Ritual Non-Consumption

“Therefore, the Children of Israel will not eat the sciatic nerve…” (Genesis 32:33). The prohibition of eating the sciatic nerve is linked in our parasha to Yaakov’s serious injury at dawn, when he was already standing as victor opposite the man who wrestled with him at night. The man made contact with Yaakov’s hip and damaged it. Yaakov emerged from the battle limping.

The commentators noted that the Torah is not describing an ancient tradition that the People of Israel practiced before the Giving of the Torah; rather, the Torah is using a unique tactic to transmit the commandment. Rabb Zadok HaCohen of Lublin comments in his characteristic way and teaches that it is not a legend or folktale, but a serious prohibition: “It is not storytelling, but a Torah prohibition that they should not eat it” (Sefer Zikhronot, Prohibition of Eating the Sciatic Nerve, 3).

Rabbi David Kimhi (Radak) points out two possible interpretations: “The children of Yaakov forbade the sciatic nerve from themselves to honor their father…and Moshe wrote it in the Torah at God’s instruction; but according to the interpretation of our Sages, the Children of Israel were commanded at Sinai about it and it was written in its current place to explain the reason that it is forbidden” (Radak, ibid., and see: Pesikta Zutra, Vayishlach 32:33). In his comments, Radak highlights the gap between the plain meaning of the text and the accepted interpretation of the Sages. The plain meaning  seems to be that the verses are documenting an ancient moral code that the Children of Israel developed prior to the Giving of the Torah. The Sages believed that the commandment was first commanded at Sinai, but was written as part of the historical narrative. In this way, we learn the reason for the commandment – an explanation not of the establishment of a custom, but of the permanence of the practice.

The difference between the plain meaning and the Rabbinic claim can be transposed to the Halakhic dispute about the boundaries of the prohibition: does it apply only to pure (Kosher) animals, or also to impure animals? “Rabbi Yehuda says: Even impure [animals], because the prohibition precedes the Giving of the Torah; They said to Rabbi Yehuda: [The Torah] doesn’t say ‘therefore they would not eat…’, rather ‘the Children of Israel’ – those who were standing at Mount Sinai…” (Tosefta Hullin 7:8).

In general, the discussion of the sciatic nerve as it relates to laws of mixtures, forbidden benefit and other areas emphasize that the prohibition of the sciatic nerve is viewed as one of the various consumption-prohibitions in the Torah and not as a custom that developed with its own rules.  

A gentler way of viewing the source of the prohibition appears in a midrash in Songs of Songs Rabbah which presents a parable of a king with a wine cellar. He gives the first guest a cup, and the second guest a cup, but when the king’s son arrives – the king provides him with the entire cellar. The midrash describes the “first droplets” – tastes of the fine wine that is given to the lower-level guests. But when the important guest comes, the whole cellar is opened for him. So, too, God reveals different prohibitions from His treasure and presents them slowly, gradually: prohibiting consumption of the Tree of Knowledge, forbidding illicit relations and robbery for the descendants of Noah, presenting the concept of levirate marriage (yibum) to Yehuda, prohibiting the sciatic nerve for the descendants of Yaakov, and at the end of the road – the Giving of the Torah, and the bestowal of the full system of commandments to the Children of Israel.

This is a description is part of the development of the plot, a type of shipment that arrives bit by bit, until it is assembled and transmitted as a complete package at the end. This description is one of a prohibition with a history that pre-dates the Giving of the Torah, but there is no doubt that its source is Divine and not human and “folkloric.”

Underlying this debate is a general question about the way the Torah is transmitted. One is given the impression that this question is answered in almost every possible interpretive response. The Sages did not hold back from suggesting all of them, including the idea that some commandments in the Torah are based in ancient practices that then received additional authority and weight at the Giving of the Torah.

We will sidestep these big questions, and contend that the different approaches toward the prohibition of the sciatic nerve highlight a difference in understanding of the meaning and significance behind the prohibition. Halakha, custom (minhag), and tradition preserve the memory of historical events through symbolic foods. One example is matzah, eaten because the dough did not have time to rise; similarly, sufganiyyot and latkes (coming up soon on the calendar) are eaten to recall the miracle of the oil; so, too, people eat dairy products of Shavuot because the Torah is likened to milk; apples and honey on Rosh Hashanah are meant to signify a hope for a good, sweet new year. The various streams and communities have many other food customs that carry significance and meaning, symbolizing ideas and values.

But in the commandment prohibiting the sciatic nerve, we encounter ritual non-consumption.

The reason for the prohibition is clarified by its source. The commentators who linked the prohibition to Yaakov’s personal experience explained the prohibition as one connected to Yaakov and his actual children.  Hizkuni, Rosh, and Rashbam follow this line of thinking. According to Hizkuni, just as a person with a headache takes upon himself not to eat the body part that is associated with pain (for healing purposes), the children of Israel acted similarly. Hizkuni is describing a prohibition that is meant as a vow of abstinence for the sake of healing an illness. According to the Rosh, the abstention of the children of Israel from eating the sciatic nerve as an expression of their painful conscience that plagued them for not accompanying their father at night – for leaving him alone. Because of their negligence, he was ultimately injured. From then on, they abstain from eating the rich sciatic nerve – as a reminder of guilt. They lost their taste, as it were, for this delicacy. Rashbam sees it as a memory of Yaakov’s victory and valor. Refraining from touching the sciatic nerve is a testament that salutes the courage that Yaakov demonstrated. According to these commentators, a person taking on “non-consumption” can symbolize abstinence, disgust and self-punishment -- or an attitude of reverence. All of these stem from the lasting impression that the incident made on those close to Yaakov.

In other sources, the prohibition of the sciatic nerve is connected to the status of the People of Israel as compared to the other nations; Yaakov is a microcosm, representative of the situation – Yaakov-the-individual is not the story, but rather the continual struggle that we experience as a nation.

 In light of the Zohar’s commentary, the Akeidat Yizhak comments that the location of the sciatic nerve is a place of impurity, the evil inclination, and sin; therefore, the People of Israel distance themselves from it because Yaakov’s weak spot is not physical assault, but stumbling morally. Sins and the yearning after cravings and passions are the things that threaten the moral balance and cripple the ability to think clearly and honestly – these are what leave the Nation of Israel limping. Yaakov’s source of strength for the generations is his spiritual status, his strong stance defending his principles, and his scrupulous adherence to the commandments – it is spiritual strength, boundaries, and distance from impurity (Akeidat Yitzhak, Genesis, Gate 26). In this interpretation, there is an attempt to see the image of Yaakov limping as symbolic of an existential condition on the national level .

It can also be explained differently. Tearing the sciatic nerve and removing it from the context of Yaakov’s functioning limbs transforms it into a symbol of the other nations taking advantage of Israel’s vulnerability. The meaning behind the “non-consumption” as a ritual in this context is an attempt to erase the the sciatic nerve (symbolizing weakness) from the collective consciousness by completely ignoring its existence. Ignoring it gives it a status of “negative space” – with the attitude of “we don’t discuss it.” This type of non-consumption is similar  to the meaning behind fast days such as Yom Kippur. In a different sense, it is reminiscent of the fast of Tisha B’Av, which we would prefer to erase from the calendar (See Rabbi Zadok HaCohen from Lublin, Kometz HaMinha 2, 79). Acts of mourning express that the day is a terrible one, that people would rather forget – a day with no positive aspect, where no progress can be made. It is a day of demonstration – regular activities come to a standstill.

At times, of course, it makes the negative space felt even more strongly. According to this idea, the collective non-consumption of the sciatic nerve by the Children of Israel is the active withdrawal of our people – gathering together for an act of diminishment meant to underscore the message: In this non-consumption is an expression of vulnerability – but without surrender. It is a symbol of strength and courage in the face of those coming to erode the tradition of the People of Israel.