Mishneh Torah, Forbidden Foods 8-10

Sugya Map

• Core Issue: The scope and mechanics of the prohibition of Gid HaNasheh (the sciatic nerve).
• Key Nafka Minot:
  • Does Gid HaNasheh apply to nevelot/trefot? (The tension between ein issur chal al issur vs. issur mosif).
  • Does it apply to Kodashim (sacrifices)? (The dispute between Rabbi Yehuda and the Sages in Chullin 92b).
  • The ontological status of the Gid: Is it a beriyah (a distinct entity that does not nullify) or a foodstuff?
• Primary Sources: Chullin 92b–101a; Rambam, Hilchot Ma’achalot Assurot 8:1–17; Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah 65.

Text Snapshot

• Rambam, 8:1: "הגיד... נוהג בבהמה וחיה הטהורין ואפי' בנבילות וטריפות שלהן."
• Nuance: The Rambam asserts that Gid HaNasheh applies even to nevelot/trefot. This is a critical departure point, as it rejects the logic that if the meat is already forbidden, the Gid cannot carry an additional prohibition (ein issur chal al issur). The Rambam treats the Gid as an issur mosif (an additive prohibition).

Readings

1. Nachal Eitan on Rambam 8:1

The Nachal Eitan grapples with the Rambam’s ruling that the prohibition applies to nevelot and trefot. The challenge is simple: if the animal is already a nevelah, the Gid is already forbidden; how can a new prohibition attach to it? The Nachal Eitan posits that since we hold ein b’gidim b’noten ta’am (the sciatic nerve has no flavor), the Gid was not inherently prohibited by the nevelah status of the meat. Therefore, when the Gid forms, the Gid HaNasheh prohibition takes effect as an issur mosif. This highlights the Rambam’s unique view: the prohibition is not on the meat but on the specific sinew as a discrete entity.

2. Sha’ar HaMelech on 8:1:2

The Sha’ar HaMelech addresses the Kodashim dilemma. If an animal is Kodashim, the Gid is already "sacred/forbidden" for common use; how does the Gid HaNasheh prohibition manifest? The Sha’ar HaMelech invokes the Rambam’s ruling in Hilchot Ma’aseh HaKorbanot 6:4 that it is forbidden to offer the Gid on the altar. Because there is an issur (a prohibition against elevating it to the altar), the Gid HaNasheh prohibition is not redundant. It is an issur mosif—it adds a layer of forbiddenness to an already forbidden object. This justifies the Rambam’s inclusion of Kodashim without needing to rely solely on the debate of Chullin 92b.

Friction

The Strongest Kushya

The most potent kushya against the Rambam’s position on Kodashim is the apparent contradiction with his own principles of ein issur chal al issur. If the Gid is part of a Korban, it is sanctified. Can a Torah prohibition (Gid HaNasheh) fall upon an existing holiness (Kodashim)? Furthermore, the Chullin passage suggests this is a debated topic, yet the Rambam codifies it as an absolute reality.

The Best Terutz

The Lechem Mishneh and the Sha’ar HaMelech harmonize this by pointing to the "additive" nature of the prohibition. If the Gid was permitted for some usage (e.g., if it were not forbidden to be offered on the altar), there would be no issur. But because the Rambam maintains the Gid is prohibited from being offered, the Gid HaNasheh prohibition acts as a restriction on both the he'diyot (layman) and the mizbeach (altar). It is not an issur replacing an issur, but an issur compounding the sanctity. The Gid is "doubly forbidden," satisfying the requirement for an issur mosif.

Intertext

• Leviticus 23:14: The prohibition of Chadash (new grain) parallels the Gid logic; it applies universally, regardless of the status of the grain (even if it were potentially sanctified), because the Torah explicitly links the prohibition to the item itself.
• SA, Yoreh De’ah 65:9: The Shulchan Aruch codifies the Gid as having no flavor ("like wood"). This is the foundational halachic fact that allows for the Rambam’s complex system of issur mosif—if it had flavor, it would have been prohibited as meat, and the Gid prohibition would be redundant.

Psak/Practice

The halacha remains that one must "ferret out" (le-karker) the Gid (8:19). In practice, this rigor is so extreme—requiring the tracking of the nerve into the deep recesses of the hip—that the Ashkenazic minhag shifted to simply selling the hindquarters to non-Jews or removing the entire section. The psak today is l’chatchila to avoid the chalavim and gidim entirely by utilizing only the forequarters, a testament to the Rambam’s insistence that "nothing remains" of the prohibited entity.

Takeaway

The prohibition of Gid HaNasheh is not merely about diet; it is an ontological marker of the Jewish relationship to the Gid as a beriyah—a distinct entity that exists outside the standard rules of nullification and flavor.