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Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1998 12:45:22 -0500
From: rhendel@mcs.drexel.edu (Russell Hendel)
Subject: Re: Milk and Meat

I have a strong question against Tom Rubane's thesis that cooking a kid in
its milk was prohibited because it was a standard idolatrous product.
Indeed if >  >  ancient Canaanites used to boil a kid in its mothers milk as a
form of sympathetic magic<  <   then this act should be prohibited because of
its idolatrous content and not just be a prohibition of Kashruth. (In other
words there is a Biblical prohibition against doing idolatrous customs of
idolators).

If this is so how is it explained that no rishon ever mentioned this
idolatrous prohibition. Furthermore why should the Torah have to make a
separate prohibition for this act if it could already be prohibited under
idolatrous prohibitions.

Russell Jay Hendel; Phd ASA
Rhendel @ mcs drexel edu