Julian Ungar-Sargon

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Daf Ditty

A wide-ranging commentary on the daily page of Talmud.

Gustave Doré, Jacob Wrestling with the Angel (1855)

Chullin 91: לָמָּה נִקְרָא שְׁמוֹ גִּיד הַנָּשֶׁה? שֶׁנָּשָׁה מִמְּקוֹמוֹ וְעָלָה

jyungar July 30, 2026

For the source text click/tap here: Chullin 91

To download, click/tap here: PDF

The source for the prohibition against eating the sciatic nerve is the story related in Sefer Bereishit (32:33) that describes the wrestling match that took place between Ya’akov and the angel, where Ya’akov is injured in his thigh. The Gemara on today’s daf develops the story of the wrestling match further.

According to the Gemara, when the angel said “Let me go, for the dawn has risen,” (see Bereishit 32:37) Ya’akov said to him, “Are you a thief or a gambler who is afraid of the dawn?” He replied: “I am an angel, and from the day that I was created my time to recite a song before God had not arrived until now.”

We explore the struggles of Jacob.

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Julian Ungar-Sargon

This is Julian Ungar-Sargon's personal website. It contains poems, essays, and podcasts for the spiritual seeker and interdisciplinary aficionado.​