Prohibition against slaughtering an animal and its offspring on the same day


The prohibition against slaughtering an animal and its offspring on the same day is a negative commandment in Judaism which forbids the slaughter of a kosher four-legged animal and its offspring on the same day.

Hebrew Bible

The commandment originates from a verse in the book of Leviticus that states:
The commandment is preceded by the instruction that a calf or lamb is only acceptable for sacrifice on the eighth day. The Hebrew Bible uses the generic word for bull or cow, and the generic word for sheep and ewe and the masculine pronoun form in the verb "slaughter-him"

Second Temple period

The earliest Jewish commentary on this commandment is found in the Temple Scroll among the Dead Sea scrolls:
The interpretation of the Dead Sea scrolls differs from later rabbinical Judaism in prohibiting the slaughter of a pregnant animal.
In the Septuagint of Hellenistic Judaism the passage was translated with moschos - the generic Greek word for bull or cow or calf.

Rabbinical interpretation

understood the prohibition to apply to both mother or father of the offspring. Rashi argued that the prohibition only applies to the mother; however Hizkuni argued that while the Biblical prohibition applies only to the mother, a rabbinic decree of lesser stringency also prohibits killing the father with its offspring. The Shulchan Aruch rules that it is uncertain whether the father is included, and therefore one must not slaughter the father with its offspring, but if done the punishment cannot be applied.
The "day" in question is defined as running from evening to evening, similar to Shabbat. Therefore, one could permissibly slaughter an animal in the late afternoon, and its offspring shortly afterwards at nighttime.