Nikkur facts for kids
Nikkur (pronounced "nee-KOOR") is a special process in Jewish tradition. It's about making sure meat from an animal is kosher, which means it's fit to eat according to Jewish law. This process involves carefully removing certain parts of the animal. These parts include specific types of fat called chelev and a nerve known as the gid hanasheh (or sciatic nerve).
The idea behind Nikkur comes from ancient texts. For example, the book of Leviticus in the Bible says, "You shall not eat of any fatty suet, whether from cattle, sheep, or goats." This rule guides why these fats must be removed. In English, this process is sometimes called porging. The word porge comes from Judeo-Spanish, meaning "to purge" or clean. In Yiddish, another Jewish language, it's called treibern. A person specially trained to do Nikkur is called a menakker.
What Does Nikkur Mean?
The word "Nikkur" comes from an old Hebrew root word. This root, "NQR," means things like "to put out," "to bore," "to dig," or "to gnaw." This helps us understand that Nikkur is about carefully removing or digging out certain parts of the animal.
How Nikkur is Practiced Around the World
It is usually easier to perform Nikkur on the front part of an animal. It's also simpler to do on wild animals like deer. This is because the forbidden fats (chelev) do not need to be removed from these non-domestic animals.
For domestic animals, like cows or sheep, it can be quite hard to perform Nikkur on the back part. Because of this, in many Ashkenazi Jewish communities, the entire back part of the animal is often sold to people who do not follow Jewish dietary laws.
However, among Yemenite Jews, the tradition of performing Nikkur on the back part of the animal is still common. This practice has been passed down for hundreds of years. In some places, like Israel, special experts are hired to prepare the back parts of animals so they can be sold as kosher meat.
