In the middle of the night Yaakov encounters an angel of G‑d, wrestles with him and wins. But the angel, who is Eisav’s spiritual source and advocate on high, wounds Yaakov’s sciatic nerve. In commemoration, the Torah prohibits eating this nerve in any animal.
The significance of this mitzvah is explained in the Sefer Hachinuch:
This mitzvah serves as a reminder to the Jewish people that though they will suffer many hardships in their exiles at the hands of the nations and at the hands of the children of Eisav, they should be confident that they will never be wiped out.
The prohibition of eating the sciatic nerve seems to be a mere technicality in the laws of kashrus, applicable only to the specific nerve that the angel wounded, which is itself only a minor detail in the story of Yaakov’s miraculous salvation. Why do we commemorate such a crucial aspect of Jewish faith—our eternal hope of survival—with a law so narrow in scope?
The emphasis that this mitzvah places on one detail is, in truth, extremely significant. It highlights that G‑d’s providence and concern for the Jewish people extends even to the most minor details in their lives!
Although the Baal Shem Tov taught that every aspect of creation is orchestrated by Divine Providence and serves a specific role in the Divine plan, the significance of every detail before G‑d still varies, depending on how central a role it serves in the ultimate purpose of creation.
When it comes to details that affect the life of a Jew, however, there are no such distinctions; a nerve in a Jew’s hip is as significant to G‑d as the entire creation. Since every Jew is uniquely chosen and cherished by G‑d, and imbued with a soul that is essentially one with G‑d Himself, even the seemingly minor details in the life of a Jew are of infinite significance before G‑d.
—Likkutei Sichos, vol. 30, pp. 148–154
