Question
Does the Talmud ever explain why fish is regarded as parve (neither a Milk product nor a Meat product) and not meat? Thank you.
Answer
Hi! Very interesting question. The truth is that it’s the other way around. Chicken and other fowl are actually also parve according to the Torah, and it would have been permitted to cook them with milk. However, since people think of fowl as being meat-like, they would get confused, so there is a Rabbinical ordinance to treat fowl as meat. Fish, being less similar, is less confusing, and no ordinance was felt necessary.
Best wishes,
Michoel Reach