Re’eh: The Meaning of Mixing Milk and Meat for a Modern Maimonidean

According to the Rambam, there are many mitzvos which were commanded in order to uproot idolatrous beliefs and practices. How do we find meaning in these today? Here are four answers.

The Torah content for this week has been dedicated by the family of Mindy Pincus for her 20th yahrzeit. She loved wisdom, was always looking to grow, and devoted her life to raising a family in the path of Torah.

Click here for a printer-friendly version of this article.

Artwork: DALL-E’s response to the prompt: “a cheeseburger with melted cheese on an altar in front of a golden buddha statue” (yeah, I know that Buddhism isn’t necessarily avodah zarah, but DALL-E was having a hard time generating the type of golden idol I envisioned, so I had to give it something specific)

Re’eh: The Meaning of Mixing Milk and Meat for a Modern Maimonidean

“Why does the Torah prohibit basar b’chalav (cooking, eating, and benefiting from a mixture of milk and meat)?” is a classic question to which many answers have been given. Rambam (Moreh 3:48) offers a speculative answer:

As for the prohibition against eating basar b’chalav, it is in my opinion not improbable that – in addition to this being undoubtedly very heavy and filling food – avodah zarah (idolatry) had something to do with it. Perhaps such food was eaten at one of the ceremonies of their cult or at one of their festivals. I believe that support for this may be found in the fact that the prohibition against eating basar b’chalav, when it is mentioned for the first two times, occurs near the commandment concerning pilgrimage: “Three times in the year, etc.” (Shemos 23:17; 34:26). It is as if it said: When you go on pilgrimage and enter the house of Hashem, your God, do not cook there in the way they used to do. According to me, this is the most probable view regarding the reason for this prohibition, but I have not seen this set down in any of the books of the Sabians (a sect of idolators) that I have read. [1]

This week I was asked a multifaceted question predicated on the Rambam’s view. I attempted to preserve the original wording as much as possible, but I’ve lightly edited it to better suit the needs of this article:

“If the Rambam is correct that the Torah prohibited basar b’chalav because it was a pagan practice, what relevance does this prohibition have to us today? What should my kavanah (intent) be when I avoid eating a cheeseburger? I desperately want to have a relationship with Hashem through halacha, but sometimes it seems to me like Judaism has moved so far away from its original intent that it has become a completely different religion, and all that’s left are rituals that can be traced to some meaningful ideas after-the-fact. What does basar b’chalav mean to you?”

My essential answer to this question can be found in a two-part shiur I gave in 2021 entitled, How the (Seemingly) Outdated Elements of Torah Are Evidence of Its Perfection (click here for Part 1 and Part 2). There I argue that the dozens (according to the Rambam, hundreds) of anti-avodah zarah laws were made with built-in obsolescence. In other words, since these mitzvos were designed to annihilate every trace of avodah zarah from Israel – and, by extension, from the world – their success will necessarily render them useless. Hashem fully intended for the Torah to advance humanity to a state in which these mitzvos are, from a functional standpoint, totally obsolete. Granted, these mitzvos are legally binding for all eternity, just like the rest of the Torah, but the reasons for which they were given will no longer be relevant once they have accomplished their goals. This is a feature, not a bug.

Because I expect this explanation to strike some as unpalatable, I’ll push it even further. Imagine the Messianic era – a time of peace and prosperity in which “the whole world is filled with knowledge of Hashem like the water that covers the seabed” (Yeshayahu 11:9). The Torah has accomplished all of its ethical objectives, establishing a society of chesed (kindness), mishpat (justice), and tzedakah (righteousness). All human beings treat each other as fellow citizens created b’tzelem Elokim (with truth-seeking intellects). In such a world, we would have no need for the vast majority of the Torah’s misphatim (civil laws). The prohibitions against murder, theft, and other forms of interpersonal harm would become functionally obsolete because nobody would even be tempted to engage in such crimes. The laws which pertain to litigation, testimony, judgment, and torts would be rendered unnecessary because the parties would work things out on the basis of p’sharah (compromise) rather than din (the strict letter of the law). The laws which forbid the affliction of orphans, widows, and converts, the prohibitions of vengeance, holding a grudge, and speaking lashon ha’ra, the injunctions against embarrassing a fellow Jew, bearing hatred in one’s heart, wounding and cursing one’s parents – all these mitzvos will, in the eyes of the enlightened Messianic society, appear outdated and without purpose. The generations who come of age in such a world will have difficulty comprehending why these commandments were ever necessary in the first place.

Thank God, mankind has progressed to a stage in which the majority of the Torah’s anti-avodah zarah measures have achieved their purpose and no longer serve their intended function. Rambam would acknowledge that basar b’chalav is a relic of a bygone era, but he would say this with gratitude for what the Torah has accomplished.

But this still doesn’t answer the question I was asked. It explains why, according to the Rambam, we should expect to find “vestigial mitzvos” in the body of Taryag (the 613 mitzvos), but it doesn’t offer any guidance as to what we should do with these mitzvos now that they’ve accomplished their mission objectives. As my questioner asked, “What kavanah should we have when we avoid eating a cheeseburger? What does basar b’chalav mean to you?”

I would like to offer three approaches. These are not the only answers, but are the ones which I personally favor:

Approach #1: Reflect on Avodah Zarah. While it may be true that the particular avodah zarah practice of cooking basar b’chalav has been vanquished, avodah zarah itself is alive and well. I’m not talking about primitive forms of avodah zarah (which are still practiced by a larger percentage of the world population than we realize) nor am I referring to the specific acts of avodah zarah which are proscribed by halacha. I’m talking about philosophical avodah zarah, or the derech avodah zarah, which my Rosh ha’Yeshiva defined as “relating to the products of the psyche as a reality.” This is a topic I’ve written about at length – most recently in last week’s article, When Avodah Zarah Works (and Why), but also here and elsewhere – and I won’t elaborate on it here. Suffice it to say, if refraining from eating a cheeseburger can serve as a prompt for thinking about avodah zarah just as mezuzah serves as a prompt for thinking about avodas Hashem, then to my mind, that is a mitzvah worthy of our attention.

Approach #2: Find Contemporary Applications. Sforno agrees with Rambam’s theory, but mentions a motive:

Do not cook a kid in its mother's milk – do not engage in actions such as these to increase your produce, as was thought by those who worship avodah zarah; rather, "the first fruits of your land you shall bring" (Shemos 23:19), as was stated: "all the first fruits of every kind and all tithes etc. to bring a blessing to rest upon your home" (Yechezkel 44:30)

While there are no longer any idolators who boil meat in milk in a misguided effort to secure their material success, there are many other beliefs and practices in which modern man engages for similar reasons. Consider the American superstition: the belief that money can buy happiness. While we may not characterize this as avodah zarah, it is just as irrational and prevalent now as avodah zarah was then. Wealth is our basar b’chalav.

Approach #3: Find Another Reason. Ralbag endorses Rambam’s explanation of basar b’chalav but offers two additional theories based on the two other times that basar b’chalav is mentioned in the Torah. He then writes:

You should not be troubled to find one mitzvah with many reasons, for you see that the Torah mentions two reasons for the mitzvah of Shabbos (i.e. remembering creation and remembering the Exodus). In general, the Torah resembles nature: just as nature does a single act which has multiple benefits, the same is true with the Torah's commandments.

I began this article by acknowledging that many explanations have been given for why the Torah prohibited basar b’chalav. Ralbag reminds us that these reasons are not mutually exclusive. It is entirely possible that Hashem prohibited basar b’chalav to uproot a pagan practice AND to benefit us in other ways. And this is not apologetics any more than it is apologetics to say that Hashem created iron to transport oxygen in the human body, to serve as materials for human craft, and to play a critical role in the formation of stars. If you don’t find Rambam’s theory of basar b’chalav conducive to strengthening your relationship with Hashem, go forth and learn another answer.

[1] Although the Rambam lacked evidence at the time, an article entitled ‘Thou Shalt Not Seethe a Kid in Its Mother’s Milk’: Peculiar Scripture Illuminated by Archaeology presents archaeological evidence which corroborates the Rambam’s theory.

---

Regardless of whether or not you agree with the Rambam’s explanation of basar b’chalav, how would you answer the question I was asked?

Like what you read? Give this article a “like” and share it with a friend! Dislike what you read? Share it anyway to spread the dislike!

Want access to my paid content without actually paying? If you successfully refer enough friends, you can get access to the paid tier for free!

Interested in reading more? Become a free subscriber, or upgrade to a paid subscription for the upcoming exclusive content!

If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail.com. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.

If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail.com. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.
-----
Substack: rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/
Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss
YouTube: youtube.com/rabbischneeweiss
Instagram: instagram.com/rabbischneeweiss/
"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com
"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com
"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com
"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com
"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.com
Old Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/
WhatsApp Group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/GEB1EPIAarsELfHWuI2k0H
Amazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_=wl_sharel