Verification of the reality and halachic aspects of the mermaid, who is half fish and half woman

In fact, there is nothing that is not indicated in the Torah, and there is a wide reference to it among the sages. However, regarding the very existence of this creature, although some of the first to mention it have given descriptions of it, these are based on rumors, and therefore cannot be accepted as a settled fact until the matter is clarified in its truth. And in the writings of the Gentiles, there are detailed descriptions and popular legends about this whole matter, but, of course, most of them are the product of fervent imagination and do not have a serious basis to support them.

And now we will address the practical consideration of this creature, and in each question, I did not detail what should be discussed, but here in the response, I will summarize the topics, and “in general,” they are divided into three subjects. A: Its suitability for consumption. B: The permission to kill him. C: The copulation of a man with him.

• There is a need to discuss whether it is a kosher animal for consumption, or if it is an impure animal prohibited for consumption. And, in general, once it is possible that it is a human being, there is a prohibition against eating it. Therefore, it seems that, in principle, it is not a human creature that has human laws, and what remains to be questioned is whether it is a kosher animal. And it seems that, according to the sages, even if this creature has fins and scales, it cannot be considered a pure fish to allow its consumption, as there is a special prohibition on it. And see below in the sources (note 7) that some thought to allow eating crocodile because they compared it to a fish with fins and scales, but certainly in practice this is not a correct assumption, and it is clear that the crocodile in all its species is an impure animal prohibited for consumption.
• The main difference between whether it is a human being or an animal is whether there is a prohibition on killing it, and, according to that, one could argue that it is not a human being and, therefore, there is no prohibition on killing, but rather like any other animal that was given to man to be killed for his needs. However, regarding the question of whether there is impurity in its death like in the body of a human, it is possible that the sages have disagreed on this, and it should be clarified that, although it is essentially not defined as a human because it does not possess a human vital soul, it is still possible that its body becomes impure because it resembles a human. And so the commentators also discussed (as mentioned in the sources below, section 9) the “adney hasadê,” which are creatures between an animal and a human being.
• And regarding the union of a man with this animal, in the Gemara it is mentioned that this animal is called dolfin (we do not know exactly if the term refers to a “dolphin”) and can produce offspring through mating with a man. With this, there is room to discuss whether it is permissible for a man to unite with it, as the prohibition of a man uniting with an animal is due to the lack of compatibility between them, since they do not reproduce with each other, unlike this animal. However, there are reasons to doubt this for two reasons. First, it is possible to interpret that even an animal that can produce offspring with a human still does not have proper sexual relations, and yet it is included in the prohibition of a human mating with it. Secondly, it can be argued that all of this applies to a non-Jew, but in the case of an Israelite, even if there is a possibility of procreation with a certain animal, there is still a prohibition against mating with it, as warned in the Torah: “Anyone who lies with an animal.” However, this is not mandatory, as it is possible that this animal is not considered an “animal” and, therefore, is not subject to this prohibition. But, in any case, due to the doubt, we cannot allow this. And all this refers to the dolfin mentioned by our sages, but it is not clear if this also includes the dolphin of our times.

I hope it was helpful to you.

Sincerely,

Rabbi Elyahu Bracha

Sources