The Mishna in Tractate Bechorot states: "That which comes from something which is Tameh [non-Kosher] is Tameh, and that which comes of that which is Tahor [Kosher] is Tahor." The product of a non-Kosher animal is not Kosher.
So why is bee honey Kosher?
The Talmud in the same Tractate quotes a Beraita (a Halachic teaching from the time of the Mishna) which says:
"Why did they say that bee-honey is permitted? Because even though they bring it into their bodies, it is not a *product* of their bodies [it is stored there but not produced there]."
All the Sages of the Mishna agree with this ruling. One of them, Rabbi Yaakov, disagrees with the *reasoning*. He claims that bee-honey is Kosher based on his interpretation of Vayikra 11:21. According to him, the verse prohibits one to eat a flying insect, but *not* that which is *excreted* from it. Read More
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