Meat and Milk Separation

Question

Dear Rabbi,

What rationale are given in Judaism for not eating meat and milk together?

Thanks

0

Answers

  1. The Just Ask! - AskTheRabbi.org Team

    Here are three reasons offered by classical sources to explain the ban of mixing meat and milk:

    Sensitivity To Life
    The Torah states “Don’t cook a kid (young goat) in its mother’s milk” (Exodus 23:19). Eating the mother’s life-giving milk with meat, the dead flesh of the offspring, displays callousness. Judaism requires our moral sensitivity to extend to our eating habits. (Ibn Ezra)

    Subliminal Harmony in the World
    Their combination disturbs a subliminal harmony in the world. The world is built upon both physical and metaphysical laws, which together constitute a harmonious whole. The Torah prohibits disturbing this balance by combining “opposites.” Meat symbolizes death and stagnation, while milk symbolizes life and vitality. Our not mixing the two is conducive to promoting subliminal harmony in the world. (Kabbalists)

    The Soul’s “Allergy”
    Foods affect both the body and the mind. Some foods are conducive to spiritual elevation and some are not. Knowledge of the correct spiritual “diet” requires precise knowledge of the connection between the mind and matter, and between the soul and the physical world. The Torah’s laws of Kashrut are all based on this principle. (Nachmanides)

    Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team