A young Jewish mother is preparing a brisket one Friday for Shabbat dinner. Her daughter watches with interest as the mother slices off the ends of  the brisket before placing it in the roasting pan.  The young girl asks her mother why! she did this.

The mother pauses for a moment and then says, "You know, I'm not sure. This is the way I always saw my mother make a brisket.  Let's call Grandma and ask her."

So, she phones her mother and asks why they always slice the ends off the brisket before roasting. The grandmother thinks for a moment and then says, "You know, I'm not sure why, this is the way I always saw MY mother make a brisket."

Now the two women are very curious, so they pay a visit to the great-grandmother in the nursing home. "You know when we make a brisket," they explain, "we always slice off the ends before roasting. Why is that?"

"I don't know why YOU do it," says the old woman, "but I never had a pan that was large enough!"     

—Forwarded by Kenny Jacobson, Brewster, N.Y.