Cooking Meat in the Milk of a Cow Ewe or Sister Animal

Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 359:4

Curated by Arthur·Told by Maggid·

Our Rabbis taught: "in its mother's milk." From this I know only its mother's milk; from where the milk of a cow or a ewe? You say: an inference from minor to major. If its own mother, which is not forbidden to mate with it, is forbidden to be cooked with it, then a cow or a ewe, which is forbidden to mate with it, surely is forbidden to be cooked with it. Why then do I need the verse? Because the inference can be refuted. Rav Ashi said: one could argue that the very root of the inference is faulty — from where do you bring it? From its mother; and what is special about its mother is that she is forbidden together with it in slaughter [on the same day]. Therefore Scripture teaches, "in its mother's milk." It was taught elsewhere: "in its mother's milk." From where the milk of an older sister? An inference from minor to major. If its mother, which enters the pen with it to be tithed, is forbidden, then an older sister, which does not enter the pen with it to be tithed, surely is forbidden. Therefore Scripture teaches, "in its mother's milk." And what of a younger sister? It is derived from the combination of the two cases: from its mother and from the older sister, the shared feature being that it is flesh and forbidden to cook in milk — so too the younger sister, which is flesh and forbidden to cook in milk. If so, why do I still need "in its milk"? For what was taught: "in its mother's milk" — from where the milk of itself with its own flesh? An inference from minor to major: if in a case where fruit with fruit is not forbidden in slaughter, fruit with the mother is forbidden in slaughter, then in a case where fruit with fruit is forbidden in cooking, surely fruit with the mother is forbidden in cooking. Rav Achadboi bar Ami objected, and Rav Ashi resolved it: one could argue that what distinguishes "fruit" is that they are two separate bodies, whereas "fruit with the mother" is one body — so the verse is required.

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