GOOD CHOICE JUDAISM—A LIBERATION MOVEMENT

The most interesting question to cross my desk this week was from a college student who wanted to know if wraps were kosher for Pesah. After all, they are flat and on Pesah flat is good. So, rabbi, the question went—are wraps kosher for Pesah?

Matt (fictional name) is a serious Jew. By “serious Jew” I mean that this is a kid who really thinks about his Jewish identity. By all conventional definitions, he is unobservant for he neither keeps kosher nor observes Shabbat in the traditional manner. But conventional definitions overlook the nuances of his Jewish identity. He could eat pork, but he chooses not to. He could ignore Shabbat, but on those occasions when he is called to a minyan, he participates. There are all sorts of expressions that dogmatic traditionalists use to disparage a Judaism like Matt’s—wishy-washy, compromised, pick and choose, and the worst of all—typical Conservative Jew. In answer to these attacks, I would note that had Matt been a slave in Egypt, he would have been redeemed with the rest of us. God may just have a different view of what kind of Jew Matt really is.

So Matt, I know that you live on wraps, and they are flat, and your reasoning that they may just be fit for Pesah for that reason alone is very appealing, but sorry—they are pure hametz. I would give them up for the duration of Pesah. But stuck as you are in HU (that stands for Hametz University), let’s think of ways you can observe Pesah when navigating the campus cafeteria. Fruits are okay. Vegetables are okay. Meat, poultry, eggs and fish are all okay. I’d give up the bagels, pizza, English muffins, donuts, cake or cookies (do we really need all those cookies?), and I’d give up the waffles and pancakes too. As for rice, beans and corn, they are kitniyot—a special designation of food from which Ashkenzaim refrain and Sefardim do not—and I rule leniently on that so I wouldn’t worry about those food items. But just make sure Mom sends you a couple boxes of matzah if you can’t find any at the local super market

Anyway, that’s what I told Matt. I wouldn’t have told that to everyone because everyone is different. But this is exactly where Matt needed to be for Pesah. The dogmatics might be outraged with the liberal nature of this rabbinic advice. In their world, you either are or you aren’t, either you’re kosher or not, observant of Shabbat or not. The world is divided into either/or. But either/or Judaism is an artifice of people drawn to strict definitions. These definitions divide us; you’re either in the group or not. This approach is highly divisive and dismissive of the majority of Jews, which is reason enough to question its legitimacy. I no longer permit dogmatics to define who we are as Jews. At the time of our Exodus from Egypt, I invite you to join me in this liberation movement.

Hag Kasher ve’Same’ah—a very happy and Kosher Pesah. I trust you’ll make the best Jewish choices for yourself and your family.