Ask The Rabbi!!

[TomHagen]

Originally Posted by mi2az

I have a question. In the Torah, it states "Don't boil a kid in it's mothers milk", What does this have to do with a cheese burger ?

Why can't Jews eat chicken and drink milk, chickens don't produce milk but eggs are parve ?

Also, why is the front end of the cow Kosher and not the back end, they both have blood cells and you can't drain 100% of the blood from animals ?

Animal sacrafices during second temple period, didn' t the levi's and Choeniam eat the whole animal, backend included ? I don't think they surgicaly removed the veins from the animal in order to make it Kosher. So what happens if you ate a vein from the front end of the animal ?

Good questions.

First, any admixture of milk and meat is prohibited. The circumstances under which it comes together, used or eaten affects the level of trangression and the level of prohibition. It is very extensive. You can refer to the Chochmat Adam book on the topic for more depth. A Cheeseburger is definitely prohibited to cook, use for benefit or consume. Cooking cheese on top of meat is EXACTLY what the Torah says is prohibited.

The prohibition of chicken or fowl with milk is a decree of the Rabbi's due to the pervasive substitution of Fowl for Meat, and the confusion that ensues. This is a relatively overly-simplyfied answer, but it will have to suffice for the space.

The prohibition of eating the back end of the animal refers to the Gid haneshek - the vein that runs the entire back end of the animal that is surrounded by layers of fat, which is prohibited since Yaakov wrestled with the Malach. The fats are also prohibited and the skill and tradition on how to remove the vein (along with the fats) has been in dispute and lost to some degree, so we do not eat it. Nothing to do with the blood.

Only the back vein that runs down the hind legs is prohibited, and yes they were menaker the veins approprieately.

Due to spacial concerns, I encourage you to read and study on your own starting with the aforementioned book on Kosher Laws. My answering you in this space ("standing on one foot") is hardly sufficient and is not considered valid, responsible inquiry on your part. So get out there and learn something!!