Drinking breast milk from a lactating woman is a controversial topic in Judaism. There are arguments on both sides about whether it is permitted or forbidden according to Jewish law. In this article, we will examine the key considerations around the kosher status of human breast milk.
Overview of Kosher Laws
To understand whether breast milk is kosher, we first need to understand some of the basics of kashrut (Jewish dietary laws). According to Jewish law, for a food to be kosher it must meet the following requirements:
- It must come from an animal that chews its cud and has split hooves (e.g. cows, sheep, goats). Pigs are not kosher.
- It cannot contain blood.
- Meat and dairy cannot be mixed together.
- Grape products made by non-Jews cannot be consumed.
In addition, there are specific rules around the kosher preparation and processing of foods. The key considerations around breast milk’s kosher status have to do with the meat/dairy mixing rules and whether human milk constitutes a dairy product.
Breast Milk’s Classification in Jewish Law
Breast milk does not neatly fit into the meat or dairy categories. While it is a milk product, it does not come from one of the kosher milk-producing animals. There is debate over how it should be classified.
Some rabbis argue that human breast milk should be considered a dairy product in terms of kosher law. Just as cow’s milk is dairy, human milk can be classified as human dairy. Others say human milk does not have the same status as animal milk in kashrut.
There are also differing opinions on whether breast milk constitutes a meat product. Some say that since it comes from a human, it should be considered a meat. Others argue that it does not actually come from human flesh, so should not be viewed as a meat.
Potential Classifications:
- Dairy product
- Meat product
- Neutral product
This ambiguity around classification is a key part of the debate around breast milk’s kosher status.
Does Breast Milk Violate the Prohibition on Meat & Dairy?
One of the main kosher considerations around breast milk is whether it would violate the Biblical prohibition against mixing meat and dairy. According to the Torah, it is forbidden to cook a kid (young goat) in its mother’s milk. The rabbis extended this law to a general prohibition against consuming any meat and dairy products together.
If human breast milk is considered both a dairy and meat product, then the consumption of breast milk would seem to violate the banned mixture of meat and dairy. However, if breast milk is viewed as being a neutral product or just a dairy product, then the meat/dairy mixture rules may not apply.
Positions:
- Breast milk is forbidden because it violates meat/dairy rules
- Breast milk is permitted because it’s a neutral product
- Breast milk is permitted because it’s solely a dairy product
This issue forms a large part of the debate around the permissibility of consuming breast milk.
Other Kosher Considerations
Beyond the classification and meat/dairy issues, some additional considerations come into play when evaluating breast milk’s kosher status:
- Medical need – There is greater leniency when it comes to compromising on kosher laws for essential medical needs. If a person needs to consume breast milk for health reasons, there may be more grounds to permit it.
- Sexual relations – Some rabbis point out that in some cases, such as a man drinking milk directly from his wife’s breast, there is an intimacy that breaches bounds of modesty in Jewish law. This would be a separate issue beyond just kashrut rules.
- Baby’s status – Since breast milk is a natural, essential food source for infants, consuming one’s mother’s milk as a baby is generally considered permissible even if adult consumption might be prohibited. The baby’s need for nourishment outweighs other considerations.
So while the kosher status of breast milk ultimately comes down to its classification and the meat/dairy rules, there are some contextual factors that might also have an impact.
Perspectives on Consuming Breast Milk
Given the various considerations around breast milk’s status in Jewish law, there are differing rabbinic opinions on the permissibility of adults consuming breast milk:
Forbidden
Some rabbis forbid drinking breast milk because:
- They view breast milk as both a meat and dairy product, causing it to be prohibited mixtures.
- Concerns about modesty/sexuality come into play.
- It is considered an inappropriate diversion from normative eating/drinking behaviors.
Permitted
Other rabbis permit drinking breast milk because:
- They view breast milk as solely a dairy product, avoiding meat/dairy issues.
- It can serve a medical need in some cases.
- The human body is naturally designed to consume it, so it cannot be unnatural or forbidden.
Context Dependent
Some hold that drinking breast milk is neither blanketly permitted or forbidden, but rather depends on:
- The intentions/relationship dynamics of the specific situation
- Whether there is an essential medical need present
- The scenario’s level of modesty and alignment with ethical Judaism
So permissibility depends on the context according to this view.
Implications for Nursing & Pumping
Given that consuming breast milk directly from the source raises some additional concerns around intimacy and modesty, many rabbis treat this case differently than consuming pumped milk. Even rabbis who permit drinking stored breast milk may forbid direct nursing or pumping from the breast in non-infant circumstances.
Pumping or direct nursing might be permitted if:
- The milk is going to one’s own baby
- There is a strong medical need
- The husband and wife have a need to bond through this act
But in general, sources other than one’s own baby drinking directly is viewed less favorably than consuming pumped milk, which separates the consumption from bodily intimacy issues.
Modern Applications
In the modern era, breast milk consumption has moved beyond just nursing infants. Some applications that have kosher implications include:
- Bodybuilding – Some athletes believe breast milk provides nutritional benefits over cow’s milk. But most rabbis would likely forbid consuming it regularly for this reason alone given the lack of an absolute medical necessity.
- Fetishes – Consuming breast milk as part of sexual activities/fetishes would almost certainly be forbidden on modesty grounds, regardless of the milk’s kosher status itself.
- Wet nursing – Historically when a mother could not nurse her own child, another woman would be hired to breastfeed the baby. The permissibility depended on the specific circumstances.
- Milk banks – Today, donor breast milk is informally shared and also distributed through milk banks. Depending on the milk source, some may permit consuming such milk for medical reasons while others would not.
Modern technology has enabled more ways to extract, store, and consume human breast milk. But the fundamental kosher status issues remain the same in analyzing whether these applications are permitted or forbidden.
Conclusion
There are cogent arguments on both sides of the debate around whether consuming breast milk is permitted according to Jewish dietary law. The key considerations have to do with how breast milk is categorized, whether it violates the meat/dairy mixture rules, and the context surrounding the specific circumstances. Given these complexities, different rabbis have come to differing conclusions on the kosher status of breast milk. Consumption is certainly permitted for babies, while direct pumping or nursing from a woman other than one’s own mother is typically forbidden except for strong medical need. Regarding just drinking stored milk, permissibility often comes down to the specific viewpoint on how breast milk aligns with the kosher rules and the spiritual purposes they are meant to serve.