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{{Judaism}}
The mixture of '''meat and dairy''' ({{
==Explanations for the law==
The rabbis of the Talmud gave no reason for the prohibition,<ref>''[[Pesahim]]'' 44b</ref><ref name="Hullin 108a">''Hullin'' 108a</ref> but later authorities, such as [[Maimonides]], opined that the law was connected to a prohibition of [[idolatry in Judaism]].<ref>Maimonides, ''Moreh'', 3:48</ref> [[Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno|Obadiah Sforno]] and [[Shlomo Ephraim Luntschitz|Solomon Luntschitz]], rabbinic commentators living in the late [[Middle Ages]], both suggested that the law referred to a specific Canaanite religious practice, in which young goats were cooked in their own mothers' milk, aiming to obtain supernatural assistance to increase the yield of their flocks.<ref>Solomon Ephraim Luntschitz, ''Keli Yakar'', to Exodus 23:19</ref><ref>Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno, ''commentary'', to Deuteronomy 14:21</ref> More recently, a [[theogony|theogonous]] text named ''the birth of the gracious gods'', found during the rediscovery of [[Ugarit]], has been interpreted as saying that a [[Levant]]ine ritual to ensure [[Fertility (soil)|agricultural fertility]] involved the cooking of a young goat in its mother's milk, followed by the mixture being sprinkled upon the fields
Some rabbinic commentators saw the law as having an [[ethics|ethical]] aspect. [[Rashbam]] argued that using the milk of an animal to cook its offspring was inhumane, based on a principle similar to that of [[Shiluach haken]].<ref>Rashbam to Exodus 23:19, quoting {{bibleverse||Leviticus|22:28|HE}} and {{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|22:6|HE}}</ref> [[Chaim ibn Attar]] compared the practice of cooking animals in their mother's milk to the slaying of nursing infants.<ref>Chaim ibn Attar, ''commentary'' to Exodus 23:19</ref>
▲==The Biblical law as understood by the rabbis==
===Three distinct laws===
The Talmudic rabbis believed that the biblical text only forbade cooking a mixture of milk and meat,<ref name="Hullin 115b"/> but because the biblical regulation is triplicated they imposed three distinct regulations to represent it:
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=== Minuscule quantities ===
The classical rabbis expressed the opinion that each of the food rules could be waived if the portion of food violating the regulations was less than a certain size, known as a {{lang|he-Latn|shiur}} ({{
Many rabbis followed the premise that "taste is principle" ({{
Due to the premise that "taste is principle", {{lang|yi-Latn|parve}} (i.e. 'neutral') foods are considered to take on the same "meat/dairy produce" classification as anything they are cooked with.<ref>[[Yaakov Chaim Sofer|Jacob Sofer]] ''Kaf haChaim'' 89:52–53</ref>
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==Classification of foods==
To prevent the consumption of forbidden mixtures, foods are divided into three categories.<ref>see for example, [[Aharon Pfeuffer]] ''Kitzur Halachot Basar B'Chalav''</ref>
* "meat" (North America) or "meaty" (UK) ({{
* "dairy" (North America) or "milky" (UK) ({{
* {{lang|yi-Latn|[[parve]]}} (or {{lang|yi-Latn|parv}}, {{lang|yi-Latn|pareve}}; from the Yiddish word {{lang|yi-Latn|parev}}, {{lang|yi|פאַרעוו}}, meaning 'neutral')
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== Dishes and cooking utensils ==
[[File:Kosher dishes P7160076.JPG|thumb|Kosher dairy dishes from the 19th century in the [[Jewish Museum, Berlin]]]]
[[File:Kosher microwaves.jpg|thumb|Two [[microwave ovens]] in [[Haifa University]]: the blue one is reserved for milky foods and the red for meaty foods, so that the two are not mixed.]]
[[Tosafist]] [[Samuel ben Meir]], argued that infused tastes could endure in a cooking vessel or utensil for up to 24 hours;<ref>Samuel ben Meir, as cited in ''[[Arba'ah Turim]]'' 103</ref> his suggestion led to the principle, known as ''ben yomo'' (Hebrew: ''son of the day'', בן יומו), that vessels and utensils should not be used to cook milk within 24 hours of being used to cook meat (and vice versa).<ref>Abraham Danzig, ''Wisdom of Man'' 46:1</ref> Although, after 24 hours, some residual flavour may still reside in porous cooking vessels and utensils, some{{Specify|date=November 2008}} rabbis hold the opinion that such residue would become stale and fetid, hence only ''infusing taste for the worse'' (Hebrew: ''nosen taam lifgam'', נותן טעם לפגם), which they do not regard as violating the ban against mixing the tastes of milk and meat.<ref>Binyomin Forst, ''The Laws of Kashrus'' [[Mesorah Publications, Ltd.]] 2000, page 86</ref>
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In light of these issues, kashrut-observant Jews can take the precaution of maintaining two distinct sets of [[crockery]] and [[cutlery]]; one set (known in Yiddish as ''milchig'' and in Hebrew as ''halavi'') is for food containing dairy produce, while the other (known in Yiddish as ''fleishig''/''fleishedik'' and in Hebrew as ''besari'') is for food containing meat.
[[Shelomo Dov Goitein]] writes, “the dichotomy of the kitchen into a meat and a milk section, so basic in an observant Jewish household, is … never mentioned in the [[Cairo Geniza|Geniza]]."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Goitein|first=Shelomo Dov|title=A Mediterranean Society: The Jewish Communities of the Arab World as Portrayed in the Documents of the Cairo Geniza, Vol. IV. p. 252.|year=1967|isbn=0-520-22161-3}}</ref> Goitein believed that in the early Middle Ages Jewish families kept only one set of cutlery and cooking ware. According to [[David C. Kraemer]] the practice of keeping separate sets of dishes developed only in the late 14th or 15th centuries.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kraemer|first=David C.|title=Jewish Eating and Identity Through the Ages|publisher=Routledge|year=2007|isbn=978-0415476409|location=New York|pages=99–121}}</ref> In earlier times, the household's one set of cooking ware was ''kashered'' between dairy and meat (and vice versa).<ref>
== Problem of sequential foods ==
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Maimonides argued that time was required between meat and dairy produce because meat can become stuck in the teeth, a problem he suggested would last for ''about six hours'' after eating it;<ref>Maimonides, ''Mishneh Torah'', ''Ma'achalot Assurot'':9:28.</ref> this interpretation was shared by [[Solomon ben Aderet]],<ref>Solomon ben Aderet, ''commentary'' to ''Hullin'' 8:5</ref> a prominent pupil of his, and [[Asher ben Jehiel]],<ref>Asher ben Jehiel, ''commentary'' to ''Hullin'' 8:5</ref> who gained entry to the [[rabbi]]nate by Solomon ben Aderet's approval, as well as by the later [[Shulchan Aruch]].<ref>Jacob ben Asher, ''Shulchan Aruch''</ref> By contrast, [[tosafists]] argued that the key detail was just the avoidance of dairy produce appearing at the same meal as meat. Therefore, it was sufficient to just wait until a ''new meal''—which to them simply meant clearing the table, reciting [[Birkat Hamazon|a particular blessing]], and cleaning their mouths.<ref>''Hullin'' ([[Tosafot]]) 105a</ref> Some later rabbinic writers, like [[Moses Isserles]],<ref>Moses Isserles, ''The Tablecloth'' 89:1</ref> and significant texts, like the ''[[Zohar]]'' (as noted by [[Vilna Gaon]]<ref>Vilna Gaon, ''Bi'ur haGra''</ref> and [[Daniel Josiah Pinto]]<ref>Daniel Josiah Pinto, ''Lehem Hamudot'' to ''Hullin'' 8:23</ref>), argued that a meal still did not qualify as ''new'' unless at least an hour had passed since the previous meal.
Since most Orthodox [[Sephardi Jews]] consider the Shulchan Aruch authoritative, they regard its suggestion of waiting six hours as mandatory. [[Ashkenazi Jews]], however, have various customs. Orthodox Jews of Eastern European background who follow [[Minhag Polin]] usually wait for six hours,<ref>[[Yechiel Michel Epstein]], ''[[Aruch haShulchan|Laying the table]]'' 89:7</ref> although those of [[Yekke|German ancestry]] who follow [[Minhag Ashkenaz]] traditionally wait for only three hours,<ref>Anonymous (but often incorrectly attributed to [[Jonah of Gerona]]), ''Issur V'Heter'' 39</ref> and those of [[History of the Jews in the Netherlands|Dutch ancestry]] have a tradition of waiting only for the one hour. The medieval tosafists stated that the practice does not apply to infants,<ref>''Shabbat'' (Tosafot) 121a, commentary of Tosafot</ref> but 18th and 19th-century rabbis, such as Abraham Danzig and Yechiel Michel Epstein, criticised those who followed lenient practices that were not traditional in their region.<ref>Abraham Danzig, ''Wisdom of Man'' 40:13</ref><ref>Yechiel Michel Epstein, ''Laying the table'' 89:7</ref> In the 20th century, many rabbis were in favor of leniency. Moses Stern ruled that all young children were excluded from these strictures,<ref>Moses Stern, ''Pischei Halachah'', ''Kashrut''</ref> [[Obadiah Yosef|Obadiah Joseph]] made an exception for the ill,<ref>Obadiah Joseph, ''Yechaveh Da'at'' 3:58</ref> and [[Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld|Joseph Chaim Sonnenfeld]] exempted nursing women.<ref>Joseph Chaim Sonnenfeld, ''Salmas Chaim'' 286 (2:4)</ref>
===Eating meat after dairy ===
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==Effects in Jewish cuisine==
These restrictions remove certain dishes from Jewish cuisine, and induce alterations in others.
For example, while the
Another effect is [[Jewish American Chinese restaurant patronage]], specially among [[New York Jew]]s, who can choose among several Chinese [[kosher restaurant|restaurants that follow kosher rules]].
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* [[Kil'ayim (prohibition)|Kil'ayim]], other forbidden mixtures in Jewish law
* {{annotated link|Jewish vegetarianism}}
* {{annotated link|Jewish dairy restaurant}}
==References==
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