For the week ending 7 March 2026 / 18 Adar 5786
Taamei Hamitzvos - Meat and Milk
Mitzvos 92 and 113; Shemos 23:19
The prohibition against cooking a mixture of meat and dairy products is a chok, a Torah decree without an apparent reason. While the commentators offer many reasons for this prohibition, the primary reason remains hidden and will only be revealed to us in future times, when we will be holy enough to understand the secrets of the Torah (Rabbeinu Bachya, based on a Midrash).
The Torah words this prohibition: “Do not cook a kid in its mother’s milk.” Halachically, though, it applies to all mixtures of meat and dairy products. This prohibition is mentioned three times (in Mishpatim, Ki Sisa, and Re’eh); firstly, to stress its importance, and secondly, to indicate that one may neither cook, nor eat, nor otherwise benefit from such a mixture.
Ibn Ezra explains that the Torah mentions only a kid in its mother’s milk because a kid is still soft, while a full-grown animal does not cook well in milk, and people did not used to boil any meat in milk other than this. As to the reason for this prohibition, he explains that it is cruel to cook an animal in the milk of its own mother. Rambam suggests that mixing milk and meat used to be an idolatrous practice. Sefer HaChinuch explains that meat and milk is an unnatural mixture, which the Torah prohibits just as it prohibits the interbreeding of different animal species and the sowing of a mixture of seeds. According to Rabbeinu Bachya,the prohibition is linked to the fact that milk forms from blood, which is spiritually harmful when consumed, and the properties of blood return when milk is mixed with meat.
On the esoteric level, Rabbeinu Menachem HaBavli and Radvaz write that meat alludes to the Attribute of Justice (‘din’) while milk alludes to the Attribute of Mercy (‘rachamim’), and mixing these two opposing forces has a negative spiritual effect. As with all impure foods, eating a mixture of meat and milk blocks the mind, not only spiritually but also intellectually. Chida suggests that Daniel’s unparalleled wisdom, which outshone the counsel of all the other advisors of Nevuchadnetzar, was linked to his refusal to eat from mixtures of meat and milk that were provided by the royal kitchen.
Whatever the reason, this Mitzvah brings many side benefits. By limiting our diets and abstaining from forbidden foods such as these, we train ourselves not to eat impulsively as is the way of animals. Such dietary requirements also limit our socializing with non-Jews and its harmful influence. More importantly, every time we restrain our bodily desires for the sake of Hashem, we sanctify ourselves and benefit eternally.
The prohibition against cooking a mixture of meat and dairy products is a chok, a Torah decree without an apparent reason. While the commentators offer many reasons for this prohibition, the primary reason remains hidden and will only be revealed to us in future times, when we will be holy enough to understand the secrets of the Torah (Rabbeinu Bachya, based on a Midrash).
The Torah words this prohibition: “Do not cook a kid in its mother’s milk.” Halachically, though, it applies to all mixtures of meat and dairy products. This prohibition is mentioned three times (in Mishpatim, Ki Sisa, and Re’eh); firstly, to stress its importance, and secondly, to indicate that one may neither cook, nor eat, nor otherwise benefit from such a mixture.
Ibn Ezra explains that the Torah mentions only a kid in its mother’s milk because a kid is still soft, while a full-grown animal does not cook well in milk, and people did not used to boil any meat in milk other than this. As to the reason for this prohibition, he explains that it is cruel to cook an animal in the milk of its own mother. Rambam suggests that mixing milk and meat used to be an idolatrous practice. Sefer HaChinuch explains that meat and milk is an unnatural mixture, which the Torah prohibits just as it prohibits the interbreeding of different animal species and the sowing of a mixture of seeds. According to Rabbeinu Bachya,the prohibition is linked to the fact that milk forms from blood, which is spiritually harmful when consumed, and the properties of blood return when milk is mixed with meat.
On the esoteric level, Rabbeinu Menachem HaBavli and Radvaz write that meat alludes to the Attribute of Justice (‘din’) while milk alludes to the Attribute of Mercy (‘rachamim’), and mixing these two opposing forces has a negative spiritual effect. As with all impure foods, eating a mixture of meat and milk blocks the mind, not only spiritually but also intellectually. Chida suggests that Daniel’s unparalleled wisdom, which outshone the counsel of all the other advisors of Nevuchadnetzar, was linked to his refusal to eat from mixtures of meat and milk that were provided by the royal kitchen.
Whatever the reason, this Mitzvah brings many side benefits. By limiting our diets and abstaining from forbidden foods such as these, we train ourselves not to eat impulsively as is the way of animals. Such dietary requirements also limit our socializing with non-Jews and its harmful influence. More importantly, every time we restrain our bodily desires for the sake of Hashem, we sanctify ourselves and benefit eternally.
