Eating dairy for the first course and meat for the second

Is it allowed to eat dairy dishes for the first course and meat dishes for the second during a meal?

Dear …!

In the Talmud (Hullin 105a) it states that it is permitted to eat dairy, and afterwards, in the same meal, to wipe and wash out one’s mouth and to eat meat. However, it’s forbidden to eat meat first, and then to eat dairy as part of the same meal. However, The Holy Zohar (chapter Mishpatim, folio 125a) talks very severely about someone who eats meat and dairy within a short time of each other or in the course of one meal. The passage implies that even someone who eats dairy first, then wipes and washes his mouth, and only then eats meat, is also subject to the harsh judgement described there. And this is what the authorities wrote in the name of the Zohar.

Shulchan Oruch (section Yoreh Deah, chapter 89, §2) rules that it is permitted to eat dairy for the first course and meat for the second, provided that several conditions are fulfilled (I will describe these below). However, it is forbidden to eat meat first, and then to eat dairy in the course of the same meal. However, the author of the Shulchan Oruch himself, in his commentary to Arbaa Turim (Beis Yosef, section Orach Chaim, chapter 173, §3) brings the words of the Zohar as a stringency that it is fitting to abide by. And this follows his general method, whereby in the Shulchan Oruch he rules as per the basic requirement of the law, but in Beis Yosef he also brings other issues that are worth fulfilling. And this is what many later commentaries (Levush, ch. 89, § 2; Beur HaGro, ibid., subsection 11 and others) wrote, that it’s worth it to be stringent and to follow the opinion expressed in the Zohar, that is, to avoid eating meat and dairy in the same meal. Thus, if someone wants to eat a dairy course and then a meat course, one should finish the first course, recite the Blessing after Meals, take a small break, for example, by taking a walk outside, and then eat the meat course as a new meal.

However, all the above refers to dairy dishes that do not contain hard cheese. The Remo commentary to the Shulchan Oruch (section Yoreh Deah, chapter 89, §2) writes that the custom is to be stringent and not to eat meat for six hours after eating hard cheese. Authorities write that this ruling is based on the abovementioned passage of the Zohar (we shall not discuss how exactly this ruling was derived from what is actually written in the Zohar). However, the Siphsei Cohen commentary to the Shulchan Oruch (ibid., subsection 6) writes that this prohibition applies only to cheeses that were aged for at least 6 months. As for the simple cheeses that are widely available today, there is a disagreement between authorities whether one has to wait for six hours after eating them. But if one eats an expensive hard cheese, it is quite likely that one would have to wait for six hours afterwards according to all opinions.

Therefore, practically, it’s recommended to be stringent in this, in accordance with what is stated in the Zohar. Besides that, there are communities that wait for half an hour between dairy and meat. Having said that, if someone wants to be lenient and only follow the strict letter of the law, one has to fulfill the following conditions:

1. Wash one’s hands. However, according to the Shulchan Oruch (section Yore Deah, chapter 89, §2) during the day, and nowadays, when we have good lighting at night, even at night, it’s enough to check that the hands are clean. (And if one is eating at night in a room that is not well-lit, one must wash one’s hands.) However, according to the opinion of Sifsei Cohen (ibid., subsection 9), one has to wash one’s hands even during the day, since sometimes hands are covered with a thin layer of milk or cheese fat, which is invisible even in daylight. The Pri Chadash (ibid.) rules that if someone ate using cutlery, one can be lenient during the day.
2. One has to chew something that cleans the teeth and doesn’t stick to them, such as wheat bread. One also has to drink water or some other liquid that will clean the mouth from the remainders of dairy foods. (See Shulchan Oruch, ibid.)
3. Obviously, one has to remove all the utensils that were used to eat dairy dishes. One also has to remove a parve pitcher that was used for drinks and the bread that was used with the dairy dishes. One has to bring another bread to eat with the meat. All this is necessary since there is a chance that these items were touched with hands which had a layer of milk fat on them.
4. The Mishnah Berurah (chapter 494, subsection 16) rules that in addition to this, one has to change the tablecloth that’s on the table between eating dairy and meat. Or, if the dairy was eaten on a table without a tablecloth, now the table has to be covered with a tablecloth (this could be a disposable nylon tablecloth) in order to eat meat on it. The author of Shayarei Knesses ha-Gdolah (section Orach Chaim, chapter 173, end of the commentary to Beis Yosef) writes that someone who is careful to follow this will merit to “eat from two tables”, that is, he’ll be both wise and wealthy.
5. For those whose custom is to wait six hours or even one hour after eating cheese, all this is conditioned upon their not having eaten cheese during the first course of their meal. And anyone who wants to eat meat for the second course should certainly avoid eating expensive hard cheese with strong taste and smell, which could have been aged for six months or more.

Shulchan Oruch (section Yoreh Deah, chapter 89, §2); Remo, Levush, Siphsei Cohen, Ha-Gro ibid.; Beis Yosef, section Orach Chaim, chapter 173, §3 in the name of The Holy Zohar (chapter Mishpatim, folio 125a); Mishnah Berurah (chapter 494, subsection 16)