Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah

Ramban on Leviticus 11:6/רמב"ן על ויקרא י״א:ו׳

אוְאֶת הָאַרְנֶבֶת - מִין הוּא שֶׁיִּקְרְאוּ כֵן בִּלְשׁוֹן הַקֹּדֶשׁ הַזָּכָר וְהַנְּקֵבָה מִמֶּנּוּ, וְכֵן הַיַּעֲנָה. וּבָעוֹפוֹת הַיּוֹנָה, אֵין שֵׁם הַזָּכָר חָלוּק מִן הַנְּקֵבָה. וְיֵשׁ רַבִּים שֶׁשְּׁמוֹתָם בִּלְשׁוֹן זָכָר וְאֵין לִנְקֵבוֹתֵיהֶם שֵׁם אַחֵר: גָּמָל, שָׁפָן, חֲזִיר, "דֹּב אֹרֵב" (איכה ג' י'), "פָּרָה וָדֹב תִּרְעֶינָה" (ישעיהו י"א ז'). וְכֵן תּוֹר בָּעוֹפוֹת, וּלְכָךְ אָמַר הַכָּתוּב (ויקרא ה':ז') "שְׁתֵּי תֹרִים אוֹ שְׁנֵי בְנֵי יוֹנָה", יַזְכִּיר בַּתּוֹרִים שֶׁהֵן בִּלְשׁוֹן זָכָר שְׁתֵּי, וּבַיּוֹנָה שְׁנֵי, לְהוֹדִיעַ שֶׁאֵין קְפֵידָא בָּהֶם. וְאַל תָּשִׁיב עָלַי מִלְּשׁוֹן רַבּוֹתֵינוּ שֶׁיֹּאמְרוּ (בכורות כח) פָּרָה וַחֲזִירָה, וְיֹאמְרוּ (שם ו') גָּמָל הַבָּא מִן הַגְּמַלָּה, כִּי יַשְׁאִילוּ בָּהֶם לָשׁוֹן לְבָאֵר כַּוָּנָתָם. וְטַעַם הָאִסּוּר בְּאֵלּוּ, שֶׁאֵינָן בַּעֲלֵי שְׁנֵי הַסִּימָנִים:

1V’ETH HA’ARNEVETH’ (AND THE HARE). This is a species of which both the male and female are so called in the Sacred Language, [although the word itself is feminine]. A similar case is haya’anah (the ostrich)¹⁷⁵ [although the actual word is feminine in form, both male and female are indicated]. In fowls [a word of the same structure is] yonah (a pigeon), the name for the male not being different from that of the female. [On the other hand], there are many [animal species] the names of which are masculine in form, while their females have no specific name, such as gamal (camel), shafan (rock-badger), chazir (swine), ‘dov oreiv’ (a bear lying in wait),¹⁷⁶ is masculine in form. ‘parah v’dov tir’enah’ (the cow and the bear shall feed)¹⁷⁷ is feminine in form, and dov is masculine in form, it nonetheless refers also to the female, as is shown by the feminine form of the verb tir’enah. A similar case amongst fowls is the word tor (turtle-dove) [which, though masculine in form, denotes also the female]. It is for this reason that Scripture states, ‘shtei’ (two) turtle-doves, or ‘shnei’ (two) young pigeons,¹⁷⁸ thus mentioning [the feminine form] shtei with reference to torim (turtle-doves) which is masculine in form, and [the masculine shnei] with reference to yonah (the young pigeon) [which is feminine in form], in order to inform us that there it does not matter which of them [one brings as an offering, whether male or female]. Do not refute me from the expressions of our Rabbis who say: “cow and chazirah (sow);”¹⁷⁹, as opposed to the masculine chazir in Verse 7. “a camel born of a gamlah (a she-camel),”¹⁸⁰, 6 b. Here too, the Rabbis use a special term for the female of the camel. for these are terms they improvised from similar forms in the language in order to make their intent clear. Now the reason why these four animals [the camel, rock-badger, hare, and swine] are forbidden [to be eaten] is that they do not have the two characteristics of purity.