Bible references

Key NT Scriptures

• Romans 1:26-27

Key OT Scriptures

• Deuteronomy 14:21
  Jewish Commentary
• Exodus 23:17-19
  Jewish Commentary
• Exodus 34:23-26
  Jewish Commentary
• Genesis 18:7-8
  Jewish Commentary

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Commentary

Rabbi Michael Rudolph

The commandment " You are not to boil a young animal in its mother's milk. " forms the basis for a number of halachic rules that include not mixing milk with meat, not eating foods that contain both milk and meat, and abstaining from eating milk and meat at the same meal or within some hours of each other. This illustrates the rabbinical principle of "building a fence around the Law" in which rules are promulgated that are more stringent than those of the Torah , ostensibly to keep one from violating the commandment itself. The problem with this particular fence is (1) no one accidently cooks a young animal in its own mother's milk, and (2) keeping the rules of kashrut regarding milk and meat have so overtaken the attention of Orthodox Judaism, that the underlying moral message in the Scripture has been all but lost. What is that moral message? It most probably is "Don't do cruel things to God's creatures as the heathen do." I say "most probably" because we have no absolute proof that boiling young animals in their mother's milk was a heathen practice. Nevertheless, it was certainly not a Jewish practice, so whose practice would it otherwise be? We know that heathens sacrificed children to their gods by fire ( Leviticus 18:21 ), and how very similar it is to kill a mother's child (albeit an animal mother) by boiling it in her own milk - milk of her body that was meant to nurture it, not kill it. It is as though the mother herself had killed her child! I believe the commandment "You are not to boil a young animal in its mother's milk" is an idiom that was very well understood in Moses' day as meaning: "Don't do cruel things to God's creatures as the heathen do." The reason I believe it is an idiom meant to be interpreted broadly, is because it appears three times in Scripture, and all three times it is appended (almost as an afterthought that doesn't quite fit) to commandments associated with our treatment of animals. In Exodus 23:17-19 and Exodus 34:23-26 , the commandment follows instructions involving blood sacrifices, and in Deuteronomy 14:21 , it follows an extensive exposition regarding our use of living creatures for food. It is also meaningful that Abraham saw no problem in serving his guests a meal prepared with milk and meat ( Genesis 18:7-8 ), and his guests, who were (at the very least) God's emissaries, ate it. What does this mean for Messianic Jewish practice? First, and quite obviously, we must not boil a young animal in its mother's milk. Second and most important though, we must treat all of God's creatures with humane kindness - especially those that we domestically raise for slaughter; this Mitzvah stands for that above all. Whether or to what degree we comply with Orthodox halachah regarding the mixing of milk and meat is entirely a matter of choice and not of commandment, but there are some situations where compliance is appropriate and even needed. One that comes to mind is where we live within, or are part of, a Jewish community that keeps rabbinically kosher . Another is where hospitality requires it because a guest whom we wish to accommodate keeps some level of kashrut , and will be constrained in what he can eat at our table if we serve meat and dairy at the same meal. Still a third is where (while recognizing our liberty to do otherwise) keeping kosher helps us in maintaining our identity as Jews. Although the practice of not mixing milk and meat is most commonly associated with Orthodox and Conservative Judaism, this Mitzvah , with its emphasis on morality, is as applicable to Gentiles as it is to Jews. The only thing that does not apply to a Gentiles is keeping halachically kosher as a help in maintaining Jewish identity (since there is none). The reasoning might, however, apply to K'rovei Yisrael Gentiles who find that keeping halachically kosher is helpful in maintaining their K'rov identity within the Jewish community.

Classical commentators

Maimonides, Meir, and HaChinuch are almost identical in how they express their two mitzvot - the one that prohibits cooking meat in milk, and the other that prohibits eating meat cooked in milk. Their mitzvot do not specify any specific animal or its age. Since the Scriptures they rely on prohibit the cooking (boiling) but not the eating, they need a rationale for their mitzvot that prohibit the eating. The rationale they offer is that eating meat cooked in milk derives an improper benefit from the prohibited cooking. Meir states that we must not benefit from cooking meat in milk if both the meat and the milk come from kosher animals, but if one or the other is from a non- kosher animal, we may benefit (but, of course, not eat). He also states that we may cook fish or locusts in milk and eat the resulting product. Maimonides speculates that the reason for the Scriptures prohibiting boiling a kid in its mother's milk has to do with idolatrous practices ( Guide to the Perplexed 111:48 ); HaChinuch disagrees, but offers no alternative.

Copyright © Michael Rudolph and Daniel C. Juster, The Law of Messiah, Torah from a New Covenant Perspective, Volume 1 & 2

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Based on The Law of Messiah - Torah from a New Covenant Perspective by Michael Rudolph and Daniel C. Juster.

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