Why is eating dairy products and meat in the same meal considered not kosher?

Answer

Observant Jews, who adhere to the Mosaic Law, strive to comply with the regulations concerning food, primarily outlined in Leviticus chapter 11. Nevertheless, there exists a prevalent Jewish dietary custom not specified in Leviticus 11 or any other Hebrew Scriptures. The majority of observant Jews refrain from consuming animal and dairy products simultaneously or within the same meal. They do not deem it permissible to mix dairy and meat—cheeseburgers are not permitted. If the directive against combining meat with dairy is absent from the Hebrew Scriptures, where does it originate?

The practice of refraining from dairy products in a meal containing meat stems from Exodus 23:19, which states, “Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.” This command does not explicitly pertain to dietary restrictions; rather, it prohibits cooking a specific type of meat in a specific manner. A straightforward interpretation of Exodus 23:19 appears to allow for a young goat to be cooked in milk, as long as the milk is not from its own mother. Moreover, the narrow focus of the command suggests that any other clean animal (aside from a goat) could potentially be cooked in its own mother’s milk. The directive does not address the consumption of dairy and meat in the same meal. So, how is Exodus 23:19 utilized to forbid the consumption of dairy and meat together?

In Jewish rabbinical tradition, there has been a tendency over millennia to broaden the mandates in the Mosaic Law to encompass additional practices. This expansion aimed to safeguard the Jewish people against potential violations of the law. Therefore, if the law mandated a ten-foot fence, the rabbis would construct a fifteen-foot fence, as a precaution. Consequently, the reference to a “young goat” in Exodus 23:19 was interpreted as referring to “all meat” in Jewish tradition, while “its mother’s milk” was understood as “any dairy product.” Consuming any form of meat with any dairy product in the same meal was deemed a violation of kosher laws. One rabbinic teaching even prohibits…The use of the same knife to cut meat and cheese or the use of the same tablecloth to serve both.

This handling of God’s law is an illustration of what Jesus mentioned when He criticized the teachers of the law for “straining out a gnat but swallowing a camel” in Matthew 23:24. It is commendable to avoid violating God’s law as much as possible. However, stretching a law to the point where it barely resembles the original statute cannot be justified. Eating meat and dairy in the same meal was not prohibited in the Mosaic Law. Deuteronomy 4:2 states, “Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you.” It was a direct violation of God’s law for the Jews to add a prohibition not explicitly stated or implied in the law.

Whether a person consumes a cheeseburger is not the focal point. Followers of Jesus Christ are not bound by the law (Mark 7:19; Romans 10:4; Galatians 3:23-25; Ephesians 2:15). We have freedom in Christ, and that liberty extends to our diet “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” (Galatians 5:1). If individuals wish to adhere to the Old Covenant dietary laws or the expanded Jewish kosher laws, they are free to do so. The concern here is that the Jewish expansion of “do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk” to “do not eat any type of meat with any dairy product in the same meal” violates God’s prohibition against adding to the Lord’s commands.

So, what was the command of Exodus 23:19 truly prohibiting? Most likely, the rule was related to keeping the Israelites free from idolatry and superstition. Several commentators speculate that boiling a young goat in its mother’s milk was a pagan ritual performed as part

Some scholars believe that the prohibition against boiling a young goat in its mother’s milk was part of a fertility ritual. God wanted His people to have no association with such evil practices. Other interpreters note that cooking a young goat in the milk of its mother appears harsh, as the goat is being cooked in the substance meant to nourish it.