“Do not cook a kid in its mother’s milk” or “do not mix milk and meat”?

Abstract

In the article, the short review of the rabbis’ opinions on the Biblical commandment not to cook a kid or lamb in the milk of its mother and the prohibition to mix milk and meat derived form this commandment, is presented. It is emphasized that such a prohibition was not known in the times of Abraham, neither can we find any trace of it in the numerous documents of Judaism that survived from the times of Jesus Christ until now. Additionally, in the Talmudic period, it is documented that there were Jewish communities, even in Babylonia, who knew nothing of the prohibition of that kind. In this light, the common in the Middle East idea to avoid the mixture of fish and yoghurt is seen as a result of the rabbinic influence on the dietary views of the Gentiles.