The Roman Emperor wanted to test the wisdom of the Jewish sages, so he sent word that a great luminary should be dispatched to his court. The Jewish leaders chose Rabbi Meir, whose very name meant "one who illuminates," for he was known to light up any room with the brilliance of his learning.
When Rabbi Meir arrived at the imperial court, the Emperor posed a series of questions about Jewish dietary laws. "Why do you Jews refuse to eat swine?" the Emperor asked. "What makes the pig different from any other animal?"
Rabbi Meir explained the Torah's distinction between clean and unclean animals. A kosher animal must chew its cud and have split hooves. The pig has split hooves but does not chew its cud—it displays the outward signs of purity while hiding its inner disqualification. "The pig stretches out its hooves as if to say, 'Look, I am kosher,'" Rabbi Meir said, "but it deceives."
The Emperor was intrigued. The Midrash HaGadol on Leviticus, in the portion of Shemini, records that Rabbi Meir drew a deeper lesson. The pig, he taught, represents hypocrisy itself. There are people who display outward signs of righteousness—they dress piously, speak humbly, make public donations—but inwardly they are corrupt. The Torah warns against such people by singling out the pig, the animal that looks kosher from the outside but fails the test within.
The Emperor, impressed by the answer, asked further questions, and Rabbi Meir answered each one with clarity and wit. He returned home having earned the respect of the imperial court, proving that the wisdom of Torah could hold its own in any arena, even before the ruler of the known world.