Is there a prohibition on eating meat and poultry together?

Question

Although I knew about the prohibition of eating fish and meat together, and also about the quite serious restrictions in my community on eating dairy and fish together, I had never heard that we are prohibited from eating meat and fowl together...until now. Is this prohibition observed today, how strict is it, and what must be the separation between meat and fowl? (Do you need to have, say, something solid to eat and a glass of whiskey to drink as we are supposed to between fish and meat?)

^Bonus: why does nobody seem to do this last part?

FWIW I observe it. I've never drunk anything between, just haven't had the two on the same plate together. — ezra, Aug 02 '17 at 03:49
Probably because random medical superstitions picked up over the centuries are a wonderful thing jettison, and a horrible thing to hold onto. — mevaqesh, Aug 02 '17 at 05:21
@mevaqesh I would personally agree, but that doesn't mean we don't follow the shulchan aruch — SAH, Aug 02 '17 at 11:01
I agree with mevaqesh. The list is full of superstitious taboos that have no basis in Halacha or the Talmud! FWI kitzur shulchan is not the same as Shulchan Aruch, while the latter has been accepted through Klal yisroel, the former has not, and neither is it considered binding on Jews (if my Ruv would write a book chock full of these kind of superstitions would it become part of halacha?? Absolutely not!). — Bach, Aug 02 '17 at 14:28
Depending on what you mean by following the shulhan arukh, it sure does. If something is a formal enactment based on a superstition or outmoded science, then it may or may not be binding. If something is just medical advice from folks centuries ago who would be disappointed if they knew that in the age of modern medicine you were following their folk superstitions, it is not halakha even if it is mentioned by a halakhist. Even the issue of meat and fish is omitted by rambam in accordance with the principle that we don't follow Talmudic medicine. The earliest source for fish and milk afaik — mevaqesh, Aug 02 '17 at 14:42
Cont. Is rabbenu bachya saying what he heard in the name of medieval Arab doctors. Hardly folks we want to be following for anything. It may or may not be mentioned in the sha but even about meat and fish, which is mentioned, the magen avraham emphasises that we don't follow Talmudic medicine, and the implication as noted by r. Herschel shachter is that it is fine to consume. — mevaqesh, Aug 02 '17 at 14:50
"why does nobody seem to do this last part?" - WHICH "last part"? The drinking whiskey? Says whom? Or do you mean specifically whiskey vs. vodka or beer? Single malts tend to be expensive! I almost always have a schnapps after the fish. — DanF, Aug 02 '17 at 16:23
@mevaqesh What about the fact that it is by now practically minhag yisroel (and certainly the minhag in very many communities) not to eat meat and fish togeteher? — SAH, Aug 03 '17 at 17:04
@DanF I have never seen anyone be makpid both to eat AND to drink between fish and meat, although maybe I'm not observing people carefully enough. (Would it count if it's from the same plate the fish?) Nice to hear you have a shnapps. Purely out of curiosity, do you make a bracha on it? — SAH, Aug 03 '17 at 17:07
@SAH I think O.C. mentions that one should "clean his mouth", and this can be done in several ways, by eating OR drinking. I have heard from a few doctors that alcohol tends to be the best "taste cleanser" which may explain why drinking schnapps is popular. It does eliminate the fishy taste, although chewing parsley or cumin (Indians do this, BTW) works just as well. Caterers sometimes serve sherbet for the same reason. No, I do not make a bracha on the schnapps. I believe that the hamotzi at the beginning of the meal would make that unnecessary. — DanF, Aug 03 '17 at 17:29
@SAH not every practice that is widespread is authoritative. The magen avraham makes no mention of such an issue although it was likely common, and Rav Herschel Shachter did not consider it an operative factor, either. Relevant in this regard is the category termed minhag shtut. — mevaqesh, Aug 04 '17 at 02:58
Related: https://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/16096/bread-between-fish-and-meat-requires-hamotzi?rq=1 — SAH, Aug 04 '17 at 07:17
@DanF But we usually make a new bracha (shehakol/hagafen) on any l'chaim during the meal! At least that's what I was taught. Weren't you? Or does the schnapps not count as a drink worthy of its own bracha since it is merely for cleaning the mouth? (But then, arguably, it's even less part of the meal!) — SAH, Aug 04 '17 at 07:26
@DanF "...by eating OR drinking": My site has: "In between eating fish and meat, one must eat a piece of bread or other solid food to clean his mouth. Sepharadim must ALSO drink something" — SAH, Aug 04 '17 at 07:27
@DoubleAA - I do not have two different kinds of meat at the same time, ie, on the same plate. — ezra, Aug 06 '17 at 19:10
@ezra you mean no chicken and cow on the same plate at the same time? — Double AA, Aug 06 '17 at 19:12

score 6 · Answer 1 · edited Jun 16 '20 at 10:41

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That is a mis-translation. This is the Hebrew text:

קיצור שולחן ערוך סימן לג

אסור לאכול דג עם בשר, ואפילו עם שומן עופות מפני הסכנה.

Translated (by me):

It is forbidden to eat fish with meat, even with goose fat, because of a danger.

Which means that one should not each fish with meat or fish with goose fat (poultry). I'm pretty sure it's not just goose fat but all poultry, but not sure why goose fat was picked as the example. Perhaps that is how fish was cooked in those times....

edited Jun 16 '20 at 10:41

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answered Aug 02 '17 at 20:29

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Yes, goose fat was a very common cooking "oil" then. Traditional Latkes were fried in it. – Shalom Aug 02 '17 at 20:58
@Shalom, Isn't there a chanuka song supposedly attributed to Ibn Ezra(?) about frying in goose liver? – user6591 Aug 02 '17 at 23:59
@Moses613 Thanks for your answer but I'm confused. Are you re-translating the same kitzur that I linked? The English text includes additional words: "Eating meat with fish OR FOWL, even if one just cooked them together." Where did the extra 2 words come from? – SAH Aug 03 '17 at 17:08
@SAH Ummm, not to get on your case, here, but ... you didn't link directly to the "Kitzur". You linked to an article that cites the Kitzur. – DanF Aug 03 '17 at 17:33
@SAH They came from a mis-translation..... – Aug 03 '17 at 19:49
@Moses613 Do you have evidence that it is pure mistranslation, and not a correct translation from a different edition of the Hebrew? – SAH Aug 03 '17 at 19:55
@SAH I have not cross-checked it with other editions. As far as translations go - Mi Yodea users love to comment and if by now no-one took issue with this translation, I hereby submit that as evidence. – Aug 04 '17 at 06:10
@Moses613 While I wish I could take your entirely-good translation as evidence that the other one is a mistranslation--rather than, perhaps, translation of a different original--I cannot :( ...I would add that no one other than you has taken issue with the translation in the other question. One poster even says he follows that minhag! – SAH Aug 04 '17 at 07:02
@SAH Since I've posted a Hebrew version of this halacha, the burden of proof would lie on the other poster to back up his version. – Aug 05 '17 at 20:18

Is there a prohibition on eating meat and poultry together?

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