"The Book of Genesis lists four Divinely-ordained institutions: Shabbos, keshet [the rainbow], mila [circumcision], and gid hanasha, [the prohibition against eating the "sinew of weakness"]. The first two are of significance to all of mankind, the latter two have a similar meaning in the narrower sphere of the Jewish people. The Sabbath insures the survival of the spiritual and moral calling assigned to all mankind; circumcision guarantees the survival of Israel's mission. The rainbow is the emblem of the history of mankind; the "sinew of weakness" is the emblem of Jewish history. But is is the moral action of man, and the fate ordained for man by God, that together determine the sum total of all individual and communal life on earth."
Rav Samson R. Hirsch, Bereshis 32:33
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