לא תבשל גדי בחלב אמו

Do not cook and / or eat a meat and milk mixture

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SMG

This Mitzva is discussed by the Sefer Mitzvos Gedolos together with the companion Mitzva of Do not benefit from a mixture of meat and milk.

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AMUDAY SHLOMO

The comments by Amuday Shlomo on this Mitzva are incorporated into the discussion on the companion Mitzva of Do not benefit from a mixture of meat and milk.

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RASHI

Rashi on the first instance of the verse לא תבשל גדי בחלב אמו provides the following commentary:

לא תבשל גדי

Even calves and lambes are included in the term גדי, because the term גדי only means a tender young animal.

This is know from that which we find in many places in the Torah, where the verse uses the term גדי and based on the context, we have to explain that it is refering to things other than goats. For example:

• the verse[i] אנכי אשלח גדי עזים – I will send to you young goats
• and the verse[ii] את גדי העזים – the young goats,
• and the verse[iii] שני גדיי עזים – two young goats.

This teaches us that any time the term גדי is said, without being further identified, also calves and lambs are included.

[This prohibition] is written in the Torah in three (3) places: once for the prohibition against eating, once for the prohibition against benefiting, and once for the prohibition against cooking.

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[i] Beraishis 38:17

[ii] Beraishis 38:20

[iii] Beraishis 27:9

Rashi on the second instance of the verse לא תבשל גדי בחלב אמו provides the following commentary:

לא תבשל גדי

This provides an admonishment against a mixture of meat and milk. The verse is written three (3) times in the Torah, once to prohibit eating, once to prohibit benefitting from, and once to prohibit cooking.

גדי

All young tender [animals] are implied, including calves and lambs. Since there is a requirement to qualify [kid goats as] גדי עזים, this implies that גדי means all nursing [domesticated animals].[i]

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[i] See Gem. Ĉulin 113b

בחלב אמו

this excludes birds, which do not have milk. Its prohibition is not from the Torah, but is of Rabbinic origin.

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Discussion by SMS

If the prohibiting verse is stated three (3) separate times in the Torah, why are there only two (2) negative Mitzvos derived from it.

The first two instances of the verse are repeated exactly without any differences in the verse, while at the third instance of the prohibition the phrase לא תבשל גדי בחלב אמו is repeated, but the rest of the verse differs. This implies that two of the prohibitive verses have a sameness about them, while the third one is different. Namely, the first two verses are the same negative Mitzva while the third verse is a different negative Mitzva.

As to which is which:

The third verse contains the phrase לא תבשל גדי בחלב אמו said in context with the requirement to sell non-kosher meat, that which had not been properly slaughtered, to non-Jews. Since the verse is talking about financial benefit of non-kosher materials, we can assume the prohibition stated there of לא תבשל גדי בחלב אמו is also prohibiting a financial benefit from meat and milk.

As to how we expand the prohibition of financial benefit to include all types of benefits – the verse does not state that one may not sell this admixture. Instead, the verse uses the phrase לא תבשל – do not cook. This implies that even the benefit derived to cooking a larger dish, by adding in meat and milk, which is a di minimus financial benefit, is prohibited.

As to the first two instances of the phrase לא תבשל גדי בחלב אמו:

in those verses, the phrase is used in conjunction with the phrase obligating the bringing of various tithes to Yerushalayim and the Base Hamikdash for consumption there. When we talk about מעשר שני and the First Fruits etc., there are two things done with such offerings: they are eaten, or they are used to prepare other foods (as in the oil that was offered); namely, they are used for cooking.

And we know that the prohibition is related to cooking, because of the literal meaning of לא תבשל – which provides a counter to any other ideas that might occur to one as to what the verse is prohibiting.

Thus the first two verses are prohibiting eating and cooking.

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Key

Etymology and Definitions of Defined Terms

• גדי – a young nursing animal

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