MISC section - contents: Q May I (an Ashkenazi) eat on Pesach at the house of a S'fardi friend, food that was cooked in pots that he uses to cook kitniyot? If so, why? (They have assured me that all ingredients will be kitniyot free.) A The various questions of kitniyot on Pesach seem to have become so divisive over the last period of time that one can barely open his mouth on the topic without fear of attack or offending someone. However, the answer to this question should be acceptable to all combatants on the topic. The Terumat Hadeshen (one of the pillars of early Ashkenazic p'sak) (Responsa 113) says that although we are strict not to eat kitniyot, if a grain of kitniyot falls into a pot on Pesach, we are not so strict as to forbid the food, for the prohibition on a mixture containing any amount (mashehu) of chametz on Pesach does not apply to kitniyot. The Rama (Orach Chayim 453:1) concurs that if kitniyot fall into a pot we do not forbid the contents of the pot. (If one can find the kitniyot they must be removed - Mishna Berura ad loc.:8). The Terumat Hadeshen apparently permits the food in the pot only when there is a tiny amount, which would be batel (nullified) by standard food prohibitions, other than chametz on Pesach. However, most poskim under- stand that the Rama includes in his leniency any case where the kitniyot is a minority (Pri Chadash :1; Chuk Yaakov :5; Mishna Berura :9; see Bemareh Habazak IV, 51). Thus, while we never know exactly how much flavor comes out of the walls of a pot which has absorbed non-kosher food, we know that there will not be a majority of kitniyot in the "kosher for Ashkenazim" food that is cooked in the pots in question. One might want to claim that our case is more severe than that which the Rama discussed, because here one is purposely setting up the situation where he will rely on the fact that the minority kitniyot will be batel. (There, the grain fell in.) There is much to say about this, but we will concentrate on the question at hand, dealing with utensils, not b'en (actual pieces or juices of a forbidden object that are in the food directly, not expelled from the walls of the pot). We have precedents of foods that are permitted by certain communities and forbidden by others. (Regarding kitniyot, it is quite clear that the stringency, while binding on Ashkenzaic communities, is not something that is forbidden on its own merits, but based on custom - see Beit Yosef, OC 453). The Rama (Yoreh Deah 64:9) discusses the custom of the Jews of
the Rhine area to eat a certain type of animal fat that most other Jewish
communities felt was forbidden. He rules that although members of other
communities should not eat from this fat or from a food that contains 1/60th of
it, these others may use the utensils that this fat was cooked in. From here we
see that there is more room to allow cooking in the utensils of those who are
more lenient than others on a certain matter than to eat from a food that
contains a significant minority of such questionable food. As we have already
seen, most poskim permit eating a food that has in it a significant minority of
kitniyot. It is also quite clear that the likelihood of a serious prohibition is
stronger by the fat than by kitniyot. Thus, it follows that it is permitted
according to the Rama (who is the decisor for the Ashkenazi custom on kitniyot)
to eat from "kitniyot pots." See also YechaveDa'at V, 32, who comes to this
conclusion after presenting several more precedents. Although stringency on
Pesach has positive elements and times exist when one has cause to consider
where he should be eating, it is neither healthy nor halachically warranted in
our case to preclude such a large group of Jews from hostinganother large group
(see Rashi, Yevamot 88a). note: In last week's TT, right in this box, which followed the
Vebbe Rebbe's column, there was an Editor's Addition to the question and answer
of the Vebbe Rebbe. Problem is that we changed the question and answer at the
last minute, favoring a Pesach-related question rather than the one originally
submitted by Eretz Hemda for inclusion in last week's issue. Fact is, the one we
pulled dealt with the topic of B'CHOR and Pidyon HaBen (which is what the
Editor's Addition dealt with), which is actually Pesach- related, since the
sanctity of a first born is, in part, a result of the events of the night of the
Exodus. Be that as it may, we will IY"H include that Q&A in a subsequent issue
of Torah Tidbits. Once, before Pesach, the community head came in to him and said, "Rebbe, we're suffering from a bad drought this year. The prices have been going up by the day and people simply cannot afford to pay the costs involved in buying their Pesach needs.'' R' Mohilever said, "Let us assemble the rabbinical court judges and permit the use of kitniyos this year.'' "Rebbe,'' said the man, "you have taken a load off my shoulders. I was trying to see how we could feed the soldiers during Pesach, but now that you have permitted the use of kitniyos, I can rest easier.'' "Jewish soldiers?'' said R' Mohliver in indignation. "That I
will not allow. I, you, and all the members of the community will eat kitniyos
this Pesach. But as far as the soldiers are concerned, it is our duty to feed
them all the best, just as in any other year.'' Here's a word to test your Hebrew- speaking friends. How do you
say acrobat in Hebrew? And will add one more word. Among acrobats of many sorts,
there is the tightrope walker, or rope-dancer, as he is also known. How do you
say that in Hebrew? Acrobat on the right and tightrpoe walker on the left. Each
is also shown as it would be written without vowels. SHAVAR, LU'L'YAN An Olah - a whole-burnt offering - is given entirely to HaShem, so that a kohen derives no benefit from it whatsoever. In the eyes of a kohen, this may be seen as a financial loss, and thus, all the greatness of Aharon and his sons notwithstanding, special urging was necessary. When HaShem offers us the opportunity to return home, the greatest obstacle standing in our way is the sense that we simply cannot leave things behind. What would be of our nice homes, cars, and other conveniences of life? We do not stop to think of all the marvelous gifts that Hashem gives us. We are blind to the real gifts bestowed upon us in the land of Israel, and seek refuge in false interpretations of the applicability and urgency of the mitzva of yishuv ha'aretz. So perhaps we should simply wait for HaShem to pave the road?
No! The flame on the Altar was self-sustaining; nonetheless, we were commanded
to bring a fire of our own. HaShem already blessed us with opportunities. Now it
is our turn to act. The commandment is loud and clear, we know what "sacrifices"
we must make, and HaShem is urging us… come home! TORAH THOUGHTS as contributed by Aloh Naaleh members for
publication in the Orthodox Union's 'Torah Insights', a weekly Torah publication
on Parshat Ha'Shavuah Then again, maybe an 80-page issue is just the right thing to celebrate 613 issues. It might sound cliche, but it is no less true, when we say thank
you for reading Torah Tidbits. Without you, there would be no Torah Tidbits. TT is a team effort and a partnership. Thanks again for being
there. Tekhelet Tidbit: Remembering 613 Ramban challenges Rashi noting that the number of strings is subject to a halachic dispute, and that the number of knots is certainly not from the Torah. He therefore suggests that the subject of the posuk is the tekhelet string. By looking at the blue thread, one remembers the sea and the sky and Hashem's holy throne, and that reminds one of all the mitzvot. An additional problem with Rashi's explanation is that the term "And you shall see it" is in the masculine form. The word TZITZIT is feminine, and therefore cannot be the subject. Only the blue thread can be what is meant to remind us of all the mitzvot. A recent article by two Belgian scientists has revealed a fascinating "coincidence". J. Wouters and A. Verhecken studied the characteristics of the different dye molecules obtained from the Murex Trunculus snail. One of the measurements was the absorption spectrum of the molecule. Light is made up of many colors (the spectrum) measured in units of nanometers (nm). Our eye perceives color in a complex fashion based on the various combinations of colors of light that strike it. For example, gold absorbs blue light and reflects the rest. When our eye sees all the colors of the spectrum with blue taken out, it perceives the color as gold. Ultimately, however, the color we see is determined entirely by what colors something absorbs and what is reflected. The tekhelet molecule (indigotin) gets its color from a strong absorption peak centered at 613 nanometers! For further information on tekhelet, contact info@tekhelet,
www.tekhelet.com - or for
talitot with tekhelet, contact Moshe Malkenson at 066-421-991 It seems that the separation of the ashes symbolizes the
continuity of Tradition. For yesterday's ashes are placed by the Altar as
today's sacrifices are about to be offered. We pointedly put away some of
yesterday's dross and are ready to start a new day in the service of Hashem. For
Rabbi Hirsch, this act declares thatjust as we have kept G-d's word up to this
point, so we shall endeavor to continue to do so. [The Parshat Tzav Homepage]
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