Neveila and treifa are both terms for animals that come from a kosher species but nonetheless may not be eaten by Jews who follow kashrut, Jewish dietary law. The primary distinction is that a neveila is dead and a treifa is alive.
In Judaism, ritual slaughter is called shechita. Kosher meat comes from animals that died by shechita. A neveila, sometimes translated “carcass,” is the body of an animal that comes from a kosher species but did not die through shechita. The animal might have died of natural causes or through injury, or there may have been a disqualifying error in the process of its slaughter. The Torah forbids consuming a neveila (Deuteronomy 14:21), though a neveila may be used for financial gain. For instance, it can be sold to a non-Jew. A neveila conveys ritual impurity through physical contact.
By contrast, a treifa is a living animal that is disqualified from consumption. In the Hebrew Bible, a treifa is an animal whose flesh has been torn, usually by wild beasts. The Bible is explicit that such animals are not kosher (see, for example, Exodus 22:30).
The classical rabbis expanded the meaning of treifa to include any animal that comes from a kosher species but may not be eaten due to physical defects or injuries. The Talmud catalogs ways in which this can come about, including: clawing or tearing of the animal’s flesh, perforation of certain organs, congenital absence of specific organs, crushing under stones and certain bone fractures. Later Jewish legal codes gave even more specificity, describing in detail many kinds of problems and injuries that can disqualify an otherwise kosher animal from being eaten. A treifa is a living animal that cannot be slaughtered in accordance with Jewish law and eaten by someone who keeps kosher. However, if a treifa does undergo kosher slaughter, it is not considered a neveila and does not impart ritual impurity.
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Tractate Chullin of the Talmud lays the foundation for Jewish law in this area, which has since been explained in greater detail in the classical Jewish codes.
The Yiddish term treyf, derives from treifa but should not be confused with it. Treyf refers much more generally to any non-kosher food.
