HEY JEWS

Pesach is upon us. Who up in this bitch is keeping Kosher for Passover?

Nope. My excuse is that my wife wouldn't tolerate it, but really it's me, not her.

Yep. With family for Passover and they're huge kosher-keepers, so we're also kosher-keepers by default.

I'm all for eating some matzah, but no way I'm koshering my kitchen.

Also: not actually Jewish, so technically not obligated to do shit.

i'm invited to a house for passover where they'll be drinking and smoking lots of trees

Haha, ditto. Possibly the same one.

What does koshering actually involve, anyway? I'm vaguely aware of boiling water and possibly some earth or dirt or something? I know you can kosher stainless steel sinks and dishwashers etc but not ceramic or enamel ones. It must be enough of a pain that people cover their counters for Passover rather than deal with it.

strut around with a candle looking for leavened shit

Okay so I read this thread title to the tone/pace of the sample starting Front 242's 'Welcome to Paradise.'

xxp

My parents fill their sinks with boiling water, then drop a burning hot brick into the water in the sink until it overflows on the counter. I think that's how they kasher their sinks. I know one guy who uses a blowtorch.

whoa

Oh yeah. You can't really blow-torch the Corian, can you. I guess I assumed you'd have to get a rabbi in for the ritual re-purification. Is that actually a DIY project? Cool!

We got offered a couple of really cheap apartments in a Lubavitch nabe, until they found out my roomie has a dog. But I specified that we wouldn't be a religious household, or keep kosher, and they were like, whatever, we can take care of that. So...really? The oven, too?

Self-cleaning oven.

And yeah, this stuff can all be done DIY style. As long as you know the laws, there's nothing you need a Rabbi for.

Awesome. I do love the endless ingenuity, practical AND theological.

I'm celebrating Passover by saying something about it on the internet.

we have some matzah in the house and will probably be going to a seder. I don't bother with the kosherness, I ain't wandering in any stupid desert.

i really like passover, am i crazy?

no its usually my fave

i bought kosher for passover coke yesterday. it's delicious.

ooh nice

it's like thanksgiving, in april, without bread

OH SHIT PASSOVER COKE. Need.

I am going to a seder (my first), but because the hostess can't do it on the usual night(s), we're doing it on the 18th. Pseudo-seder. But I'm still psyched. Might try to sort of keep kosher-ish just to see what it's like.

Ooooh and I'm in charge of making charoset for the pseudo-seder, so recipes pls!

lol i read that coke thing really wrong.
xposts

Also: how much hebrew vs. english at your seder?

I never understood why anything other than unleavened bread is necessary though? I mean no bread as a symbol/reminder of events passed makes sense, keeping kosher out of respect for the period I can see, but, like not being allowed to eat corn? What's up with that?

um are you unfamiliar with the passover story or what

oh snap

During Passover, Jews refrain from eating chometz: anything that contains barley, wheat, rye, oats, and spelt, and is not cooked within 18 minutes after coming in contact with water. No leavening is allowed. This signifies the fact that the Hebrews had no time to let their bread rise as they made a hurried escape from Egypt.
Jews of different backgrounds do not observe all of the same rules. Ashkenazi Jews, who come from Europe (most Jews in America), also avoid corn, rice, peanuts, and legumes as they are also used to make bread and may have other grains mixed in. These items are known as kitniyot.

I thought it was anything that swells in contact with water? Or something like that. No corn syrup, in any case, which gives us delicious REAL SUGAR COKE.

The Torah instructs a Jew not to eat (or even possess) chometz all seven days of Passover (Exodus 13:3). "Chometz" is defined as any of the five grains (wheat, spelt, barley, oats, and rye) that came into contact with water for more than 18 minutes. This is a serious Torah prohibition, and for that reason we take extra protective measures on Passover to prevent any mistakes.

Which brings us to another category of food called "kitniyot" (sometimes referred to generically as "legumes"). This includes rice, corn, soy beans, string beans, peas, lentils, peanuts, mustard, sesame seeds and poppy seeds. Even though kitniyot cannot technically become chometz, Ashkenazi Jews do not eat them on Passover. Why?

The Smak (Rabbi Moshe of Kouchi, 13th century, France) explains that products of kitniyot appear like chometz products. For example, it can be hard to distinguish between rice flour (kitniyot) and wheat flour (chometz). Therefore, to prevent confusion, all kitniyot was prohibited.

I'm throwing myself in with the Sephardic camp this year.

Take a Hot Dog
and make it Kosher

Oh makes more sense, and yes, I know the story, but I'm wondering why go so much further than just bread, I mean, Matzah is just unleavened bread, still has wheat in it and all, it's not like they didn't have enough time to cook pasta when escaping Egypt.

Keep hearing the spoken intro to "One Step Beyond" when I see this thread title.

Which is to say, eating corn is a long ways away from letting bread rise.

Keep hearing the spoken intro to "One Step Beyond" when I see this thread title.

Don't eat that - EAT THIS

passover is a great holiday.
G R E A T

BUT, the Haggadahs have not arrived in the mail from my grandfather yet and I'm also getting a bit nervous about seating... also, anyone have a good veggie matzoh ball soup recipe? vegetarians certainly won't eat teh brisket.

good god how do vegetarians ever survive during Passover without the grains?

apparently quinoa is ok.

good to qui-know-a

Seven days of quinoa and matzah sounds . . . constipating.

Can we turn this thread also into a list of all of the awesome things about being jewish in general?

1. Chosen people.
2. Latkes

3. Talmud

4. hot sabbath sex

5. Neuroses

6. control of the media/money

good god how do vegetarians ever survive during Passover without the grains?

― quincie, Monday, April 6, 2009 11:58 AM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

This may explain my increased secularism that started around the time I became vegetarian.

6. Noodle kugel

I just can't bring myself to post on that toxic Israel thread, but I was inspired to post here by something that sarahell posted there:

It is unfortunate imo that a lot of younger American leftists don’t have the most solid grasp of history and I feel like they are actually ignorant of how others interpret some of their terms and slogans.

This morning I saw this WSJ (ugh) opinion piece called "From Which River to Which Sea? College students don’t know, yet they agree with the slogan."

https://archive.ph/1tn2C

Not saying it's some be-all definitive statement, or that the author isn't worse than Hitler, or that the methodology has genocidal blood on its hands, just underscores sarahell's observation.

Anyway, Happy Hannukah!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQPXGJIN8yQ

It is unfortunate imo that a lot of younger American leftists don’t have the most solid grasp of history and I feel like they are actually ignorant of how others interpret some of their terms and slogans.

unfortunate yes, as there is a lot of things about our society that are unfortunate. but it's a far worse look for adults to read malice into ignorance than it is for kids to be ignorant. if there is widespread ignorance regarding middle east politics and geography isn't that actually most unflattering for those tasked w/ education, rather than those who have failed to be educated? what have older american leftists been up to if young american leftists don't have "the most solid grasp of history" ... perhaps this is illustrative of why the american left is not generally considered a hugely successful contemporary political movement...

I think in this case maybe it has something to do with how/where they are taught and who is doing the teaching. I doubt most young people are learning about the Israel/Palestine conflict in school, because I doubt it is taught outside of specialized classes, which means most people are probably learning about it via the internet/social media, and we all know how that often works out.

There's a line from a Robert Christgau Big Country review that's always stuck with me: "Regaled with martial rhythms, I always feel safer knowing exactly what the war's about."

but it's a far worse look for adults to read malice into ignorance than it is for kids to be ignorant.

this nicely sums up something I've struggled with putting into words. I was making an argument to a friend where I suggested the intent matters and words and phrases are ever-changing and if "from the river to the sea" means Palestinians and Israeli jews live together in equality and not, you know, "push all Jews into the sea" then I'm willing to take them at their word and further accept that that is the meaning of the phrase. That neatly ignores the fact that sure, there are people for whom it does mean get rid of Jews, and also doesn't wrestle with the full history of the term and the intent from when it was coined (of which I am no expert despite reading at least 2 articles and/or watching youtube videos on the subject). His response was that it if you do accept the history/have the memory that the phrase means Jews out of Palestine, it's a bit much to let progressive leftists get away with ignoring that history of the phrase, especially when that is a group who is usually pretty particular about language.

And I do think he has a point. But I also think that's a different battle? For a different time? I don't know.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQPXGJIN8yQ

― omar little, Thursday, December 7, 2023 2:09 PM bookmarkflaglink

lol. Happy Cha-noo-ka to all.

Chag sameach yall

(I want to hear how Smokey pronounces that one)

Latke times is good times in bad times amitite

I mean I believe all of humanity can get behind fried potatoes except maybe paleo ppl and honestly I can’t be bothered with them anyway

Wife made a batch with kosher dill pickle sandwich stackers mixed in.

Oh that’s a delicious sounding hack!

Just took a family trip to a couple of cities in Europe, with plenty of illuminating Jew stuff. Of course Amsterdam has the Anne Frank house, and Berlin is like a living history museum (despite being mostly long-razed sites of atrocities), but Prague was the most eye-opening. We took a tour of the Jewish neighborhood, which has one of the (or maybe the?) oldest intact (and still used) synagogues in Europe, from the 13th century, whose survival may have simply been a matter of good timing/fortune. If I understood our guide correctly, the Jews in Prague were modestly religious and very assimilated, and while anti-Semitism existed, it wasn't quite as full throated as it was elsewhere, so when the Nazis took over (and took away the Jews, who were of course Jewish enough) the locals sort of just held onto all the homes, synagogues, and possessions. To what purpose, I don't really know, but everything from 300 torahs to tons of religious items were catalogued and stored, discovered after the war, left untouched by the Soviets and then in many cases restored over time despite the near absence of Jews (only some 1500 remain in Prague). Pretty remarkable.

That synagogue is the one with the Golem of Prague in the attic.

would you call the experience of visiting Prague "good"? Not that I've been to Europe yet in my life but I'm pretty sure I would be too disquieted by the knowledge of how many Jews aren't there anymore to have a good time. Not sure why I assume that about Prague more so than Berlin, possibly just racist against Bohemians.

Resting place of Rabbi Loew, creator of said golem. Iirc his grave was covered with slips of papers featuring requests for the golem.

In the same trip I also visited krakow and saw its Jewish quarter. It didn’t have as much luck I think.

xpost Prague was great. It's a beautiful city, left intact after WWII, and felt very welcoming. For example, I believe Czechia has accepted more Ukrainian refugees than any other country, some 200,000+, and has been very considerate of them; they tried to limit people from lighting off too many fireworks on NYE with them in mind (plus in light of the mass shooting a couple of weeks ago). Also, as far as Jew-stuff goes, our guide made a point of noting that Prague might be the only place in the EU, if not the whole of Europe, where you occasionally still see an Israeli flag being flown in solidarity. Our guide also said that some of the few Jews left there have been rediscovering their faith; being secular/non-religious has been I guess a tradition in Czechia going back to the 1800s, nominal Jew and nominal Christian alike, but younger generations of Jews have been embracing old traditions.

The most disquieting moment of the entire trip was back in Berlin, when we gathered at the meeting point for our walking tour of the former east (where we were staying) in time to hear one of the guides shouting "anyone here for the concentration camps stand over there, people for the concentration camps, over there!!"

My most disquieting moment of this old family trip? After Krakow and a visit to Auschwitz taking a sleeper train to Prague only to be woken up on the middle of the night by people banging on doors and shouting in polish. I think. We were at the border.

For example, I believe Czechia has accepted more Ukrainian refugees than any other country, some 200,000+, and has been very considerate of them

Well yes because invasion by Russia is something within living memory for them and a sense of solidarity with its fellow victims is strong. Sadly though otoh current govt got to power partly over fearmongering related to the syrian refugee crisis. So the welcoming part is selective, as in most places.

Well yes because invasion by Russia is something within living memory for them and a sense of solidarity with its fellow victims is strong.

Slight digression here, but this hasn't really been apparent in Slovakia in the same way (and maybe a more mixed picture in Bulgaria, Hungary, and parts of East Germany)

Which is kind of a topic all to itself but attitudes to Russia (and to Ukraine) in formerly occupied or invaded states can be fairly varied

Our guide also said that some of the few Jews left there have been rediscovering their faith; being secular/non-religious has been I guess a tradition in Czechia going back to the 1800s, nominal Jew and nominal Christian alike, but younger generations of Jews have been embracing old traditions.

I think I read somewhere it's the least religious country in Europe? The beer is ludicrously cheap in Prague, if you're at all a boozehound.

Yeah, it's pretty cheap. I think the country also drinks more beer than any other country in Europe. Per a quick google:

The Czech Republic remains the leader in per capita beer drinking for the 29th year. In 2021, the average Czech drank more than 184 liters of beer.

I think that stems in part not just because it's cheap, but also because it's pretty basic. Low-alcohol pilsners and lagers and the like. But for sure refreshing and ubiquitous!

Re: religion, yeah, I think our guide told us that over 90% of young people there (under 30) don't identify with any religion, and the country as a whole might be hovering around 70% athiest. I should note, per my anecdotes, that our guide pointed out how that nonreligious tradition hasn't negated anti-Semitism through the ages, but that it was nonetheless one of many mitigating factors in the treatment and tolerance of Jews over the centuries. Some interesting deets here (including the fact that the Jews in Bohemia had a historically high rate of intermarriage, near 50%):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holocaust_in_Bohemia_and_Moravia

think that stems in part not just because it's cheap, but also because it's pretty basic. Low-alcohol pilsners and lagers and the like. But for sure refreshing and ubiquitous!

These are some of the greatest beers on the planet and far superior to the pastry stout monstrosities being whipped up in the states.

Let alone the default lagers people drink here.

would you call the experience of visiting Prague "good"? Not that I've been to Europe yet in my life but I'm pretty sure I would be too disquieted by the knowledge of how many Jews aren't there anymore to have a good time. Not sure why I assume that about Prague more so than Berlin, possibly just racist against Bohemians.

― G. D’Arcy Cheesewright (silby), Thursday, 4 January 2024 23:15 (yesterday) link

I found visiting Berlin oddly therapeutic, even though my German family left way way before the holocaust. We also only did one Jewish-related thing (I don't even remember exactly what it was but some kind of old synagogue that had been turned into a museum). I was way more interested in the East Berlin cold war stuff tbh.

My wife lived in Berlin for part of the 80s, as a preteen, and this was the first time she had been back since the wall fell. We didn't have much time, so spent it all in the east side, which was less familiar/more interesting to her. She and her mom used to cross at Checkpoint Charlie to go shopping in the East.

okay what's this tunnel thing in Brooklyn? I'm not understanding

from my understanding...chabad was crowded, some dudes decided to tear down a wall to connect to other building. Rival chabad dudes argue about filling the holes. Somebody left a dirty mattress somewhere. The internet assumes jews are killing christian babies. whats new.

https://gothamist.com/news/discovery-of-secret-tunnel-beneath-chabad-hq-in-crown-heights-leads-to-brawl-12-arrests

seems like it's a more fundamentalist dingdongs wanting access to holy places by any means necessary (these are the MESSIAH IS COMING sticker people) and the folks people who control and manage the building and lead the chabad not wanting dangerous alterations made to the * checks notes * literal foundation of their holy buildings

"HEY ASIANS - WTF IS UP WITH THESE WEIRD ASIAN THINGS THE OTHER ASIANS ARE DOING...I can't figure it out"

Jewish ILXORs are not animals in a zoo and we don't keep tabs on each other.

smdh

I'm sorry, I didn't intend to come off like that! I came here to see if it was already being discussed, and when it wasn't, I made my query

The Guardian article said something like 'No motive for the tunnel was revealed' so I was just curious if anyone knew anything, that's all

k

I am very honored to be giving the State of World Jewry address February 25th @92ndStreetY. More information and tickets here:https://t.co/UY19QKj96O

— Bari Weiss (@bariweiss) January 9, 2024

A shanda for the goyim

"HEY ASIANS - WTF IS UP WITH THESE WEIRD ASIAN THINGS THE OTHER ASIANS ARE DOING...I can't figure it out"

Jewish ILXORs are not animals in a zoo and we don't keep tabs on each other.

I just want to push back on this. Yes, I am not a Lubavitcher, but being Jewish I am more equipped than the average American to make sense of what's going on at 770 Eastern Parkway, and so I don't mind being asked in this space.

Yes I can understand being defensive in these particularly hot times, but it did seem like an innocent question (that I was interested in too). Thank you for your generosity eephus

Well I do. We can disagree. It's extremely obnoxious to address this topic to a thread called this.

I am also Asian and it's a common microaggression to get questions like "Where are you from? No really, like originally?" that white looking Americans don't get.

I look forward to this thread beung revived since it's usually a place to celebrate Jewishness or share empathy.

It's ok to be curious. But I also want to ask people to think before they try to start these kinds of "discussions."

Felt innocent enough to me. This is a topic to discuss things about “Jews” and this event is a major news. I didn’t see it as somebody expecting only Jews would have some insight. Despite being a secular Jew in queens I don’t have any special insight into Chabad Jews in Brooklyn but I felt comfortable answering from what I read in the news. Wasn’t clear to me that the writer wasn’t Jewish, didn’t think about it.

As I said we can disagree. It was more of a NYC question than anything.

You're going to have a different perspective and context than me and that's fine.

And thank you for saying sorry, Andy the Grasshopper.

I saw you saying we can disagree. I just wanted to do so. Considering this is nation-wide news and involves insane anti-semitic conspiracy theorying, I don't think it's a NYC question.

... worldwide.

The bigots are having a field day with this tunnel story. I am glad you answered the way you did.

https://podcasts.apple.com/ro/podcast/marilynne-robinson-on-biblical-beauty-human-evil-and/id1548604447?i=1000648054080

I thought some of you guys might appreciate this right now (despite the headline, most of it isn't directly about Israel). Very much Christian author argues that the Old Testament is much more full of mercy, forgiveness and grace than it is given credit for, and made kind of a lightbulb go on for me about it that my views of Judaism have sometimes been colored by self-serving Christian spin on Judaism (wherein Christianity sets it self up as the merciful new religion and Jesus as the merciful new version of God in contrast to the more vengeful and primitive old one)

Purim Sameach!!

Thanks for recommending that episode. I think my friend who is an Anglican minister (and whose kids are Jewish) might have sent me that as well.

And yes, Chag Sameach!

Honestly never under-estimate what Christians don't understand about Judaism. Christians think it's mostly Christianity minus believing that Jesus was the Messiah. They don't know that there's no Jewish hell or that it's not evangelical (and in fact discourages conversion) and lots of other things. I can speak for Christians, I feel comfortable with that. :D

So apparently what I'm describing was once (like 1800 years ago) called Marcionism, but at least officially has been mostly rejected by various Christian sects. I swear I have heard that sort of view expressed before though. Not really thinking of the average Christian so much though.

I mean I was always drawn to the stories of mercy in the Torah - the angel sparing Isaac from sacrifice, Abraham pleading for Sodom and Gommorah, the covenant after the flood. It's not like I grew up thinking God in the Torah was not merciful, but I feel like I have heard it described that way in popular culture, literary analysis, and probably theological arguments as well.