Misva #92: The Prohibition Against Cooking Meat with Milk

The Torah in Parashat Mishpatim (Shemot 23:19) presents the command, “Lo Tebashel Gedi Ba’haleb Imo” – “You shall not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.” The Gemara explains that this command forbids cooking the meat of any animal in milk, not just goat meat. Even if nobody eats the meat after it was cooked in milk, merely cooking meat and milk together violates this prohibition. This prohibition is, clearly, a “Hok” – a command whose rationale is not readily discernible. Nevertheless, the Rishonim endeavored to find possible explanations for why the Torah forbade cooking meat and milk. The Sefer Ha’hinuch, in discussing this Misva, references his comments earlier, regarding the prohibition of sorcery. There he posited that the Torah condemns sorcery and witchcraft so strongly because they seek to subvert the normal forces according to which G-d wants the world to run. G-d created the world such that it should follow certain systems, and the sorcerer tries to invoke other energies to circumvent these systems. By the same token, the Sefer Ha’hinuch writes, certain items are not meant to be combined. Mixing meat with milk creates a spiritually toxic combination, and runs in opposition to the way G-d wished the world to run. The Sefer Ha’hinuch proves this point by noting that cooking meat with milk itself is forbidden, even if the meat is then discarded without ever being eaten. This shows that it is the combination itself which the Torah opposes, as milk and meat are entities which are meant to remain separate. The Sefer Ha’hinuch cites the Rambam’s comments in his Moreh Nebuchim (Guide for the Perplexed) that there was an ancient pagan practice that involved mixing meat with milk. The Rambam posited that it is for this reason that the Torah forbade cooking meat with milk, as part of its effort to distance us from idolatrous practices. The Sefer Ha’hinuch expresses his disapproval with this explanation, commenting, “Ve’chol Zeh Enenu Shoveh Li” – “All this is not worth anything to me.” The Ramban offers a different explanation, suggesting, interestingly enough, that this prohibition is intended to lead us away from cruelty. The case spoken of by the Torah is where one cooks a young animal in its mother’s milk. Such a thing is clearly an act of heartlessness and cruelty. But the Torah went further, forbidding cooking even a different animal in an animal’s milk, as this, too, entails some degree of cruelty. Rabbenu Bahya (Spain, 1255-1340) offers an entirely different explanation, noting the Gemara’s comments that milk originates from the mammal’s blood, which turns to milk after childbirth. The Torah forbids eating an animal’s blood, because the blood would impart within us the creature’s animalistic nature. When milk is cooked with an animal’s meat, Rabbenu Bahya writes, it reverts back to its origin, and assumes the properties of blood. It can then be spiritually detrimental, and so the Torah forbade cooking meat with milk. Rabbenu Bahya concedes, however – as do the other Rishonim – that the real reason behind this command will remain unknown until the time of Mashiah’s arrival. This prohibition applies at all times and in all locations, and to both males and females. One who cooks meat with milk has transgressed this prohibition and is liable to Malkut.