Positive commandment · Mitzvat Aseh #149 of 613
To check the signs [with which] animals [are identified], as kosher
לבדוק בסימני בהמה
The verse · Vayikra 11:2
דַּבְּרוּ אֶל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר זֹאת הַחַיָּה אֲשֶׁר תֹּאכְלוּ מִכׇּל־הַבְּהֵמָה אֲשֶׁר עַל־הָאָרֶץ
“Speak to the children of Yisra᾽el, saying, These are the beasts which you shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth.”
The Rambam’s words
To check the signs [with which] animals [are identified], as kosher, as [Leviticus 11:2] states: "These are the animals which you may eat...."
לבדוק בסימני בהמה, שנאמר: "זאת החיה אשר תאכלו" (ויקרא יא,ב).
Why · Sefer HaChinuch #153
The command of checking the signs of a beast or animal
“It is from the roots of this commandment [that it is] because the body is an instrument of the soul — with it, it carries out its activity; without it, it can never complete its work.”
Who & when
“And [it] is practiced in every place and at all times by males and females.”
Where in the Mishneh Torah
Hilchot Forbidden Foods הלכות מאכלות אסורות