In a small village, young Moshe was always curious about the world around him. One day, he asked his Rabbi, "Why do we wait after eating meat to eat dairy, but not the other way around?"
The Rabbi smiled and took Moshe on a walk through the village. They went past a farm where a baby cow was nursing. Then they passed by a butcher shop chopping up steaks. "You see, Moshe, milk represents life and nurturing. It's like the kindness and care a mother gives her child. Meat, however, comes from animals that were once alive and now are not. It represents the end of life."
Moshe nodded, "Life and death are very different!"
"Yes, very different," the Rabbi agreed. "It helps remind us that life and death should not be mixed. It's a way of respecting the natural order of things that G-d created. That's one reason why we keep milk and meat separate."
"My mom waits 6 whole hours after eating meat before she eats dairy! But she sometimes eats dairy and then has meat soon after. Why do we wait so much longer after eating meat?" Moshe asked.
The Rabbi explained, "After eating meat, we take time to move from the idea of an end of life to the idea of life and nurturing. It's like giving ourselves time to change our thoughts and feelings. There is a natural progression of things. We sleep, and then we wake up. We prepare food, and then we eat it. Likewise, after someone is born and is given life, life is so fragile and precious that death can come at any minute afterward."
"Just like why meat can come right after dairy!" Moshe exclaimed.
"Exactly, Moshe!" the Rabbi said. "And after we die, there's a waiting period before we can have life again. Just like the waiting period after we eat meat."
Moshe started to understand something deeper. Moshe was a great student with many questions: "But Rabbi, why six hours? That's a long time!"
The Rabbi smiled, "Because the 6 hours represent the 6 days of creation. And what happens at the end of the 6 days of crea---"
"The Sabbath!" Moshe interrupted!
"Right!" the Rabbi chuckled. "The Sabbath in the future is when everyone comes back to life, and we get to be with all our friends and family. The Messiah will be there too, and he will bring peace to the entire world! It will be a forever sabbath!"
Moshe "If I want to have ice cream for dessert, I need to make sure my mom knows and we plan what we are eating for a meal. Just like G-d carefully plans everything, I have to think carefully about how my actions will affect myself and others in the future."
"Exactly, Moshe!" the Rabbi said, pleased. "And that's another reason why we wait a few hours after eating meat before eating dairy. It's about not mixing what G-d separated and keeping things in their proper order. It helps keep ourselves separate from the rest of the world, which mixes good with evil, life and death, and meat and dairy. And do you know what the term for being set apart is?" "That's called being Holy, right?" Moshe asked.
"Yes! And we are to be 'set apart' or 'Holy' for G-d, acting as His workers and representatives here on earth. So if G-d wants them separated, then we keep them separated, and in doing so, we learn some very valuable lessons, and in a small way, we also fulfill the mitzvah of remembering the sabbath."
As they returned home, Moshe felt happy to understand a little more about the mitzvot. He knew he would never forget the lesson of milk and meat, life and kindness.
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