Save Passover!

Those annual "Keep the Christ in Christmas" campaigns are intriguing. The Christians have a point that their holiday has become much more than that--one celebrated by Christians, non-Christians and (misguided) Jews. Now we see attempts to celebrate Passover with unheard-of levels of non-kosher food. These attempts attest to the holiday's popularity.

I just received an emailed "Spring Event" Jewish singles party invitation at a River North nightspot. It's scheduled for next Thursday night, an intermediate day on the Passover week. If the bar were kosher-for-Passover and the appetizers were limited to kosher-for-Passover catering, this party would be a nice complement to the holiday. Unfortunately, that is not the case. The invitation acknowledges as much by noting "Passover style" appetizers (or "treif," as I would put it) and lists the cocktails available, including rum. I pointed out to the host the only kosher-for-Passover alcohol I can think of is potato vodka--not very exciting.

Before I noticed the warning attached to the end of the invitation (reprinted below), I fired off a response to the host expressing my extreme disappointment with his decision to arrange a party over Passover. I suggested that next year he host a Shavuous-themed party (but not on Shavuous), with kosher wine, cheese and cheesecake.

What disappoints me so much is that this is the one Abrahamic faith in which we see so many examples of Jewish groups and institutions playing fast and loose with the rules. Think of other faiths and try to imagine:

1. A Christian singles group or website hosting a singles event during Holy Week.
2. A Christian singles group or website hosting a singles event on Christmas Eve, after sunset.
3. A Muslim singles group or website hosting a daytime event with food during Ramadan.
4. A mosque or Muslim group hosting an event at which alcohol is served.
5. A Latter-Day Saints singles group or website hosting a dance event at which alcohol and Coca-Cola are served.

These suggestions are absurd and ridiculous because they would never happen. Christians consider their holy dates holy. So do Muslims, and they take their fast month (and alcohol abstention) seriously. I think the Mormon bans on mixed dancing, alcohol and caffeine are silly, but that's their business, not mine. Yet over Passover, we are invited to attend:

1. A Jewish singles event that advertises it will be serving food and drink that is not kosher-for-Passover.
2. Synagogues all over town hosting seders that are not kosher-for-Passover and indicated as such.
3. Non-kosher restaurants hosting seders that, surprise, are not kosher-for-Passover.

Am I missing something? Why are people (most of whom, I suspect, are well-meaning) trying to take Passover away from us? Do your part: take back Passover! There's a reason for the season! Keep kosher for Passover! Avoid non-kosher seders! Stay away from kosher restaurants--just for this week! Avoid events that serve non-kosher food and drink!

Most people don't keep strict kosher. But everyone can do his or her part to maintain the integrity of the holiday. More than any other, this holiday defines the Jewish people. Let's keep it that way.


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The text of the singles event invitation disclaimer:

"If you have any questions or concerns please email us at info@----------.com. If you have concerns regarding a strict adherence to the laws of Pesach and Kashrut, please contact us for more information."

The disclaimer shouldn't say, "[P]lease contact us for more information" if you have concerns. It should say, "We recommend you join us another time." But that would run counter to the hosts' goal, which is to pack the nightclub with as many Jews as they can fit.

KFP seder at Chabad/Bucktown

One would think "kosher-for-Passover" seder would be redundant. HA! Enjoy the delicious home cooking at Chabad of Bucktown's new space. Seders both nights and very reasonably priced.

pesach2_690146 from JabMedia on Vimeo.

"But I go to my parents' seder every year."

There is no excuse for a treif (non-kosher) seder. None.

Shalom bayis? (Peace in the home?)

There is no excuse for a treif seder.

Someone who regularly attends one or both non-kosher seders with his or her parents has several options to stay kosher for the seder meals.

1. Offer to go shopping with the chef (Mom or Dad). Armed with the Passover shopping list, hit the Passover aisle and use kosher-for-Passover ingredients and food. Reserve or pick up the kosher chicken or brisket from the live deli or kosher butcher.

2. If that doesn't work, declare your intention to have a completely separate kosher meal, which you will prepare yourself. I admit transporting all the food to the parents' house may prove difficult, and the kosher consumer may be fighting for counter and oven space in the kitchen, which isn't kaschered anyway.

3. Send regrets and attend the seders at friends whose seders are strictly kosher for Passover. Explain your commitment to keeping kosher for Passover. Suggest Sunday, April 4--the fourth day of Chol Ha'Moed*--as an alternative family visit day, when you can visit at home or do an activity around town. (Remember to pack a kosher-for-Passover lunch or snack for yourself.)

So many people spend hours cleaning their kitchens and preparing the seder meals. They want to show off their hard work by hosting many guests, including guests whose own kitchens are not kosher, and guests experiencing a kosher seder for the first time. Don't disappoint them! Take advantage of this opportunity to enjoy a kosher seder the way it was meant to be.


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*Chol Ha'Moed refers to the intermediate days of Passover and Sukkos.

Make the exodus from non-kosher seders

It’s a shame that people gather for Passover seders that end up being not the slightest bit kosher and therefore not at all in the spirit of the joyous holiday that is so meaningful and central to the identity of the Jewish people.

I’m hardly the expert of tact. Nevertheless, seder guests unsure of their hosts’ kashrus (kosher) standards should ask the hosts: is your seder strictly kosher for Passover? The host should be able to answer emphatically “Yes” and explain:
1. The matzah to be used at the seder is kosher for Passover. That would seem to go without saying, but matzah sold year-round is not intended for Passover use. It says so on the box.
2. The meat (beef, chicken or both) is kosher-certified. (Passover certification is not necessary for kosher meat.)
3. The side dishes are raw materials, legume-free, or certified kosher-for-Passover.
4. The wine and soft drinks are certified kosher.
5. There are no dairy products on the table. If the seder is vegetarian, all dairy products are also certified kosher for Passover.
6. The kitchen, including the oven, was cleaned and kaschered prior to the seder.

If the host explains the meal will be like any other but without challah, then it’s not kosher, and guests should make other arrangements. Also carryout seder meals from “kosher-style” restaurants are not kosher. Here are two people who would be more than happy to host you:

Rabbi Yosef Moscowitz 773-772-3770
Rabbi Yochanan Posner 847-677-1770

Also Rabbi Zev Kahn can send you to a family who would be happy to host you: 773-817-4406.

FAQ:
1. I don’t know what to wear.
Men: shirt, tie and kipah. Ladies: skirt and blouse.
2. I won’t know anyone.
A great opportunity to network and meet others who may be experiencing a kosher seder for the first time.
3. I don’t know what to bring.
Supermarkets have packaged desserts in their Passover aisles; check for the circled “U” with the “P” next to it on the label.
3. I lost my Haggadah.
The hosts will be happy to lend you one. Also you can buy one from any bookstore.
4. I’m afraid it will run so late I won’t be able to go to work the next day.
Ask your boss if you can come in late due to the holiday.
5. I need to drive home.
Ask for grape juice instead of wine. And many hosts don’t insist on guests staying within walking distance.

Attend a non-kosher seder? Why?

From the ultra-orthodox to the non-observant, Jews across the spectrum complain about keeping Passover. Some say they can make it five days out of a total of eight. Some "keep" it all week but eat out at non-kosher restaurants and ask the kitchen to hold the bread. (Seriously. Please do not do this.) Some keep it seven days and say, "If seven days is good enough for Israel, it's good enough for me."

Stop the kvetch and think for a moment.

The Passover story in Exodus is that the Jews were slaves in Egypt. G-d told Moses to lead His people out of Egypt. Moses told the Pharaoh, "Let my people go," and with the assistance of numerous open miracles, the Jewish slaves escaped from Egypt after nearly three centuries of enslavement. Eventually they made it to what is now modern-day Israel and have been living there ever since.

Whether one believes the story in the Torah or not, one historical fact is unmistakable: at one point in history, there were no Jews. Later, there were Jews, and that hasn't changed.

The Haggadah (seder book companion) points out that in every generation, people attempt to destroy the Jewish people. The Pharaoh who knew not Joseph tried it. In the Purim story, Haman, the Persian leader's viceroy, tried it. Most famously, the leader of the previous German government tried it. Today, President Ahmadinejad of Iran wants to wipe out the Jews. Yet the Jews persevere, and the ancestors of the Jews make it despite the temptation to pretend they are not Jews and to assimilate into the non-Jewish majority.

In honor of the Jews who came before the current generation, I believe it is incumbent upon the Jewish people to give up challah and normal food for eight days.

That means not attending a non-kosher seder. I don't know why people hold non-kosher seders. I've never asked someone, so maybe the reply is, "We don't keep kosher during the rest of the year. What's the point?" Or, "It's just for the family to get together for a festive meal." But the non-kosher festive meal ruins the whole point of the holiday, in my opinion. The Jews came from Egypt, and now American Jews live in a country that allows us to celebrate and worship in the open, in peace. And we thank G-d by placing the chometzdik* butter next to the non-kosher meat, which is covered in chometzdik sauce? And that is appropriate just because of the family at the table?

I don't think it is. To make matters worse, many area synagogues further endorse this practice by hosting their own non-kosher seders. I was very surprised to find this schedule.

Just curious: as I recall, taking communion in a Catholic Church requires eating a wafer and drinking wine. How many Catholic churches substitute candy and diet Coke? Probably none of them. But dozens of synagogues can't be bothered with serving a kosher for Passover seder. They also have a ready excuse--that they are not kosher during the year.

The solution is to avoid seders are not absolutely, positively strictly kosher for Passover. Ask the organizer point-blank if the seder is kosher. If so, participants are entitled to ask who the caterer is or what the source kitchen is, and when it was kaschered (cleaned for Passover), or who the mashgiach is (kosher supervisor). If those questions cannot be answered directly, then it's time to move on to the next seder.


*"Chometz" is Hebrew for bread or any food product containing bread that is not kosher for Passover. "Chometzdik" is a Yiddishized adjective form.