Opuscula Thoughts on Pesach and Avot

PESACH 5778 rapidly is approaching. How do I know. The place is a mini-madhouse with “pre-P” cleaning.

מה נשתנה הלילה הזה

On the first night of Passover, three grandchildren will be singing the question. The eldest will have to get an extra part since the three-year-old twins will outshout their almost seven-year-old sister.

The children learned the question at school; the grand-daughter is an “old hand” at singing the song.

I’ve heard lots of rabbinical comments about the “son unable to ask” – OK, make that “the child unable to ask”; more on that later.

My Spouse pointed out that the question reads: ושאינו יודע לשטול את פתח לו

The hagadah clearly shows את and NOT אתה.

Why would the rabbis write that the mother will be the one to ask for the child “who does not know how to ask”?

Because – and we all know it – the child’s initial education comes at the child's mother’s breast, and later at her knees. Dad is off doing something else – working, studying, but not tending to a small child’s needs.

I never noticed this before and I am, as Yehudah ben Teima contends, of the age of a “hoary head”¹ so this is hardly my first time reading the hagadah.

Ben Teima's comments appear in almost every sedur² remarking

To be fair, my Spouse is an educator and before semi-retirement, was head of Judaics and Hebrew at a Jewish day school; she knows her “stuff.”

One of my favorite Pesach things starts on the second day when we take out Pirke Avot (or Avos, if that’s how your forebears pronounced the word).

We – actually my Spouse – has a LARGE PRINT Avot from the ArtScroll Mesorah Series., complete with “an anthologized commentary and anecdotes.” Beautiful book.

Even before we get to Misnah 1 there’s a lesson to be learned.

We say it every Shabat where I make minyan: כל ישראל יש להם חלק לעולם הבא",

Note it is לעולם הבא and NOT בעולם הבא.

This version of Avot commnts that we have a “share toward the World to come," suggesting “olam haba is something we create for ourselves by the way we live in this world. We gain olam haba by working toward it" by performing mitzvoth. (Emphasis from the book.)

The Pesach hagadah, Avot, and the Torah have many things in common. To me, the most obvious one is that no matter how many times it is read, the reader can find something he (or she) never saw before.

AS FOR “SON” VS. “CHILD”

If we don’t educate our daughters – both in “general studies” and in :”things Jewish” we are depriving future generations of knowledge.

Children, boys and girls, learn behavior and habits – both good and bad – during their formative years; those years beginning in the cradle.

If a mother lacks knowledge, the child will get off to a slow start.

The child may be able to “catch up,” but catching up will be at the expense of other things and may be more difficult than learning things by osmosis.

Osmosis is a major influence on how we learn to speak (unfortunately, electronic media – tv, computers, notebooks, tablets, etc. and et al have replaced books as vocabulary builders).

To be a little “indelicate,” it’s what is between the ears, not between the legs that should determine how we educate all of our children.

Sources

1. Avot 5:21

2. Avot 5:23 and Pesachim 112a; immediately after R, Ismael’s 13 medot and just before the “Al Israel” kadish.

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

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Opuscula Boycott scotch

BOYCOTTING IS A POPULAR SPORT. The Boycott, Divest, (and) Sanction (BDS) movement against Israel has world-wide support , primarily from people who have never even been to Israel, let along lived there.

What has scotch – probably the most preferred alcoholic drink among Jews – go to do with boycotts, and why should Jews boycott the whisky?

Because apparently anti-Semitism is alive and well in Scotland where ignorant bigots are loose on the streets waving the flag of a county that never existed in the entire history of the world.

Truth in blogging: I prefer Irish and Bourbon whiskeys and arak to scotch, a flavor that falls somewhat below rum and vodka on my list of high proof potables.

Scotland is the home of the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC) ¹

The party’s web site, http://www.scottishpsc.org.uk/, is one canard after another. A sample: Israeli Army child prisoner abuse is policy and driven from the top.

The group’s misguided and ignorant rants might be acceptable under “free speech” legislation, but it has turned violent.

According to London’s Jewish Chronicle ², An activist connected to the group was found guilty of racially abusing Nisan Ayalon, who operates stalls selling Israeli cosmetics. The report continued: The campaign group Jewish Human Rights Watch (JHRW) has accused the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign of "targeting" a Jewish businessman for selling Israeli goods.

Ally Coutts was found guilty of racially abusing Nisan Ayalon, who operates stalls selling Israeli cosmetics, earlier this month.

Coutts, 57, is a prominent member of the SPSC.

Mr Ayalon, a Jewish businessman based in Aberdeen, owns Jericho SkinCare, which sells products containing minerals extracted from the Dead Sea.

He claims to have already been “hounded out” of Glasgow.

The Jewish Chronicle notes that on this occasion and two others, SPSC members were NOT charged with committing a racially motivated crime. (If pro-”Palestinians” attack Jews, how can the crime NOT “racially motivated”? Perhaps the Scottish magistrates are imbibing a little bit too much of the national drink.)

The SPSC brags, on its site, that it has prevented Scots from seeing entertainment from Israel simply because the SPSC’s bigotry is not limited to its own membership; it succeeds in imposing its ignorance on people who have open minds.³

REAL bigots live in South Africa where the ANC government rejected out of hand an Israeli offer to help mitigate the suffering in Cape Town where residents soon will die of dehydration. The Scots are moving in the same “cut off their nose to spite themselves” direction.

NOW THERE’S AN ALTERNATIVE TO SCOTS' “SCOTCH"

There is now a growing number of distilleries4 in Israel, making a variety of potables, include pseudo-Bourbon, pseudo-scotch, rum, gin, and of course maheyah (arak) from various plants.

Why “pseudo”? The only alcoholic beverage that may be called “Bourbon” must be made in the U.S.; likewise, scotch whisky only be distilled in Scotland, Irish in Ireland. Rum, gin, vodka, arak and most other alcoholic beverages may be made anywhere and every where the raw materials are available.

Presumably, if Israeli distillers age their products in casks formerly used to contain kosher wines, makpedim will be dancing in the streets (even before imbibing).

Sources

1. http://tinyurl.com/y93zkuep

2. http://tinyurl.com/y74p9byu

3. http://tinyurl.com/yazrqt9x

4. http://tinyurl.com/ybhs8awd

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

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Opuscula Israel gives neighbors US$7.8 BILLION gift While slighting soldiers

Israel’s Gift to Arab Neighbors: Free Broadcast of FIFA World Cup¹

Israel has purchased the rights to broadcast one of the most popular international sporting events, the FIFA World Cup, to large swaths of the Arab world.

By: World Israel News

The Israeli Broadcasting Authority (Kan) for the first time bought the rights to broadcast in Arabic the FIFA World Cup, reportedly paying close to US$7.8 billion for the privilege.

On its official Arabic Facebook page, “Israel Speaks Arabic,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry announced the move, noting that the broadcast would be available for free for residents of neighboring Arab countries. Prior to 2018, a Qatari-owned network, beIN, maintained a monopoly on Arabic broadcasts of events such as the World Cup.

Israel’s World Cup broadcasts will reach Arab-speaking football fans in Judea and Samaria, Lebanon, Egypt, and Jordan. With teams competing from countries such as Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia, Israel’s broadcasts could draw massive audiences.

When Qatar’s beIN broadcast the World Cup, it charged each family viewing the event about $45. While Israel’s broadcast will be free, some individuals in the Arab world promoted conspiracies regarding Israel’s decision to air the event.

Others took to social media to express excitement about viewing the event gratis.

Israel did not qualify for the World Cup in 2018, with its only appearance in the international competition occurring in 1970 when the event took place in Mexico. Soccer, or football as it is known in most parts of the world, has been rocked with anti-Semitism scandals recently, with fans denigrating the memory of Holocaust survivors such as Anne Frank and sanctioning bodies accused of promoting anti-Israel agendas.

Ed. Hopefully Israelis -- Jews, Muslims, and others -- will be able to watch the matches on Israeli tv, in Hebrew and in Arabic.

AND THEN, on the same web page . . .

Send Passover Food Packages to Israeli Soldiers

We are honored to thank the young men and women of the IDF who risk their lives to protect the citizens of Israel. Join us in sending Passover food packages (and personal notes) to Israeli soldiers and their families.

Bring Passover joy and blessing to the heroes of Israel who defend our freedom every day! Many soldiers spend the Passover holiday with needy families back home. The soldiers greatly appreciate your love and concern.

Sources

1. http://tinyurl.com/yazamthd

2. https://unitedwithisrael.net/passover/?c=asc

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

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Opuscula And you thought That product Was K4P for us

Original title: “Pesach Lists for Sepharadim”

The following was provided by Rabbi Mordechai Lebhar in conjunction with the Sephardic Halacha Center ¹

Question: Can Sepharadim rely on the facts that food products that contain kitniyot derivatives such as corn syrup, corn alcohol, etc., and no hametz do not need a Kosher for Passover certification?

Short Answer: No

Long Answer: Read on

Sepharadim do not follow the Ashkenaic practice of avoiding kitniyot. (Some Sepharadim refrain from rice and/or hummus). This presents a unique dilemma for Sepharadim who live in North America.

As the kashrut agencies are for the most part run by Ashkenazim, many products that contain kitniyot derivatives, such as corn syrup, corn based vinegar, and corn-based sugar are not acceptable. This should present no issue for Sepharadim, if so, one could suggest that as long as the item does not contain any trace of wheat in the production, we should be safe to assume that it is Kasher Lepesach. Accordingly,if one would read the label of certain products, such as mayonnaise, and sees that it does not contain any hametz in its ingredients he should assume it’s fine.

After further research and discussion with Kashrut experts who are intimately involved with the different ingredients that go into each products, we have discovered that in many products that one would assume has no trace of wheat could very well have traces of hametz and in some instances a substantial amount that would not be nullified before Pesach.

The following are based on the findings of Rabbi Avraham Juravel, a world renowned kashrut expert Rabbinic Coordinator for the OU. Due to his vast experience on the field, he was able to give us an insider’s view on the potential challenges of relying on ingredients only.

Here are a few examples:

Corn alcohol, corn vinegar and corn sugar

Mayonnaise contains vinegar derived from corn , one would think this does not pose a kashrut concern for Sepharadim as it is merely a derivative of kitniyot, however, corn alcohol, corn vinegar and corn sugar all begin life as corn starch, which is obtained by washing the starch from ground corn. The water in the starch solution is then boiled off until only the powdery starch remains. ADM, America’s largest corn processor, makes cornstarch and wheat starch using the same re circulated water. The corn alcohol that emerges may appear innocent enough on a label, but it is hametz. Similarly, Cargill’shuge dextrose plants in France and Germany, have different buildings house the production of corn dextrose and wheat dextrose, but the same water circulates through both. It’s all hametz.

Furthermore, bacteria and beta-amylase,an enzyme, are added to a cornstarch solution to convert the starch to alcohol.But beta-amylase isusually made by soaking barley in water for an extended period. In response to customer inquiries, the company hasasserted in writing that the product contains only corn. It is hametz. It is not certain that the amount of wheat absorbed would be batelbeshishim.

Vinegar

White vinegar is made from either wheat or corn alcohol, to which is usually added a starter, typically vinegar from an earlier production.

A large U.S. vinegar producer requested Pesach certification for its apple cider vinegar. Hametz vinegars are produced in the same plant, but the company insisted that the apple cider vinegar used a dedicated line and thus was never contaminated by hametz.

One prominent Kashrut expert once examined the plant and found that it produces two kinds of apple cider vinegar: regular, whichutilizes a starter, and natural, which doesn’t. A single tank in the facility is used to hold starter. At different times this tank contains barley malt vinegar, white vinegar, and “regular” apple cider vinegar. The barley and wheat starters make the starter tank hametz, because kibush davarcharif doesn’t require 24 hours to make kavush kemevushal. The starter tank, in turn, makes the regular apple cider vinegar hametz. As a result, even though the cider vinegars have a dedicated line, that line is hametz from the regular cider vinegar that contains starter from the hametz starter tank.

Denatured alcohol

Denatured alcohol is one to which a denaturant—a foul-tasting chemical—has been added to make it inedible, thereby exempting it from the higher U.S. taxes on potable alcohol. One eligible denaturant is ethyl acetate. Is vinegar manufactured from corn alcohol denatured with ethyl acetate kasher lepesach?

Rav Yaakov Blauzt”l ruled that it is not. Most ethyl acetate is made from either hametz alcohol or hametz acetic acid. Although the ratio of alcohol to ethyl acetate is greater than 60:1, because it is specifically made to give taste (avidaleta’ama) it’s not batel.

Citric acid

Citric acid, called lemon acid (humtzat limon ) in Israel, is no longer produced from fruit industrially anywhere in the world. It’s made from a sugar-like dextrose, which can be derived from corn, wheat, or tapioca. As noted above, corn dextrose is often made with water that was used to boil wheat.

Carrageenan

Carrageenan, used on Pesach even by Ashkenazim, is made from seaweed cooked in alcohol. Sometimes the alcohol source is barley, as in one major South Korean factory. Therefore, carrageenan needs hashgacha for Pesach, even though there is no alcohol in the final product.

These are but a few examples of the complexities in food production nowadays. It is very difficult to assume anything in the Kashrut world based on ingredients without proper supervision.

Pesach is a time where our ancestors always strove to never to have any doubt of Hametz in our vicinity. To not purchase food that one is unsure whether it contains Hametz is definitely something we should strive for!

There are Pesach lists available that one can find for products for Sepharadim as well.²

Hag Kasher Vesameach

Sources

1. The Sephardic Halacah Center: https://theshc.org/

2. Kashrut.com: http://www.kashrut.com/Passover/

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Opuscula Making grill K4P

TWO THINGS ARE CONVERGING:
* Cleaning my propane bar-be-cue (barbecue) and
* Kashering the thing to be Kosher for Pesach.

On motze Shabat I was watching Cook’s Country, apparently a successor to America’s Test Kitchen.

Most of the folks from the latter program, except for host Christopher Kimball, seem to have transitioned to the new Cook’s Corner hosted by two women who were regulars on America’s Test Kitchen.
The format is the same – recipes, taste tests, and reviews of kitchen tools.

Today, I decided to see what some kashrut agencies determined how I could kasher (make kosher) my propane-fueled barbecue.

FIRST, CLEAN THE GRILL.
I had been using a mixture of ammonia and water and plenty of elbow grease. My second born son gave me some special mats to keep the grill beneath them clean; they work pretty good and they are “dishwasher safe.” Even with the mats, fats from the meat – especially lamb – permeates the grill so I have to scrub down everything, including the warming rack above the grill. Could be worse.

The mats cannot -- alas -- be kashered for Pesach so after the hag I will have to throughly clean the unit again.

My daughter forbids the use of a steel brush to clean the grill since she read that the bristles can come off during the cleaning process.

ANYWAY, Cook’s Country’s program for motze Shabat was about barbecuing meat.

The way the ladies cleaned the grill was simple.

Get the grill HOT. 300^o F (~130^o C) or higher.

Use a (daughter-forbidden) wire brush to scrape the grilling surfaces; because the surfaces were heated to a high temperature, anything adhering is (they said) easily knocked off.

That seems a much easier process than my water and ammonia bath, but it does burn up a little propane.

Once the grill is clean and hot, put the burners on HIGH, close the barbecue’s top, and let the unit heat for about 30 minutes.

(My barbecue has an integrated thermometer so I can watch as the inside temperature rises well above 300^o F.)
After about 30 minutes at the highest temperature, shut off the fuel and let the barbecue cool.

Once cool, remove the parts (whatever can be removed short of attacking it with screwdrivers and pliers).

Wipe all exposed parts to eliminate any residue from the heating.

IMPORTANT Make certain all the oil is removed from all the parts.

Wash (hose down?) parts off to make certain there are no stubborn particles – that would be of no concern since (a) they would fall into the category that a dog would refuse to eat them and (b) they will be canceled out by the blessings when any hametz is burned.

HOWEVER, acording to my favorite, strictly "O" rabbi,
"It is useful to note that if there are significantly sized removable particles or even oil residue at the end, the entire process needs to be redone.

"Secondly, the declaration of bitul will not help here. If there is even minute edible hameitz residue and it gets into the food, no amount of sales, declarations, or nullification will help you."

Carefully inspect each part before reassembling – just to be sure

Let everything dry and reassemble.

ON MEAT AND FISH There are those who don’t cook or eat meat and fish together. The universally permitted way to cook fish on a grill also used for meat is to wrap the fish in foil. (The alternative is to buy additional grills – one for fish, one for meat.)

WHEN YOU ARE READY to use the grill, heat the grill to the desired temperature. Then wet a wadded up paper towel with oil – any kosher oil is OK -- and, holding it with long tongs (a critical piece of equipment here), oil the grilling surface. As the oiled paper towel is wiped on the grill, there could be an occasional flare up (ergo the reason for the long tongs).

I am not a rabbi nor do I play one on tv. Check with your own rabbi.

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

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Opuscula Irish whiskeys NOT matured In ex-wine casks

ACCORDING TO MOST rabbinical authorities, it is allowed to age spirits – notably Irish whiskeys and scotch whiskys – in casks that formerly held non-kosher wine.

Rabbi Akiva Niehaus, Rabbinical Coordinator for cRc-Kosher – Chicago Rabbinical Council kindly cited references that would permit such whiskeys to both Ashkenazim and Sefardim. He is a rabbi – specializing in kashrut concerns; I am neither a rabbi nor expert in kashrut. I respect R. Niehaus’ opinion; I simply don’t accept it for my personal kashrut.

Never mind that the wine that had been in those casks would not be permitted if poured from barrel to bottle to glass.

Never mind that the REASON the whiskeys are aged in former wine casks is so the whiskey will absorb color and taste from the residue in the cask.

Finally, never mind that the 1/60th rule cannot apply since it applies to accidental mixtures, not –as in the case of the whiskeys, a deliberate mixing.

STILL, FOR THOSE WHO ARE “MAKPED” about their spirits, there ARE whiskeys and whiskys that are aged only in containers other than ex-wine casks.

The “weasel wording” above is because some potables are matured in former Bourbon barrels or “virgin” barrels; a few are aged in rum casks that were never used for wine.

The lists below for Irish whiskey and rums are primarily from the Celtic Whiskey Shop & Wines on the Green web site (http://www.celticwhiskeyshop.com/).

This site lists, whenever possible, the containers in which the spirits are aged.

The same base URL provides information about other potables, including scotch, rum, and vodka, among others. Not all spirits are fully documented, but a great many are. Worst case, it greatly reduces the number of distilleries a curious person needs to contact.

CAVEAT When I asked the folks at one distillery if any of their products were NOT aged in wine casks, the reply was that some products were certified kosher by the chief rabbi. That, of course, did not answer my question re wine casks. (As it turned out, ALL of this distillery’s brand name products are aged in former wine casks.)

As an aside, a fellow I know used to frequently bring a bottle of Chivas Regal to his rabbi. The fellow changed synagogues. When he brought a bottle of Chivas to the new synagogue, the rabbi told him it wasn’t kosher (for the new rabbi) and to take the bottle away. Chivas is a blend of scotches, some of which are aged in former wine casks (according to an email from a Chivas spokes person).

Anyone who is not a “makped” can refer to the liquor lists from the major certification agencies¹ in the U.S. However, be forewarned that the lists will not agree; what this agency considers “kosher” may be considered, if not trafe then at least “not kosher” by another agency. Some use both "acceptable" and "certified" to rate products; the difference escapes me.

The following Irish whiskeys were aged in former Bourbon barrels – with the exception of Hyde 10 year old Rum Cask Finish that is aged in rum casks that never held wine.

Click to enlarge image.

Sources

1. Spirits lists
cRc: http://www.crcweb.org/LiquorList.pdf
JSOR: http://www.jsor.org/PDF/KosherLiquorListfix.pdf
Star K: http://tinyurl.com/ya96gsuk

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

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Opuscula Death camps

GIVE THE POLES A BREAK.

The camps were no more “Polish” than a Jew from Morocco (or Iraq of Syria or Turkey) is a “Arab Jews.” They are Jews and descendants of Jews who now live or who lived in a country where the majority population is Arab.

“Moroccan Jew” is acceptable for a Jew living in,or descended from a Jew who lived in, Morocco.

Likewise “American Jew” for a Jew in the U.S. (or strictly speaking, in Canada).

But “Arab Jew?” Not hardly.

Similarly, the death camps are “nazi death camps” in Poland. True, all of the death camps were in Poland. Were the Poles more enthusiastic in plundering and murdering Jews than, say, the Ukrainians or Hungarians? How about the Czechs and the Russians (Soviets)? According to Massacres and Atrocities of World War II (http://members.iinet.net.au/~gduncan/massacres_east.html), there was no shortage of people willing to murder Jews in Europe. After all, killing Jews was profitable; the murderers could plunder the Jews’ property with impunity.

The only difference between the death camps in Poland at the rest of Europe is that the nazi death camps were more efficient in executing and disposing of Jews – and others the nazis felt were sub-human – than firing squads or special vans into which carbon monoxide from the vans’ engines was fed.

No matter where they went in Europe, the nazis found enthusiastic support for killing Jews.

Was Poland any worse than any place else? Were the Poles any less sensitive to the smell of burning flesh; where they more innocent of what was happening in their back yards than, say, the Hungarians?

To state that Auschwitz II–Birkenau were “Polish” death camps is incorrect. They were nazi death camps in Poland.

Poland is not denying all of the death camps were in Poland, but it does object to having the camps referred to a “Polish death camps.”

Call the camps what they were: nazi death camps.

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

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