Lessons from the Kosher Meat Department (Vayishlach 12/13/24)

Lessons from the Kosher Meat Department

I peruse the kosher steak options at Shoprite. Oh, Porterhouse, Sirloin, and Filet Mignon, where are you hiding? Forefather Jacob, what were you thinking?

The prohibition on consuming the back end of the cow is intriguing. Cows are kosher, but their sciatic nerves are not. Removing the nerve is quite intricate and time-consuming. The Ashkenazic practice has been to sell the animal’s rear to non-kosher distributors. It is all based on the last two Torah readings.

In ‘Vayishlach,’ Jacob is forced to come face to face with Esau for the first time since he stole his brother’s blessing twenty years ago. Jacob now has four wives, twelve children, and much wealth. He has so much to lose: he’s worried that Esau will avenge the wrong done to him.

“Jacob was left alone. And a Being wrestled with him until the break of dawn. When he saw that he could not prevail against him, he wrenched Jacob’s hip out of its socket so that the socket of his hip was strained as he wrestled with him…

The sun rose upon Jacob as he passed Penuel, limping on his hip. This is why the children of Israel to this day do not eat the sciatic nerve on the socket of the hip, since Jacob’s hip socket was wrenched at the thigh muscle.”

This incident occurred more than thirty-five hundred years ago. Because of it, Jews have been stuck with chuck meat ever since. Why?

Professor Richard Elliot Friedman points out that there is little character development in Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, or Rebekah, all of whom remain consistent throughout their stories. Jacob, on the other hand, changes. From birth, he’s pining for what is not his, trying to hold Esau back from being the firstborn. When the youths are in their teens, Jacob extorts the firstborn rights from a famished Esau in exchange for a bowl of soup. When the aged and blind Isaac wants to bless his eldest child, Jacob sneaks in to claim it as his own.

Jacob starts off as a manipulator; however, he changes after his experiences in Mesopotamia. He has been the deceiver and the deceived. He has hurt and been hurt. Everything Jacob did to his Esau, Lavan, his father-in-law, did to him. Now, older and wiser, Jacob will change. For the rest of his story, he is no longer pictured as a man of deception but rather one who considers the impact of his actions. It is precisely at this juncture that Jacob encounters the Being (an angel?) at Penuel. The Being bestows upon Jacob a new name. “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, because you’ve struggled with God and people and have overcome.” With this name change, Jacob ceases to be the deceiver. He sheds the name Jacob (the one who catches) and becomes Israel (the one who struggles with God) instead.^[1]

It’s also precisely at this point that Jacob’s hip becomes dislocated: a message to Jacob that his period of being sneaky is over. Suffering from sciatica, Jacob cannot and will not be wily anymore.

“This is why the children of Israel to this day do not eat the sciatic nerve on the socket of the hip, since Jacob’s hip socket was wrenched at the thigh muscle.” It’s a lesson for us every time we enter the meat department.

It reminds us not to pine for things rightfully belonging to others. It warns us to be wary of deceit and treachery and makes us ponder whether the ends justify the means.

So, when you tire of chuck or complain about the high price of rib steak, let’s be thankful for the great lessons inherent in the kosher meat department.

Have a wonderful week,

R’ Neil

^[1] Friedman, Richard Elliott. Commentary on the Torah (p. 728). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.