ב"ה

Not to Mix Milk and Meat

Autoplay Next

Not to Mix Milk and Meat

The Torah prohibits the mixture of milk and meat. Understanding this mitzvah on five levels.
613 Mishpatim meat-milk  
Listen to Audio | Download this MP3
Sefer HaMitzvot, Kosher, Mishpatim, Milk and Meat

Join the Discussion

Sort By:
11 Comments
RM September 12, 2024

With technology these days, scientists have created food that is completely plant based but tastes like meat. What would it be considered if you ate one of these plant based burgers with cheese and it tastes like a cheeseburger but it's kosher? I know that this would probably be allowed but I just want to hear different opinions on this because this question interests me. Reply

Steve Minnesota September 18, 2021

Claims that mixing milk and meat is an act of cruelty makes no sense to me. The act of cruelty comes from the fact that a kid is taken away from its mother and then killed. The mother does not care that you mix milk and meat. It finds no solace in the fact that you wait 6 hours after eating meat before consuming its milk. Instead, it wants its child and is in despair that its child has been taken away. This is similar to the despair experienced by human mothers when their children are taken away. Reply

Aron l. Raskin Bklyn heights October 1, 2021
in response to Steve:

To qualify my words, the 1) cruelty is taking away the kid from its mother, a greater cruelty is
2) to cook the kid in the milk if its mother.
In order to prevent the above…

3) The Torah prohibits cooking the milk with any meat (kid) and
4) commands waiting 6 hours as a further prevention. Reply

Michael_Rudmin Portsmouth VA April 27, 2017

Please confirm for me that the boy's blockage was immediately relieved. There was no need for the blockage, once the story was revealed, was there?

And the rabbi did not promise to teach him, nor to try to help, but rather promised that he would help.

This story needs finishing.

Once the purpose was fulfilled, there can be no reason to further withhold the gift, except that there be another reason (not yet declared). Reply

Rabbi Raskin Brooklyn Heights NY January 1, 2018
in response to Michael_Rudmin:

First the story is to teach preventive medicine i.e. how important it is to check the kashrut on food.
2) We can presume that once the child was blessed by Rabbi Akiva Eiger, he had success in his Talmud study Reply

David Chester Petach Tikva, Israel February 14, 2017

What About Separating Milk and Meat Waste Products? This subject gives me a lot of bother. We are instructed in the Tanakh not to cook goat's flesh with milk. Nothing there about not eating them together. However, suppose we do accept that they should not be eaten together, is this due to the physical effect they might cause us or is due to the spiritual one?

People can be very fussy about what they eat, but then when it comes to unwanted food that is thrown in the refuse container these two opposites can easily be mixed up without apparently causing any problem. I think that strictly according to the need for not mixing them, these two kinds of waste should be kept separate and then separately collected before one of them is burned and ceases to provide the possibility for them to become mixed again. Otherwise we could be criticized for bending the rules to suit ourselves. Reply

André Ranulfo Zahav Rio de Janeiro, Brazil August 19, 2015

Chiken Dear Rabbi,

Why this law was extended to chicken, even if birds are not mammals.

Thanks in advance. Reply

Scott February 6, 2014

To Clarify. Hello again Rabbi. I have a response to your comment here, however it was too long to post (aprox. 6000 characters), so rather than post a 6-message response, I noticed an email link on BnaiAvraham.com to contact you where I will send you my full response that way. Suffice for anyone reading this that 1) No I am not Jewish by blood, 2) I think I ought to try keeping Torah as much as possible besides this (Ex 12:49, Lev 24:22), 3) I abandoned "Christianity" after discovering the Mithraic/pagan connections, and 4) At this point of my walk, I am unconvinced of the perceived authority of the Oral Law compared to the Written Law (despite having received great insights from Rabbis in the past, I do not always accept their teachings just because of the majority opinion), and that I feel the traditional doctrine on Milk/Meat being Non-Kosher is something being taken a little too far. In love, Scott Reply

Rabbi Aaron L. Raskin February 6, 2014

Re No Offence Dear Scott,
It wasn't clear from your article whether you are Jewish or not.
If your mother wasn't a Jew then you have no obligation whatsoever to separate meat and milk. All you need to follow are the 7 Noahide laws and give charity.
If your mother was a Jew then we were already sworn in at Sinai to follow the written and oral Torah.
G-d gave Moses all 613 laws and ramifications on Sinai. Our job is "Naaseh venishma" to do (first) then listen (understand) as all Jews unanimously responded at Sinai.
The observance of separating meat from milk is not only a halachic undisputed decision, but it also has medical support as well (but that is not why we Do it).

To answer how Abraham gave his angels first milk then meat there are many explanations.
1) it was before the Torah was given on Sinai and the kosher laws were not yet given.
2) the guests were angels not humans
3) he first gave them dairy products And afterwards gave them meat. (As you already mentioned)
4) he blackmailed them; when the angels argued with G-d please keep Torah in heaven don't give it to the Jews G-d said you violated my Torah,
You ate milk and meat in Abraham's house. Etc.

5) most important as the Torah says "you should follow the leaders of your Generation".

Blessings for success,

Reply

Scott January 25, 2014

No offence... I grew up in a Christian home ad have only over the last couple years come to embrace Torah. I eat Kosher and keep Shabbat and honour the feasts; however I humbly disagree that it is un-Kosher to eat meat & milk together (particularly in the instance of milk with chicken as the milk isn't even from the same species as the meat being eaten...

Did not Abraham serve the 3 visitors milk & meat in Mamre? And isn't i true that Torah makes no distinction at all that thy could have possibly been served at separate times? You have to go outside Torah to get that speculation that he waited to serve them the meat afterwards, and anytime we do that, we open ourselves up to misinterpretation by men (as well-intentioned they may be in their doctrines).

As much as i have love getting closer to Torah and my Creator, I say that I have found as much human misinterpretation of Scripture in Judaism as in Christianity (if not more in some cases). I admit i have gravitated towards a more Karaite-ish view
This doesn't mean that I completely disregard all teachings by the Rabbis. In fact, i have gleaned some wonderful bits of wisdom fro. Them on multiple occasions. However, any time I see or hear them teaching and enforcing something that has been blown out of proportion like this tradition, I can't help but raise an eyebrow and lovingly disagree to adhere to that tradition.

I don't think we should worry about milk&meat together, especially when the milk and meat don't even belong to the same species like with the case of the chicken sandwich. A friend of mine's daughter who is in a jewish school was forbidden to eat a meat sandwich with soy cheese on it (not even technically a dairy product, but a bean product). Basically, when is enough enough?

In love, Scott. Reply

Catherine NY January 24, 2014

Meat and milk This message was very timely for my family. we dont keep strict kosher laws in my family mainly because i was brought up without them and didnt realize the significance. however since i have been listening to chabad we stopped eating pork products and shellfish and make sure all our products are kosher now. i even stopped cooking chopped meat with lasagna that has cheese in it.

But yesterday my son asked for a glass of milk with his chicken sandwich and his good friend commented "You have milk with meat?" i didnt even know his friend was jewish. then my son listened to his friend and had juice instead !

Now because of your explanation i will explain to my son WHY his friend said that. i now know it is very important thanks to your story to be aware of the spiritual significance of laws that in todays world of darkness a little more light cant hurt.

thanks Rabbi for that ray of light ! Reply

Related Topics