Is There a Reason for Separation of Milk and Meat?

 

 

Originally presented for Knesset Israel of Beverlywood in Los Angeles Sukkot 5786

I. Introduction

Three times in the Torah we read לא תבשל גדי נחלב אמו (Do not cook a goat in its mother’s milk) ¹ The Gemora in Sanhedrin 4b says three times teaches us the three prohibitions – cooking, eating and gaining benefit. Unlike laws concerning justice, civil society, and most ritual laws there are no reasons offered and that means it is a hok חוק (a law from God, without explanation.) We take this law as a Divinely given command without need for explanation.

My assumption is that there is an explanation for everything, but we don’t always have the ability to understand or find the reasoning. The topic for this presentation  is the reasoning and basis behind the separation of milk and meat.  The first part will set the basis for understanding the reasoning and causality, the second part will explore possible reasons for the separation and the third part will explain why there is a glimmer of truth in all the reasons, but none are good enough for solid, academic proof.  

Before I begin with the formal part of this presentation, I would like to tell you what I want you to take home. Perhaps you remember the TV show Columbo? The viewers always know the guilty party and the rest of the show was about how Columbo figured it out. The idea that you should take home today is that we are not sure of the exact or historical reasons for separating milk and meat and none of the possible explanations give enough proof for an answer to a critical academic audience.

For the analysis I first have to demonstrate what could be proof. If the Torah says, do not steal or murder, it is obvious a just society needs its members to treat each other with respect. If the Torah says do this and you will be granted long life, that is a good reason. The proof is given or implied with the text. If I gave you a new tool and taught you how to use it to accomplish your goal, you could explain this to your friends why you use the tool. The proof would be because that is the design of the tool. I want to perform a task and the tool enables me to complete the activity accurately and efficiently. The tool has a practical purpose.

Halacha has a least four reasons as a basis for observing laws and customs. The foundation for all of the reasons is to create a community, a holy nation עם קדוש. We have at least four kinds of laws, 1)Rules and regulations for the health and safety of the community . 2) Laws for commerce and economic activity; 3) Laws for justice and control of power, 4) Ritual rules, regulations, and practices of our religion.

The first three reasons are the halacha bein adam v’havero. They may be derived out of the wisdom of the people governed. These are laws of how to set up and govern a society. They have to limits so that the society can have a greater good than a bunch of individuals. Examples include people should not steal or murder; laws of property and business; laws to enable us to live with the forces of nature. Each of these laws have a practical purpose and can be different based on geography and needs of the local community. These laws can be derived from the negotiated or practical needs of the community. I leave this area of halacha and civil law to another lecture and discussion.

The fourth area is ritual or religious law. There are several axioms of ritual law that I will assume –

1. No law is created that is impossible to observe.

No law can go against human nature. You can regulate these activities. You can have rules what and when people eat. You can’t have a law telling people that they can not do activities against human basic needs and health.

2. No law is created that will never be observed.

There is a story of how God gave us the Torah that says he offered the Torah to other nations and they couldn’t accept one of more of the commandments because that was how they earned a living. Our people na-ase v’nishma. We will do and listen.

3. Laws are sometimes the codification of what the people already were doing. The codification puts the practice into words and made a practice uniform for the community.

4. The basis for all Divinely given laws is ו קידושים תהיand עם קדוש. Our ritual laws enable us to strive for perfection (walk in the ways of God) and make sure we are separate from the non-Jews. We accept the non-Jews would observe the seven Noahide laws. We accept the civil courts that enforce the civil laws. We don’t expect the non-Jews to shake a lulav after making a bracha.

Only God can be considered “perfect” but the striving for perfection is a lifelong human pursuit. The beginning of perfection is from the creation story

וַיַּ֧רְא אֱלֹהִ֛ים אֶת־הָא֖וֹר כִּי־ט֑וֹב וַיַּבְדֵּ֣ל אֱלֹקים בֵּ֥ין הָא֖וֹר וּבֵ֥ין הַחֹֽשֶׁךְ׃

God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.

The light was good, but not that was not enough. To enable the light to be “perfect” the universe needed darkness.

וַיִּקְרָ֨א אֱלֹקים ׀ לַיַּבָּשָׁה֙ אֶ֔רֶץ וּלְמִקְוֵ֥ה הַמַּ֖יִם קָרָ֣א יַמִּ֑ים וַיַּ֥רְא אֱלֹהִ֖ים כִּי־טֽוֹב׃

God called the dry land Earth and called the gathering of waters Seas. And God saw that this was good.

The mixing of land and water was not perfect. They had to be separated for perfection. The next pasuk is the creation of vegetation and next living beings. All the green plants and seeds were for food. People were created in the image of God and were given a vegan diet. Even though humans are at the top of the food chain, they were given a plant based diet. The only food restriction is the fruit from the tree of knowledge may not be eaten. Knowledge has two parts – good and bad, Did God expect mankind to live and die forever in a state of never knowing the good and bad in the universe? Without that knowledge people would never progress, never invent tools, and never make a society.

The Garden of Eden was a type of perfection, but before the knowledge of good and bad, humans had few limitations and no mitzvot. We accept that our imperfections allow us to grow. Growth is a process, sometimes requiring immediate actions and sometimes demanding sustained learning and performance of mitzvot on a daily basis. We are always in an intermediate state (beinoni) fighting the internal forces of goodness, evil, and growth. The struggle is normal and valuable and not a life failure.

Imperfections are not hidden. Even as adults we learn from our sources of halacha. For example in between mincha and maariv we are having this presentation, a shiur. In my shul in Chicago we learn Kitzur shulhan aruch. For those more inclined to in depth study, about 40 of us in my shul have joined the world-wide semikhat haver program.

The ultimate, never achievable model is the imitation of the Divine attributes such as kindness, justice, righteousness, and mastery of the natural processes. This process of imitatio Dei (imitation of God) is a central aspect of striving for perfection.

Since we recognize the world is not yet perfect, we participate in Tikkun Olam to try and repair the imperfections.

II. Reasons for restrictions

Two reasons for limitations on religious behaviors that is ritual are we should be holy and we should imitate Godliness. Remember I am only talking about ritual not laws that make us a civilized, commercial society. The laws of kashrut help us to be a holy nation and keep us apart from the non-believers around us.

Bereshit 9:3-4

כׇּל־רֶ֙מֶשׂ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר הוּא־חַ֔י לָכֶ֥ם יִהְיֶ֖ה לְאׇכְלָ֑ה כְּיֶ֣רֶק עֵ֔שֶׂב נָתַ֥תִּי לָכֶ֖ם אֶת־כֹּֽל׃
Every creature that lives shall be yours to eat; as with the green grasses, I give you all these.
אַךְ־בָּשָׂ֕ר בְּנַפְשׁ֥וֹ דָמ֖וֹ לֹ֥א תֹאכֵֽלוּ׃
You must not, however, eat flesh with its life-blood in it.

After the flood, humans were given the permission to eat animals as long as they did not eat the blood. The first restriction is that blood should not be eaten because it is fluid of life. Life depends on the circulation of blood.

Bereshit 9:6

שֹׁפֵךְ֙ דַּ֣ם הָֽאָדָ֔ם בָּֽאָדָ֖ם דָּמ֣וֹ יִשָּׁפֵ֑ךְ כִּ֚י בְּצֶ֣לֶם אֱלֹקים עָשָׂ֖ה אֶת־הָאָדָֽם׃
Whoever sheds human blood,
By human [hands] shall that one’s blood be shed;
For in the image of God Was humankind made.

This is the first part of the laws of keeping kosher – not eating blood. The prohibition against blood is so strong that blood is almost repulsive. There are some hunters that will drink the blood of a first kill or use the blood to smear on their face. This is supposed to be based on an ancient custom honoring the animal and connecting to nature. This practice risks disease or parasite transmission. Modern safety protocols advise using gloves to avoid contact with blood. In the 1984 movie Red Dawn there is a scene when the character, Robert, who made his first deer kill was encouraged to drink the blood.

III. Restrictions for kosher to be food

There are three areas for food restrictions – 1. Blood is forbidden; 2. Permitted and forbidden animals; 3. Separation of milk and meat.

1. Blood is forbidden

Blood is fluid of life. Eating meat is a Divine compromise. HaShem lets us kill animals for food. Forbidding blood is a reasonable compromise and very easy to explains. Draining the blood after slaughter, salting and soaking meat to rid meat of the blood are kashering procedures that are behind the scenes. Most consumers don’t even know how to remove blood and they don’t care to learn. Removal of blood creates a product (meat) and we can consume. This is a type of perfection.

Blood is rich in proteins and other nutrients that the human body can digest. However, there is a risk of pathogens, blood borne illnesses and allergens. To consume blood it must be cooked or in a cooked food (such as blood sausage). The practice is to keep us together as a community.

Judaism, Islam and Eastern Orthodox Christians forbid the consumption of blood. The Torah has several places that forbid the consumption and use of blood.

Vayikra 7:26-27 

וְכׇל־דָּם֙ לֹ֣א תֹאכְל֔וּ בְּכֹ֖ל מוֹשְׁבֹתֵיכֶ֑ם לָע֖וֹף וְלַבְּהֵמָֽה׃

And you must not consume any blood, either of bird or of animal, in any of your settlements.

כׇּל־נֶ֖פֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר־תֹּאכַ֣ל כׇּל־דָּ֑ם וְנִכְרְתָ֛ה הַנֶּ֥פֶשׁ הַהִ֖וא מֵֽעַמֶּֽיהָ׃ 

Anyone who eats blood shall be cut off from kin.

Devarim 12:15-17, 23-24

רַק֩ בְּכׇל־אַוַּ֨ת נַפְשְׁךָ֜ תִּזְבַּ֣ח ׀ וְאָכַלְתָּ֣ בָשָׂ֗ר כְּבִרְכַּ֨ת יְקוָ֧ק אֱלֹהֶ֛יךָ אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָֽתַן־לְךָ֖ בְּכׇל־שְׁעָרֶ֑יךָ הַטָּמֵ֤א וְהַטָּהוֹר֙ יֹאכְלֶ֔נּוּ כַּצְּבִ֖י וְכָאַיָּֽל׃

But whenever you desire, you may slaughter and eat meat in any of your settlements, according to the blessing that your God יהקה has granted you. The impure and the pure alike may partake of it, as of the gazelle and the deer.

רַ֥ק הַדָּ֖ם לֹ֣א תֹאכֵ֑לוּ עַל־הָאָ֥רֶץ תִּשְׁפְּכֶ֖נּוּ כַּמָּֽיִם׃

But you must not partake of the blood; you shall pour it out on the ground like water.

."רַ֣ק חֲזַ֗ק לְבִלְתִּי֙ אֲכֹ֣ל הַדָּ֔ם כִּ֥י הַדָּ֖ם ה֣וּא הַנָּ֑פֶשׁ וְלֹא־תֹאכַ֥ל הַנֶּ֖פֶשׁ עִם־הַבָּשָֽׂר׃

But make sure that you do not partake of the blood; for the blood is the life, and you must not consume the life with the flesh.

לֹ֖א תֹּאכְלֶ֑נּוּ עַל־הָאָ֥רֶץ תִּשְׁפְּכֶ֖נּוּ כַּמָּֽיִם׃

You must not partake of it; you must pour it out on the ground like water:

The blood must be poured on the ground and may not be used even for non-food related purposes.

לֹ֖א תֹּאכְלֶ֑נּוּ לְמַ֨עַן יִיטַ֤ב לְךָ֙ וּלְבָנֶ֣יךָ אַחֲרֶ֔יךָ כִּֽי־תַעֲשֶׂ֥ה הַיָּשָׁ֖ר בְּעֵינֵ֥י יְקוָֽקה

You must not partake of it, in order that it may go well with you and with your descendants to come, for you will be doing what is right in the sight of יקוק.

God makes the reason for not eating blood perfectly clear. We are doing what is right. That means being holy. “Descendants to come” is another way of making us a separate nation.

There are other groups that forbid eating blood. The Quran lists blood as a forbidden food. Muslims require a type of ritual slaughter that drains the blood. Some religious groups are vegetarian and they don’t eat meat or blood. Ethiopian Orthodox Christians follow some of the Biblical food restrictions. They only eat animals that are kosher according the Torah (chew the cud and have cloven hoofs). Other eastern orthodox do not eat meat from animals that died of natural causes or was killed by a wild beast. They also do not eat blood, but the don’t seem to have ritual slaughter. It seems from Acts 15² that consuming of blood was a pagan practice.

Thus the forbidding of blood is a way of setting us apart (עם קדוש) and holiness. The removing of blood is separating the permitted from the forbidden. That is a way of preparing kosher meat which is a kind of perfection.

2. Permitted and forbidden animals

The mandate to select certain foods is a way of approaching the perfection of God’s creation. The unclean animals were the exception to completeness of creation. For example otters and beavers are mammals, but they swim. Some birds don’t fly. Pigs have hoofs, but they don’t chew their cud.

Vayikra 11:1-5 gives description of perfection. The clean animals have both signs of chewing the cud and have hooves. The Torah even mentions animals that do not fill the criteria – the camel and the fox.

דַּבְּר֛וּ אֶל־בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לֵאמֹ֑ר זֹ֤את הַֽחַיָּה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר תֹּאכְל֔וּ מִכׇּל־הַבְּהֵמָ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר עַל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃
Speak to the Israelite people thus: These are the creatures that you may eat from among all the land animals:

כֹּ֣ל ׀ מַפְרֶ֣סֶת פַּרְסָ֗ה וְשֹׁסַ֤עַת שֶׁ֙סַע֙ פְּרָסֹ֔ת מַעֲלַ֥ת גֵּרָ֖ה בַּבְּהֵמָ֑ה אֹתָ֖הּ תֹּאכֵֽלוּ׃
any animal that has true hoofs, with clefts through the hoofs, and that chews the cud—such you may eat.

אַ֤ךְ אֶת־זֶה֙ לֹ֣א תֹֽאכְל֔וּ מִֽמַּעֲלֵי֙ הַגֵּרָ֔ה וּמִמַּפְרִסֵ֖י הַפַּרְסָ֑ה אֶֽת־הַ֠גָּמָ֠ל כִּֽי־מַעֲלֵ֨ה גֵרָ֜ה ה֗וּא וּפַרְסָה֙ אֵינֶ֣נּוּ מַפְרִ֔יס טָמֵ֥א ה֖וּא לָכֶֽם׃
The following, however, of those that either chew the cud or have true hoofs, you shall not eat: the camel—although it chews the cud, it has no true hoofs: it is impure for you.

וְאֶת־הַשָּׁפָ֗ן כִּֽי־מַעֲלֵ֤ה גֵרָה֙ ה֔וּא וּפַרְסָ֖ה לֹ֣א יַפְרִ֑יס טָמֵ֥א ה֖וּא לָכֶֽם׃
the rabbit —although it chews the cud, it has no true hoofs: it is impure for you.

The Torah continues with the kinds of sea creatures that are permitted, those with scales and fins. Birds of prey such as the eagle, falcon, and vulture are forbidden. All unclean animals are considered an abomination. People who touch unclean animal carcasses are unclean until evening. Later rabbinic literature and halakha refine the list of animals that are kosher because sometimes the signs are unclear. In pasuk 44 God gives us the reason for this selection of clean animals, we are to to sanctify ourselves and be holy. קְדֹשִׁ֔ים כִּ֥י קָד֖וֹשׁ אָֽנִי׃ you shall be holy, for God is holy.

In the Torah itself the reasons for the food restrictions are to make us a holy nation, to walk in the ways of ha-kadosh barihu, and through the regulations of kosher food, to remember the exodus and how the Torah made us a nation.

If these were the only parts of keeping kosher it would be enough. These are laws that are similar to other groups and those non-kosher animals are an abomination or “gross” to many people.

3. Separation of milk and meat

Before we continue, I ask you to suspend any emotional attachment you have to the separation of milk and meat. The kitchen fleishig (meat) sink will not throw back the parve spoon that fell into it.

So we have two aspects for items that are kosher with reasons given in the Torah or easily derived from the text. Kosher foods must be from clean animals, not be abominable, have an aspect of perfection, and make us holy. As a side effect, keeping these restrictions limits our interaction with non-observers.

לא תבשל גדי בחל אמו appears three times in the Torah, Shemot 23:19, Shemot 34:26, Devarim 14:21. This must mean the prohibition is supposed to be very strong and the people need reminding. It may mean that the practice of boiling meat in milk was a known food.

Let’s put the prohibition to the test.

1. Is the goat or its milk imperfect or an abomination? A strong no. Goats are permitted animal for meat and milk. Milk is an almost perfect food. It contains protein and other nutrients that could keep someone alive for a long time.

2. Is a goat connected to holiness? A strong no.

3. Do any other peoples forbid goats? A strong no. I could not find any group other than strict vegans who would avoid goats. Sikhs in Punjab eat goats on festivals that are ritually slaughtered.

What is left is the prohibition is a way to keep us separate from other peoples or as behavior that goes against a pagan or Canaanite practice. Mentioning the prohibition three times gives some indication that there are people who think boiling meat in milk is a good way to prepare food.

Rambam as quoted by Rabbi Joseph Hertz’s commentary in Shemot says that the practice was from a Canaanite pagan fertility ritual. The challenge with this explanation is there is very little literary, written documentation of the Canaanites religions. What we know is from archaeology and clues in the Tanakh.

Canaanite practice is generally considered barbarous, savage, evil and every other negative word in your vocabulary. Yehezkel Kaufman in his Religion of Israel contrasts Israelite monotheism against paganism but never mentions Canaan.

I have only one clue that indicate milk and meat cooked together is an ancient practice.

Nelson Glueck served as an OSS agent in World War 2.³ He was an archaeologist who once was president of Hebrew Union College. During WW 2 he was stationed in British Palestine with a cover that he was doing archaeology research. His OSS task was to monitor the feelings and events among the Arabs and Bedouins.⁴ He easily made friends with Arabs, Bedouins and Jews. David Ben-Gurion and Golda Meir were personal friends.

After the war when he was teaching in Cincinnati he told his class about his wartime experiences. He was once invited to a feast with a Bedouin leader. The leader told him they were going to serve a very special dish, a young goat boiled in its own mother’s milk. The students asked him if he ate the meal. Glueck could only answer, “I was on duty” and never told the students any more.

I could not verify this story and so I can’t say this is evidence based on an ancient custom.

Another clue is reported in an article by Gloria London in Biblical Archaeology Review (Nov/Dec 2008).⁵ London suggests that the separation of milk and meat was a housekeeping practice to make sure yogurt would not spoil. In the ancient Levant people needed to preserve food from the summer to eat in the winter. Fruits and vegetables were dried for winter treats. Milk was soured into cheese or leben. Archaeologists noted meat was served more often stewed or boiled rather roasted or grilled. This was the first puzzle piece. Second they examined pottery. Modern potters still make coil based pots like their ancestors.

In Cyprus women would pour goat’s milk into the jugs to make yogurt. One woman said one would never put meat into a milk pot or the batch would be spoiled. The sour milk clings to the walls of the pot. Old seasoned pot are worth more than new ones. It would take a new firing to rid the pot of any sour milk starter.

In antiquity and today in the Trodos Mountains of Cyprus meat is reserved for special occasions. The cooks would not risk ruining a fine meal with soured meat.

This indicates that the kosher regulation of separating milk and meat was a known practice and could be observed satisfying my criteria of making laws that could be observed and having a basis in what people already do.

A third clue is that perhaps the word halav should be vocalized as halev meaning fat. If a goat is fried in its own mother’s fat that would mean they both needed to be killed. Keeping one alive is a way to preserve the flock.

Another clue is that in a small farm the cattle would be needed for pulling the plow and other farm implements. Goats and sheep according to the animal bones found by Thomas E. Levy indicate that they were raised for meat and milk. Sometimes they were used for wool.⁶ A farmer would not want to kill a cow and its offspring in the same day. A.J. Heschel suggests that the milk means life. Milk is a perfect food. It would be callous to take the life of a child of an animal that give life. While Heschel sounds reasonable, he forgets that many cows are raised just to make meat.

Additional reasons include it separates life giving milk from the meat. That is a humanitarian practice that discourages the hardening of the heart.

In the end the reason is lost to those who make pots, those want good housekeeping practices, those who want good batches of yogurt or meat, and those who want to serve family and friends.

None of these explanations are satisfactory. None hold up to sources in Tanakh, finding ancient literary warrant, archaeological evidence, or even קדושי תהיו. It is my guess that all have a glimmer of truth. By the time the halakha was codified the people were already observing the procedures and limitations.

4. Summary

The separation of milk and meat follows no literary source, reason or logic. The separation is not for civil reasons such as commerce, justice or social reason. It is not separation of the permitted and not permitted as in achieving perfection. It is not for health and safety reasons. It is not to make us holy as laws that make us separate from the pagans. However, each one of these reasons has a drop of the truth. We just don’t have enough evidence.

I return to the beginning-- we are not sure. Let’s eat.

Bibliography

Dresner, Samuel H. The Jewish dietary laws : their meaning for our time. New York, Burning Book Press, 1966.

Fireman, Floyd S. “Nelson Glueck and the OSS during World War II.” Journal of Reform Judaism. Summer 1985 pages 1-20.

Fierman, Floyd S. “Rabbi Nelson Glueck: An Archaeologist’s Secret Life in the Service of the OSS,” Biblical Archaeology Review  vol.12 no. 5 1986: pages18–22.

Nelson Glueck, Rivers in the Desert: A History of the Negev. New York: Farrar, Strauss and Cudahy, 1959.

Greenberg, Moshe. The religion of Israel : from its beginnings to the Babylonian exile. Abridged translation of Toldot ha-emunah ha-Yisra’elit. Chicago, Schocken Books, 1972.

Hertz, Joseph H., editor. The Pentateuch and Haftorahs. 2nd edition. London, Soncino Press, 1966.

Hillers, Delbert R. “Analyzing the Abominable: Our Understanding of Canaanite Religion.” The Jewish Quarterly Review, vol. 75, no. 3, 1985, pages. 253–69. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1454075

Levy, Thomas E. “How Ancient Man First Utilized the Rivers in the Desert,” Biblical Archaeology Review 16.6 (1990): pages 20, 22–26, 29–31. (I read the article online from the Biblical Archaeologist Society website.

London, Gloria. “Why milk and meat don’t mix: a new explanation for a puzzling kosher law.” Biblical Archaeology Review, vol. 34, no. 34, 2008 pages 66-69

Rimas, Andrew. Beef: the untold story of how milk, meat and muscle shaped the world / Andrew Rimas and Evan D.G. Fraser. New York : William Morrow, 2008.

Notes 

1 Shemot 23:19, 34:26 and Devarim 4:21. Shemot 23:19 is included in the Sukkot Torah reading. It is part of sentence that is totally disconnected to cooking or eating.

2 Acts 15. “We (James speaking) should write to them telling them to avoid anything polluted by their (gentiles) idols, sexual immorality, eating meat from strangled animals, or tasting blood.” Canon LXIII (63) of the Apostles and Canon LXVII (67) from the Quinesext Council also forbids blood.

3  For more information on Glueck’s OSS service refer to: Rabbi Nelson Glueck: An Archaeologist’s Secret Life in the Service of the OSS  / By Floyd S. Fierman. In Biblical Archaeology Review, September/ October 1986.

4  Reportedly Glueck used the code words "milk" (Jewish settlements) and "meat" (Arab settlements) in his communications to maintain secrecy.

5  Glueck said that no archaeological discovery went against the Bible. Archaeology presents evidence based on things and spaces. See page 31 in his Rivers in the Desert. Literary evidence presents evidence of ideas, thoughts, hopes, and history.

Archaeology provides a perspective on history, while it solves some problems, it creates new ones.

6 Wool was considered ritually impure by Egyptians before the Roman conquest. Wool was less comfortable than cotton or linen. Linen garments were better suited to the climate than wool. The only connection to kashrut restrictions are the laws of shatnez, not wearing linen and wool in the same garment or hukim (i.e. laws which have no obvious reason, just like the separation of milk and meat.