Why can't meat be served with dairy in a kosher kitchen?

Answer 1

"It's mixing meat with dairy - the first NO-NO of the kosher dietary laws!"

Umm it's actually a rabbinic extension of the prohibition on meat and dairy. The rabbis were concerned that the similar texture of meat and poultry would lead people to erroneously believe that meat is allowed to be eaten with dairy. So we gotta safeguard our Torah with this preventative injunction.

Answer 2

The practice of not eating dairy products with meat comes from the Torah prohibition against cooking a kid (baby goat) in its mother's milk. The exact quote is:

"You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk" (Exodus 23:19)

The reason for this prohibition is humanitarianism. The practice of cooking a young animal in its mother's milk is cruel and therefore not allowed.

Now, why do Jews not eat ANY meat with dairy when the mitzvah is so specific? In Jewish practice, there is a tradition called 'building a fence around the Torah'. What this means, is that, in the Torah, there are many mitzvot, like the one quoted above that are specific. However, there is the possibility that a person can accidentally violate or appear to violate the mitzvah in question.

In regard to the prohibition against cooking a young goat in it's mother's milk, once meat is prepared, it's hard or even impossible to tell the difference between different types. Also, there is the possibility that we might accidentally end up eating a young goat that was cooked in its mothers milk thinking that it was a different type of meat. As a result no meats of any kind (including poultry) are cooked in milk so that it doesn't appear that we're violating this mitzvah or that we unknowingly violate the mitzvah.

The fence was taken a step further by prohibiting the combination of ANY meats with ANY dairy products, including cheese. The logic behind this is the same (so that we don't accidentally or appear to have violated the core mitzvah).

Answer 3

The Jewish Halakha (law) forbids it. This is based on the mitzvah found in the Torah that states that it is forbidden to cook a kid (baby goat) in its mother's milk.

In Judaism, there is a tradition related to Jewish law (halacha) that is called "building a fence around the Torah". This refers to creating a law that is more stringent than the mitzvah (guideline) found in the Torah so that an individual doesn't accidentally violate the core mitzvah.

In the case of not cooking a kid in its mother's milk, the halacha was expanded to not combine any meat and milk. There are two main reasons for this:

1. Once meat is cooked, it's virtually impossible to visually tell the type of meat it is. If combining beef with dairy was allowed, there's the potential for a person to accidentally eat kid with milk thinking it was beef.

2. Although, not really an issue today, someone could potentially cook a kid in its own mother's milk thinking they were using the milk from an unrelated goat.

Answer 4

There are three places where the Torah mentions the prohibition of 'cooking a young goat in it's mothers milk.' The Talmud, which is a collection of laws that accompany the written law of the Torah adds the details about the prohibition against mixing milk and meat.

Answer 5

It's NOT healthy.