Once upon a time, in the old days, rabbis only gave sermons (or d’vrei Torah or drashes) twice per year. On Shabbat Hagadol, before Passover to tell you how to prepare with much exactitude. And on Shabbat Shuvah to tell you how to repent before Yom Kippur. Today is Shabbat HaHodesh, about two weeks from Passover, more time to prepare.
We’ve just read a list of the things we can and can not eat as Jews. Much ink has been spilled through the millenia about why G-d gave these commandments and why they are important.
What we read is some times called Biblical Kashrut. People who say they keep Biblical Kashrut may avoid pork and shellfish and other non-kosher animals as described in today’s portion. Camel anyone? I thought not. But they may mix chicken and milk. Anyone ever boil a chicken in it’s mother’s milk? I thought not. Chickens don’t give milk!
Here at CKI we have a kosher kitchen, and Simon and I have one at home. We are not the only people at CKI who do. And there are those who don’t but want to make sure that CKI does. There are many reasons for that. I’ve heard things like so anyone can eat here. Because we are Jews. Because it is how we’ve always done it. Because it draws us closer to G-d.
We run this kitchen to CRC standards. The Chicago Rabbinical Council. CRC is one of the organizations that certifies kashrut. Here is their Pesach Guide. https://consumer.crckosher.org/pesach/
You are probably most familiar with OU. You know the circle with a U in the middle. I was fascinated by a book called Kosher Nation by Sue Fishkoff. Part of the growth in kashrut certification of late comes from people who are not Jewish. Muslims trust the certifcation for meat. Vegans for parve. I didn’t grow up kosher. In fact, in my seventh grade religious school class taught by my mom and my rabbi we learned that Kashrut was an outmoded form of Judaism as we learned about blue and red soap. That’s not Biblical Kashrut! I didn’t know anyone who kept kosher until I went to college. (Ask me some other time about my first kosher Duncan Hines brownies for Hillel!)
Are you familiar with the term Ethical Kashrut? It is a way to eat for Jews that takes into account the treatment of the farm workers and the animals themselves. It ia way to take the values and morals of keeping Kosher and make them relevant today.
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/ethical-kashrut/
Ironically, this piece is written by Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitch, a modern Orthodox rabbi in Phoenix, one of the brightest and most compassionate people I know. He also believes that veganism is an even more authentic Judaism. More on that, much more on that in May.
Much of what we do here at CKI is based on Talmudic and later codes like the Shulchan Arukh. We use Kosher meat. We use kosher wine and kosher cheese. And I can do most of the shopping right here in the Rox River Valley. Some people tell me they are scared to shop or scared to use the kitchen. They don’t want to make a mistake. My job is to help you feel comfortable. And competent.
Much of what we do is in the category of a chumra, a fence around the Torah. We have one in today’s portion. Passover is an eight day holiday, right? No, according to the Torah it is a seven-day holiday. The rabbis of the Talmud added an extra day so we would know for sure we were celebrating on the right day. And so most Jews out of the land of Israel celebrate Passover (and also Sukkot) for eight days.
Many of you are preparing already for Passover, where even more exacting lengths are taken to insure “keeping Passover.” But which Passover? The extra reading today was clear. You need Lamb, bitter herbs and matzah. Pretty simple, right? No mention of Kosher for Passover brownies, Dr. Brown’s Cherry Soda or Kosher for Passover ketchup.
Why is corn not OK but quinoa OK? Both are new world grains. Yet we persist in this year after year. Tradition, tradition! But whose? And why? Why, it’s the way “we’ve” always done it. It’s anthropology. We cling to what we remember, what’s comfortable and what ties us to generations past. It’s anthropology.
We often joke about the idea of two Jews and three opinions. We know that there are differences between Ashkanazi Jews and Sephardic Jews. In Haftarah readings. In how we pronounce Hebrew. in the prayers in our standard liturgy. And perhaps most notably in how Jews eat for Passover. That doesn’t make either camp less Jewish. We are all Jews. As a rabbi I get very tired of people telling me that so and so isn’t Jewish or Jewish enough because they don’t do alef, bet or gimmel. Trust me. You are all Jewish. Trust me, you are all doing Jewish.
In Israel they had a problem. Particularly with Passover there is a tension between how Ashkenazi Jews do Passover and how Sephardic Jews do Passover. Sephardic Jews have always allowed a category of food known as Kitinyot. Essentially beans and rice. Even at our “kosher Jewel,” you find signs that say “OK for Sephardim”
In 2015 the Conservative Movement echoing a responsa from the Masorti Movement in Israel written by Rabbi David Golinkin ruled that it is OK for Ashkanazim to eat kitinyot for Passover.
CJLS Teshuvah, 2015, Conclusion and Psak Halakhah:
In order to bring down the cost of making Pesah and support the healthier diet that is now becoming more common, and given the inapplicability today of the primary concerns that seem to have led to the custom of prohibiting kitniyot, and further, given our inclination in our day to present an accessible Judaism unencumbered by unneeded prohibitions, more easily able to participate in the culture that surrounds us, we are prepared to rely on the fundamental observance recorded in the Talmud and codes and permit the eating of kitniyot on Pesah.
The full teshuvah is here.
For me, it is important to note that even in the 1500s when the original prohibition went into effect, rabbis thought it was too much of a fence around the Torah. But this is Judaism and even in the Conservative Movement there is room for dissent:
So what do we do at CKI? We are not affiliated with the Conservative Movement at this stage. Many people have opinions on this topic of kitinot. So as we have done for several years, we continue to adhere to it at CKI for the Community seder and the Oneg Shabbat and Kiddush during Passover. What you choose to do in your own home is your choice. It is a sign of your freedom. But please, please be kind and don’t tell someone that what they are doing or not doing isn’t Jewish.
And when you see the sign that says call your local rabbi, feel free to call me. But not before 7AM or after 9PM.