Do not cook a young goat in its mother's milk. – Deuteronomy 14:21b

Today's Scripture Reading (January 15, 2022): Deuteronomy 14

It was a pagan harvest ritual. A young goat was removed from its mother, along with some of the mother's milk. Then the young goat was killed by being boiled in what should have been a life-giving liquid. But the people believed that by boiling a young goat in its mother's milk, they could please the gods who would, in turn, increase the harvest. And so, the boiling of a young goat in its mother's milk became a common harvest activity. This superstition was repeated as the harvest season approached year after year.

We struggle with the food laws that God gave to Israel. And sometimes, our struggle is that we don't understand their purpose. Some of the food laws make sense. The animal food laws basically fall into three categories. Some food was forbidden because the animal ate flesh and blood. Blood was forbidden for Israel to eat because it was seen as a life-giving substance and a gift from God. These were the predators. Other animals were declared unclean because they scavenged for their food. As a result, these animals were known carriers of disease and poison. Or the food was simply known to be poisonous, and therefore, forbidden for consumption.

But other foods were forbidden because God wanted Israel to be different from the surrounding populations. Specifically, he wanted his people to depend on him for the harvest and not on some superstition on which the people around them relied. And this idea of separation is the reason for this strange law that bans a young goat from being cooked in its mother's milk.

As is true with so many things, we tend to take this law too far. This instruction has caused some Jews to declare that the consumption of cheeseburgers is immoral because that Quarter Pounder with Cheese might contain cheese created from the mother of the cow who was sacrificed to provide the meat for the burger. It is a long shot, but why take a chance.

I have to admit that I don't know anyone who eats cheeseburgers at harvest time to increase the harvest. Rather than clearly condemning participation in a pagan superstition, a prohibition on the consumption of cheeseburgers seems to go a step too far. It stresses that we have lost the connection between the law and the reason behind it.

I believe that understanding that connection is important because it is more important to keep the spirit of the law rather than opting to carry out the letter of the law. In this case, the heart of the law is that we should despise superstition and depend on God for the necessary things of life. But what do we gain if we reject cheeseburgers and yet keep many other superstitions alive and well in our lives? Is God pleased with our superstitions because we refuse to eat cheeseburgers. Somehow, I think not.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 15