You Shall Not Boil a Kid in It's Mother's Milk

By Tim Hegg

Introduction Among the many groups that fall within the broad spectrum of the “Messianic Movement,” questions regarding Torah halakhah abound. Some within the movement consider the Torah to be more or less abolished, and therefore are not concerned at all about questions of how the Torah should be obeyed. On the other hand, those groups who believe the Torah endures as God’s standard for righteous living hold various views of what exactly constitutes Torah observance. One issue often discussed and debated is whether the developed halakhah of Rabbinic Judaism should, in part or in whole, be the accepted halakhah for Messianics as well.¹

It is the purpose of this paper to offer an inquiry into one particular halakhic question, namely, the separation of meat and milk as a broad standard of kosher foods (kashrut). Ultimately, the purpose of such an inquiry is to lay an historical and theological background in order to determine whether separating meat and milk as a matter of kashrut is based upon a Torah commandment or is purely a rabbinic extension or innovation.

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Footnotes

1 For now, the question of whether Torah observance is incumbent upon all Messianics or only upon Messianics of Jewish lineage, will be left aside since this issue does not bear directly upon the purpose of this paper. ↺

Tim Hegg

President / Instructor

Tim graduated from Cedarville University in 1973 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music and Bible, with a minor in Philosophy. He entered Northwest Baptist Seminary (Tacoma, WA) in 1973, completing his M.Div. (summa cum laude) in 1976. He completed his Th.M. (summa cum laude) in 1978, also from NWBS. His Master’s Thesis was titled: “The Abrahamic Covenant and the Covenant of Grant in the Ancient Near East”. Tim taught Biblical Hebrew and Hebrew Exegesis for three years as an adjunct faculty member at Corban University School of Ministry when the school was located in Tacoma. Corban University School of Ministry is now in Salem, OR. Tim is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society and the Society of Biblical Literature, and has contributed papers at the annual meetings of both societies. Since 1990, Tim has served as one of the Overseers at Beit Hallel in Tacoma, WA. He and his wife, Paulette, have four children, nine grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.