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Nonetheless, there is a custom (due to reasons explained below) not to eat fish with dairy products, or at least not with milk. Even amongst those who follow this custom though, there is no required waiting period between the two; one just wipes his/her hands and rinses his/her mouth.
The custom stems from a statement in the Beit Yosef (book of Jewish law by 16th century Rabbi Yosef Karo, author of the Shulchan Aruch) where he forbids fish and milk for health reasons.2 That is the first mention of this prohibition in Jewish writings, and Rabbi Karo himself does not mention this prohibition in his other book on Jewish law, the Shulchan Aruch.
This has lead many commentators to say it is a scribal error, and it is supposed to say fish and meat. The prohibition of fish and meat is mentioned throughout Jewish writings3. Other commentators maintain it is not an error, and they say it is in fact forbidden.
This resulted in three customs. Sephardim, who follow Rabbi Yosef Karo as their primary Halachic authority, have the custom not to eat fish with any dairy product. Some Chassidim have the custom not to eat fish and milk, but they do eat fish and dairy (e.g. bagels, cream cheese, and lox). And many eat fish with all dairy products.4
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