This word prompt gets me thinking. People call themselves fleishigs, but why do people often ask, “Are we milchigs yet?” Shouldn’t they ask, “Are we pareve?” You can’t really be milchigs, can you? The truth is, we can become milchig, although less frequently. A little-known rule in the kashrus world is that hard cheeses require a six-hour wait time. The opinions range from American cheese to aged cheeses regarding what qualifies as a “hard cheese” that bears this powerful stringency. “Six-hour cheeses” are a concern on Friday afternoon, as they may interfere with your Friday night Shabbos meal (maybe hold off on the Parmesan additive when eating your Caesar salad). Please direct all inquiries to your LOR. As it turns out, we really can become milchig.
Transitioning to Shavuos, the Torah is often compared to milk. There are numerous explanations for why we eat a dairy meal on this holiday. One of the reasons that underscores this connection is that just as milk spoils in fancy vessels but is preserved well in cheaper ones, the Torah is best preserved in a humble and accepting individual. Furthermore, the word chalav is numerically equivalent to 40, the same number of days Moshe received the Torah on Sinai. Lastly, some propose that the dairy meal is a response to the malachim who questioned our merit of receiving the Torah. Our implicit reply is that we understand the importance of separating the consumption of milk from meat, unlike the malachim who, when visiting Avraham, ate both together. Even our cheesecake and mozzarella sticks carry significance!
