Curiosity Killed The Cat

Ted Piznarski tiptoed down the narrow staircase of their family’s large home, the kind of house that had both a regular kitchen and a dairy kitchen. It was midnight, and the whole place was quiet except for the faint creaks of the old wood under his socks. Ted, though careful, wasn’t worried about waking his parents. They slept like rocks in the upstairs bedroom, especially after Friday night Shabbat dinner. But his brother Jeremy, now that was a different story. 

Ted made his way to the dairy kitchen, a small space off to the side of the main kitchen, where their family kept all the milk, cheese, and butter separate from the meat, in accordance with kosher laws. He opened the fridge and quietly grabbed a block of cheddar. His stomach growled low in anticipation.

Ever since he could remember, Ted had followed the rules—especially the dietary laws. But he was seventeen now, and questions had begun to poke at the edges of his faith. What harm could there really be in mixing a little cheese with meat? Just this once? His friends at school, who weren’t religious, constantly talked about foods that mixed dairy and meat without thinking twice—cheeseburgers, pizza with pepperoni, lasagna. Ted had never tasted any of those things.

But tonight, the curiosity had finally gotten the better of him. He was determined to find out what he’d been missing.

With the cheddar in hand, he tiptoed to the regular kitchen, where the fridge was stocked with everything non-dairy. He opened it carefully and spotted what he was looking for: leftover brisket from dinner. Thick, juicy, and perfectly seasoned. He pulled it out, grabbed a knife, and sliced off a piece.

His heart beat a little faster as he stood there at the counter, holding the slice of brisket in one hand and the cheese in the other. He stared at them for a moment, considering. Levitical laws be damned, he thought, as he slapped the slice of cheddar onto the brisket.

Ted brought the makeshift sandwich to his mouth, hesitated for a brief second, and then took a big bite. The salty brisket mixed with the sharp creaminess of the cheddar, and for a moment, the world went silent. He chewed slowly, savoring the forbidden combination. So this is what I’ve been missing out on.

A soft sound behind him—barely audible but enough to send a chill up his spine—made Ted freeze mid-bite. He turned his head just slightly, and there, standing in the doorway of the kitchen, was Jeremy.

Jeremy, his big brother, the model of religious devotion in the family. At twenty-four, Jeremy had always been the one Ted looked up to, the one who never wavered in his faith. Tall, with broad shoulders and the kind of stern look that could silence a room, Jeremy was the last person Ted wanted to see right now.

Ted quickly swallowed the bite, his mind racing for an excuse, but Jeremy’s eyes were already locked on the brisket and cheese in his hands.

“What are you doing?” Jeremy’s voice was low, almost a whisper, but it cut through the air like a knife.

Ted’s mouth went dry. He opened it to speak, but nothing came out. He stood there, caught red-handed in the act of breaking one of the most basic kosher rules. His heart pounded.

“Don’t tell anyone,” Ted blurted out, the words slipping out before he could think them through.

Jeremy just stood there, staring at him for what felt like an eternity. The tension in the room was thick, and Ted felt his palms start to sweat. He knew Jeremy could easily go straight to their parents. Ted could picture the disappointment in their mother’s eyes, the quiet disapproval from their father, and the inevitable lecture about faith and tradition.

But Jeremy didn’t move. He just stared at Ted with a strange expression, something unreadable in his eyes. And then, slowly, to Ted’s surprise, Jeremy walked into the kitchen and shut the door behind him.

“You know,” Jeremy said, keeping his voice low, “I used to wonder about it too. The cheese and the meat thing.”

Ted blinked, unsure if he had heard correctly. “You… did?”

Jeremy nodded, leaning against the counter with his arms crossed. “I was your age, maybe a little younger. I used to hear my friends talk about cheeseburgers and pizza like they were the best things in the world. I wanted to know what it was like too.”

Ted felt a flicker of relief, but he still wasn’t sure where this was going.

“I never tried it, though,” Jeremy continued. “I guess I was too scared. Scared of breaking the rules, of what Mom and Dad would say. Of what it meant for me and my faith. But I always wondered.” He paused and looked at the brisket in Ted’s hand. “So… how was it?”

Ted blinked again, caught off guard by the question. “Uh… it’s… good?” he said, unsure of how to answer.

Jeremy chuckled softly, but there was a serious edge to it. “Yeah, I bet. Look, Ted, I get it. You’re curious. But this?” He pointed to the brisket and cheese. “It’s not just about taste. It’s about what we believe, what we’ve been taught. You think mixing dairy and meat doesn’t matter, and maybe it doesn’t to some people. But for us, it’s about more than that. It’s about the choice to follow the laws, even when they don’t make sense, even when it’s hard.”

Ted felt a twinge of guilt settle in his chest. He hadn’t really thought about it that way. For him, this was just about satisfying his curiosity. But to Jeremy, and maybe to their parents too, it was something deeper.

“Are you going to tell Mom and Dad?” Ted asked quietly, bracing himself for the worst.

Jeremy studied him for a long moment. “No,” he finally said. “I’m not going to tell them. But I want you to think about why you did this. You’re not just sneaking around for the thrill of breaking a rule, are you?”

Ted shook his head, his voice small. “No… I just… I don’t know. I wanted to see what it was like. I’ve been thinking a lot about… everything. About what it all means.”

Jeremy nodded. “I get that. It’s not wrong to ask questions. But don’t just toss out the rules because you’re curious. Figure out what they mean to you first.” He pushed off the counter and headed for the door, pausing as he opened it. “And, Ted?”

Ted looked up.

“Don’t tell anyone I didn’t rat you out.”

Ted couldn’t help but smile a little as Jeremy disappeared up the stairs, leaving him alone in the dim kitchen. He looked down at the brisket and cheese in his hand, suddenly unsure of whether he wanted to take another bite.

With a sigh, he put the brisket back in the fridge, wrapped the cheese back up, and silently made his way back upstairs.

There would be plenty of time to figure out what it all meant.