The first Jews to encounter the kingklip were probably
Russian and Lithuanian emigrants who began settling in South
Africa just over a century ago. Living on the floor of the
oceans of the southern hemisphere at depths ranging from
fifty to five hundred meters, it is considered a very good
eating fish. The expensive red and golden varieties are much
in demand. It is a sea fish that is now caught near South
Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Chile and Argentina.
The kingklip's main feature of interest to us is its skin.
The fish is quite smooth externally but when the skin is
opened, small scale-like pieces of flesh are found buried in
between the outer and inner layers of skin. These "scales"
are very soft and pliable and are quite unlike the regular
scales attached to the outer skin of kosher fish. The scales
cannot be seen externally, though on looking closely at the
kingklip, square-shaped pockets within which the scales sit
can be discerned beneath the fatty outer layer of the
skin.
A single, central Beis Din has been serving the Jewish
community of Johannesburg for the past century. It was
established by the traditional element, which forms the clear
majority of the city's Jewish population and its functions
include kashrus supervision. Some years ago some of the local
rabbonim had permitted the fish and others had forbidden it.
A similar question was brought before the Chazon Ish zt'l,
(niftar over fifty years ago) and he forbade it. Though
it is unclear by whom or where from, it is likely that it
really was a kingklip.
The first documented official stand on the question of the
kingklip's kashrus was taken forty years ago when the South
African Beis Din permitted its consumption since, it
maintained, the kingklip sheds its scales in the water
— though there is extensive debate among the poskim
as to how this can actually be ascertained.
The chareidi rabbonim of Johannesburg issued a ruling
forbidding the fish to their communities. Among them were
HaRav Yaakov Selzer zt'l, HaRav Aharon Pfeufer zt'l
and ylct'a HaRav Moshe Sternbuch. In view of their
ruling, the Beis Din designated the fish as "kosher but not
lemehadrin" — a surprising status for a fish. If
a fish possesses the signs of kashrus required by the Torah
it is one hundred percent kosher and if not, it is one
hundred percent non-kosher.
There was a significant shift around five years ago when the
Beis Din revised its earlier ruling and declared the kingklip
"kosher lemehadrin" by virtue of its "scales." It
dismissed the earlier rulings of the chareidi rabbonim by
claiming that they had been unaware of the scales' existence
— an argument that is contradicted by a document from
the nineteen fifties noting the presence of the "scales."
This move prompted a number of South African chareidi
rabbonim to reexamine the entire issue which no longer only
concerns South African consumers, for the fish is now
exported to other countries as well. The investigations have
been going on now for several years and include a close study
of the actual "scales," in the light of the characteristics
of the type of scales that render a fish kosher as described
by the Rishonim and Acharonim. Extensive consultations have
also been held with other rabbonim and kashrus experts, a
majority of whom have expressed their opinion that the fish
is not kosher.
All these efforts have been coordinated in the course of
frequent consultations that the researchers have held with
HaRav Aharon Leib Shteinman, who has been generally guiding
the chareidi community in South Africa. While HaRav
Shteinman's own opinion is that the fish is not kosher, he
directed the rabbonim to HaRav Eliashiv for a practical
ruling on what course to take (see the accompanying box for
the text of Maran's ruling).
The beis din of the Eida HaChareidis has also issued a
notice declaring the kingklip to be, "like the other types of
unclean crawling things that are forbidden by the Torah."
HaRav Nissim Karelitz mentioned to this writer that he also
forbids the fish and that he now rules that it is best to
kasher pots that were used for cooking it. Several
American rabbonim with long years of experience in kashrus
have ruled likewise, despite the accepted leniencies there in
many other areas of kashrus.
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7th Iyar 5765
Maran HaGaon HaRav Y.S. Eliashiv has instructed me to
publicize his ruling concerning the kingklip, which is found
in several countries in the southern hemisphere.
The fish has been brought before Maran and he saw a drastic
difference in what is argued are its scales and ruled that
there is no tradition for regarding them as [halachic] scales
and that the fish is forbidden.
Maran has recently heard that a lenient ruling has been
publicized in his name and he has asked me to strongly refute
these false rumors, which can pose a serious stumbling block
to the public.
Moshe Mordechai Karp
Kiryat Sefer
Author of Hilchos Chag Bechag and Mishmeres
Hamo'adim
HaRav Eliashiv added that a rav should be consulted as to
whether pots in which the fish was cooked need
kashering.
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