Attending a yom tov seudah and spotting an inviting platter of beef tongue on the table is the ultimate test of fortitude. Your mind immediately starts wondering if taking a slice means entering into a mutual tasting agreement with your main course or if the meat is literally about to talk back. But duty calls, so you close your eyes and dive headfirst into what turns out to be absolute, melt-in-your-mouth perfection. Suddenly, you’re loading your plate for seconds, completely unable to hold your tongue as you savor every bite. By the end of the meal, you agree it was a rare, prime-time masterpiece that truly elevated the entire yom Tov feast.
Which brings us to a provocative question: Is that mouthwatering tongue on your plate actually stolen goods? Indeed, a cheeky halachic argument could be made that all the tongue sold in grocery stores today is hot commodity. This is an even juicier issue in Eretz Yisrael. The pasuk in Mishlei states, “Mayim genuvin yimtaku,” stolen waters are sweet. Perhaps the real reason Klal Yisrael loves tongue so much is that extra dash of thrill from eating contraband cuisine!
According to the Torah, every time a person slaughters an unconsecrated animal, there is a positive mitzvah to give three specific parts to a Kohen: the front leg (zeroah), the jaw/cheekbones, including the tongue (lechayayim), and a stomach (keivah). While the Mishnah lists a few exceptions, virtually all tongue sold today technically falls under this obligation. The twist? Unlike terumah, the tongue itself possesses no inherent holiness. A Kohen can feed it to anyone, share it at his own seudah, or sell it for profit. (So if you bought your delicacies directly from a Kohen, you’re home free and can stop reading right now!)
The Mishnah in Chullin (130a) states unequivocally that the mitzvah of matanos kehunah applies even outside Eretz Yisrael and even in modern times, citing no dissenting opinions. However, the Gemara (136a) quotes Rebbe Illai, who holds that neither the first sheep shearings (reishis hagez) nor the three animal gifts apply outside the Land of Israel. The Gemara notes that the general practice in the Diaspora followed Rebbe Illai regarding shearings, and Rashi extends this leniency to the three gifts as well. Thus, for Jews living in the Diaspora, there is a solid halachic basis not to give the tongue away. Still, major authorities like the Vilna Gaon were machmir on this halacha regardless of location.
In Eretz Yisrael, however, Rebbe Illai’s leniency doesn’t apply at all, meaning everyone ought to hand over their beef tongue to a Kohen. The Chazon Ish noted that if you can locate a Kohen whose lineage is formally established by a Beis Din, a Kohen meyuchas, you are obligated to give him the gifts. The snag? Batei Din no longer convene to vet kohanic lineage in this manner. If a verified Kohen with rock-solid testimony were alive today, he’d be sitting on a goldmine!
Rebbi Yonasan Eibeschitz famously wondered why yarei Shamayim weren’t more scrupulous about this halacha. Now, you might argue that this isn’t the consumer’s problem. After all, the Gemara clarifies that the obligation to separate matanos kehunah rests squarely on the butcher. The average kosher shopper could easily say, “Not my circus, not my cow.” Besides, if the butcher failed to do his job, why should the consumer have to beef about it?
Yet before you swallow that argument whole, three rather meaty issues challenge that relaxed stance:
• The Tevel Dilemma: Is the animal considered untithed and forbidden until the parts are separated? While the Gemara rules that this restriction doesn’t apply in chutz la’aretz, some suggest that in Eretz Yisrael, eating an unseparated animal might actually be forbidden. This position is not accepted. (Locals in America can breathe easy here regardless: either the entire mitzvah doesn’t apply abroad, or if it does, the meat isn’t prohibited before the gifts are separated.)
• Rabbinic Restrictions: Tosafos suggests there may be a general rabbinic decree prohibiting anyone from eating the meat before the kohanic gifts are dutifully removed, although this opinion is not accepted.
• The Buyer’s Burden: The Gemara explicitly states that if a butcher illegally sells the kohanic portions to an unsuspecting buyer, the buyer is obligated to step up and hand those parts over to a Kohen himself. Tongue purchaser, beware!
This discussion is tongue-in-cheek: standard halachic practice today widely relies on the classic leniencies, and nobody is raiding your freezer. We are merely chewing on a fascinating chumra.
Here is where the story takes a delightful turn. Unlike other kohanic gifts, matanos kehunah may be given to a Bas Kohen, a Kohen’s daughter, even if she is married to a non-Kohen (Yisrael)! The Gemara even records several Amoraim who accepted these meat portions on behalf of their wives. Because the tongue has no inherent sanctity, a Bas Kohen or her lucky husband can freely enjoy it.
There is a famous tale about the Satmar Rebbe, who playfully reinterpreted the famous Talmudic adage “Aser b’shvil she’titasser” (give tithes so that you will become wealthy). He suggested: “Asser b’shvil she’titasser,” declare something forbidden (assur), construct a clever workaround, and watch the wealth roll in!
The Chasam Sofer notes that you don’t actually have to hand the matanos directly to a Kohen face-to-face; an agent can accept them on his behalf. Since this author happens to be married to a Bas Kohen, I am hereby humbly volunteering to accept all your delicious beef tongues! You can hand them directly to me or to any agent you designate on my behalf. I will gladly take them off your hands, validate your halachic stringency, and give them right back to you for a small processing fee.
If the entire community accepts this chumra, I will have successfully fulfilled the Satmar Rebbe’s jest: I’ll declare the tongue assur, still save your yom tov meal, and make a prime fortune in the process!
After all, when there’s money to be made, apparently, I simply cannot hold my tongue.
Maggid shiur and Rebbe at Yeshiva Ateres Shimon in Far Rockaway. He leads the Daf Yomi chaburah at Eitz Chayim of Dogwood Park in West Hempstead, and writes “Delving into the Daf” each week for The Jewish Home.
