Do not cook a kid in its mother’s milk.-Exodus 23:19
In Parshat Mishmatim, the law of having meat and milk together is proclaimed. Shaloh
says that meat represents the “divine attribute of justice” and milk as “the attribute of mercy”,
therefore they shall not mix. Rabbeinu Bachayei says that when Mashiach comes we can eat
milk and meat together. If it is going to be allowed after Mashiach is here, then why can’t we
eat milk and meat together now?
A lot of different mefarshim give multiple answers to this confusing law. One example is Ibn Ezra. He says that they use the words "kid in its mother's milk" because that was a common practice in ancient times. Another is Rambam. He says that it used to be an ancient pagen ritual to cook and eat the mix of milk and meat and it is therefore prohibited for us to differentiate us from the other nations.
ReplyDeleteIt is taught that mishpat, or mercy, should not lay within our king, because when he judges it should be justly, with tzedek. (Like when Melech Shlomo proposed a baby should be split in half when two women both claimed it to be theirs). With this example, the idea of not mixing mishpat tzedek is fulfilled. I think that nowadays, in Galut, since we do not have a king to fulfill the idea of not mixing justice and mercy, it is fulfilled with not mixing meat and milk, which explains why when Mashiach comes (Be'Ezrat Hashem soon) our judges and king can once again fulfill this idea.
ReplyDeleteAriella Rand
ReplyDeleteMaimonides says that an ancient pagan tradition involved cooking and eating milk and meat together so you shouldn't eat or cook them together. Although some say we will eat it together when mashiach comes we should not eat it together now because to some it still could be considered a pagan tradition and even so it is still a form of avoda Zara because they used it for that. When mashiach comes we may eat it because when he comes we will be on a very high spiritual level and the idea of avoda Zara will hopefully be abolished.
It is written on Chabad.Org - based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe that: Mixing milk and meat quashes the distinction between the two. The physical properties of the food are diffused, but their essential substances are not effected. The Torah specifies that this is even a worse violation then mixing wool and linen! Milk and Meat become saturated with eachother, and you cant physically distinguish between them. When Mashiach comes, "our perception of reality will be deeper", it wont be as neccessary to have the different types of food distinguished. We will understand the difference between the truth and whats not and therefore will not have to separate.
ReplyDeleteMaimonides8 asserts that an ancient pagan ritual which involved the cooking and consumption of meat and milk is the source of the prohibition. (Seforno9 suggests that the purpose of this practice was to elicit a blessing for plentiful crops or flocks.) The mitzvah of not cooking milk and meat together distances the Jewish people from this idolatrous behavior.
ReplyDeleteYet others cite Kabalistic sources which explain that meat represents gevurah (the Divine attribute of Judgment) and milk represents chesed (the Divine attribute of Kindness). These two opposing characteristics are not to be mixed with each other.10
The Torah commands us three times (Exodus 23:19, Exodus 34:26 and Deuteronomy 14:21) not to cook a kid in its mother's milk. The Talmud widens this to the complete separation of milk and meat, including bird meat.
ReplyDeleteRambam attributes it as a prevention of an idolatrous and superstitious practice.
Others attribute it as a discouragement from a cruel practice with animals.
There are many possible reasons, but Rabbi Steve Weintraub says we should not get caught up in finding the reasons in Torah prohibitions. He says it is not for us to fathom G-d's reasons in telling us to do something; it simply should suffice that G-d asked us to do it. He then adds that by doing it, we are reminded of G-d's commandments and the fact that we are Jewish.