The Torah in Parashat Shemini (Parashat 11:21) establishes the requirement to determine the status of different species of grasshoppers vis-à-vis their permissibility for consumption. As we know, locusts and grasshoppers used to be eaten as food. In fact, the Rabbis teach that when G-d ended the plague of locusts that struck Egypt, the locusts which the Egyptians had captured and pickled to make into delicacies miraculously returned to life and flew away. G-d thereby ensured that they would receive no benefit whatsoever from the plague. The Torah in Parashat Shemini presents the basic guidelines for determining which species are permissible and which are forbidden. The Sefer Ha’hinuch notes that just like the other rules regarding permissible and forbidden foods, the Torah here has determined that certain species are either physically or spiritually harmful and thus forbade us from partaking of these species. The Gemara teaches that there are eight species of kosher grasshoppers, called “Hagab,” “Zarbanit,” “Hargol,” “Arsubya,” “Arpa,” “Saparat Keramim,” “Solam,” and “Yohana Yerushalmit.” The identifying characteristics of kosher grasshoppers are: four wings covering the majority of the creature’s body; four legs; and protrusions from the legs with which the creature hops. The laws, of course, apply in all places and in all times, and to both males and females. The Sefer Ha’hinuch maintains that one who ate a species of grasshopper without first determining its status has violated this affirmative command, even if the creature turned out to belong to a kosher species. This Misva commands us to determine a creature’s status before eating it, and thus one transgresses this command by neglecting to do so regardless of whether the creature was forbidden or permissible. Nowadays, although some communities – particularly among Yemenite and Moroccan Jews – eat kosher species of grasshoppers, the majority of Jews do not. Already the Or Ha’haim Ha’kadosh (Rav Haim Ben-Attar, 1696-1743) opposed this practice, claiming that we do not have the ability to definitively determine the kosher species, and we do not have a strong tradition as to which species are permissible and which are forbidden. Incidentally, Rav Chaim Kanievsky wrote an entire book entitled Karneh Hagabim on the topic of the physical properties of kosher grasshoppers. I once heard from Rav Chaim Kreiswirth (1918-2001) that Rav Kanievsky was able to identify all eight species of kosher grasshoppers and point to their “Simanim” – the “signs” of their kosher status. There was only one extremely rare species which he was not able to find and actually see, so he identified its characteristics based on the relevant halachic literature. One day, he was learning near an open window, and a grasshopper flew inside and landed on his book. He looked at it – and immediately recognized it as the species which he had been unable to find. He was able to confirm that it had the necessary characteristics to be determined kosher. This story shows how Hashem intervenes to help the sages who toil in Torah, so they can arrive at the truth.