Chullin 91

Sugya Map

• Issue: Does the prohibition of Gid HaNasheh (sciatic nerve) apply to one side or both? If the Torah specifies "the thigh" Genesis 32:33, does it imply the "important" (right) thigh or both?
• Nafka Mina: Liability for lashes (malkot) for eating one vs. two, and the status of the "fat" (shuman) around the nerve.
• Primary Sources: Chullin 91a, Genesis 32, Exodus 12:10.

Text Snapshot

Rav Ashi clarifies the Mishna’s burning requirement: "It is necessary only with regard to the fat around the sciatic nerve... the fat is permitted by Torah law, but the Jewish people are holy and treated it as forbidden" (Chullin 91a).

• Leshon nuance: The phrase "Yisrael Kedoshim" (Israel is holy) functions as a halachic category here—transforming a permissive object into a prohibited one, necessitating the sacrificial disposal of Notar (leftover holy meat).

Readings

• Rashi (Chullin 91a s.v. Yisrael Kedoshim): Views this as a seyag (fence) to the Torah. Because it is permitted de-oraita yet treated as forbidden de-rabbanan, it retains the status of sacrificial meat, requiring burning.
• Tosafot (Chullin 91a s.v. Lo Nitztrikh): Argues that Rav Ashi’s reading cannot align with Rabbi Yehuda, who holds the fat is permitted even de-rabbanan. Thus, this Mishnaic clause must follow Rabbi Meir.

Friction

• Kushya: If the nerve is forbidden de-oraita, why is the fat treated as Notar? If it’s de-rabbanan, why burn it with the stringency of sacrificial leftovers?
• Terutz: The holiness of the people creates a "quasi-sanctity." Since we treat it as forbidden, we cannot eat it, but because it is not objectively Notar by Torah law, we burn it to avoid degrading a food item that carries the image of a sacrifice.

Intertext

• Genesis 43:16: Joseph commands his steward to "remove the sciatic nerve" before his brothers. The Gemara uses this to debate whether the prohibition existed for Bnei Noach or was exclusive to Sinai.

Psak/Practice

The Gid HaNasheh is removed from both thighs in current practice. The shuman (fat) is generally removed as part of the nikkur (porging) process to avoid any potential safek (doubt) regarding the status of the fat or the outer nerves.

Takeaway

Halachic stringency often arises not from a textual prohibition, but from a "holy" communal standard that elevates an object to the status of a sacrifice, mandating respect even where the law is permissive.