisoned. Some species, such as the littleneck clam, possess an enzyme that converts saxitoxin into decarbamoylsaxitoxin, which reportedly decreases the toxicity to humans of the saxitoxins present.
Approximately 15 edible species of fish and shellfish can be found in the canal, but they are toxic. The shellfish contain toxins and are unsafe to eat, according to a 2012 report. However, signs posted in 2018 note that men over age 15 and women over age 50 can safely eat up to six blue crabs from the Gowanus Canal each week, although women under 50 and children under 15 should not eat the canal's blue crabs at all.
Tihlo, prepared from roasted barley flour, is very popular in Amhara, Agame, and Awlaelo (Tigray). Traditional Ethiopian cuisine employs no pork or shellfish of any kind, as they are forbidden in the Jewish and Ethiopian Orthodox Christian faiths. It is also very common to eat from the same dish in the center of the table with a group of people.
The Association for Jewish Outreach Programs also known by its abbreviation AJOP (originally officially called the Association for Jewish Outreach Professionals (and commonly referred to as the Association of Jewish Outreach Professionals) is an Orthodox Jewish network which was established to unite and enhance the Jewish educational work of rabbis, rebbetzens, lay people, and volunteers who work in a variety of settings and seek to improve and promote Jewish Orthodox outreach work with ba'alei teshuvah guiding Jews to live according to Orthodox Jewish values. AJOP was the first major Jewish Orthodox organization of its kind that was not affiliated with the Chabad Hasidic movement.
Irving Greenberg is a Modern Orthodox rabbi who has written extensively on how the Holocaust should affect Jewish theology. Greenberg has an Orthodox understanding of God, he does not believe that God forces people to follow Jewish law; rather he believes that Jewish law is God's will for the Jewish people, and that Jews should follow Jewish law as normative.
Both Ethiopian Orthodox Christians and Muslims avoid eating pork or shellfish, for religious reasons. Pork is considered to be unclean in both Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity and Islam. Many Ethiopians would abstain from eating certain meats, and would mostly eat vegetarian and vegan foods.
Shrimp and other shellfish are among the most common food allergens. The Jewish laws of Kashrut forbid the eating of shrimp. According to the King James version of the Old Testament, it is acceptable to eat finfish, but shrimp are an abomination and should not be eaten. In Islam, the Shafi'i, Maliki, Hanbali and Ja'fari schools allow the eating of shrimp, while the Hanafi school does not allow it.
Alentejo is a vast agricultural province with only one sizeable fishing port, Sines; and in the past, shellfish would not have been available in the inland areas. On the other hand, all points in the Algarve are relatively close to the coast and pigs used to be fed with fish, so clams were added to the fried pork to disguise the fishy taste of the meat. Nowadays, however, nobody would dream of calling it "carne de porco à Algarvia". Legend also says that the dish was developed to test Jewish converts' new Christian faith; consisting of pork and shellfish (two non-kosher items), "Marranos" were expected to eat the dish in public in order to prove their complete detachment from the Jewish faith.