In our mouths and in our hearts: Day 47
(Introduction.)
Today: Testimony and authority.
571. “You shall investigate and inquire and interrogate thoroughly.” (Deuteronomy 13:15) = grill the witnesses
572. “The testimony of a single witness against a person shall not sufice for a sentence of death.” (Numbers 35:30) = a witness may not also serve as a judge in a capital case
573. “A single witness may not validate against a person any guilt or blame for any offense that may be committed; a case can be valid only on the testimony of two witnesses or more.” (Deuteronomy 19:15)
574. “You shall not join hands with the guilty to act as a malicious witness.” (Exodus 23:1) = a criminal may not serve as a witness
575. “Parents shall not be put to death for children.” (Deuteronomy 24:16) = a relative of a party to the case may not serve as a witness
576. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:13)
577. “If the one who testified is a false witness, if he has testified falsely against his fellow, you shall do to him as he schemed to do to his fellow.” (Deuteronomy 19:18-19) = if it was a capital crime, then the false witness is executed, etc.
578. “You shall act in accordance with the instructions given you and the ruling handed down to you.” (Deuteronomy 17:11) = follow the Torah that the Sanhedrin tells you
579. “You must not deviate from the verdict that they announce to you either to the right or to the left.” (Deuteronomy 17:11) = do not deviate from the words of the Sanhedrin
580. “Do not add to it.” (Deuteronomy 13:1) = don’t add to the mitzvot in the Torah
581. “Do not subtract from it.” (Deuteronomy 13:1) = don’t subtract from the mitzvot in the Torah
582. “One who curses his/her father or his/her mother shall be put to death.” (Exodus 21:17)
583. “One who strikes his/her father or his/her mother shall be put to death.” (Exodus 21:15)
584. “Honor your father and your mother.” (Exodus 20:12)
585. “Each of you shall revere his/her mother and his/her father.” (Leviticus 19:3)
I’ve always been a bit intrigued how the above relates to milk and meat. Technically, not mixing milk and meat only refers to the milk and meat of animals that lactate, even across species. R’ Yose haGalili in the Talmud eats chicken parmesan (i.e. poultry and dairy). But somehow, the Jewish tradition began to treat poultry as prohibited with dairy.
Is this an issue of bal tosif (do not add)? If it did not originate as such, it certainly is treated that way. Can you imagine any “torah-true” Jew finding his chicken has dairy added to it and not freaking out (though they’d probably freak out if they ate kitniyot on pesah, as well).
The question in the quotes, then, is, if you’re going to say that not eating chicken with dairy is a siyag (fence), how should you treat the prohibition differently from a d’Oraita (from the torah as rabbinically interpreted) prohibition?
Additionally, why are fish and animals products (such as eggs) allowed with dairy if the principle is “mixing life and death” as some explain as the reason for the mitzvah?