Our local supermarket gives out a pamphlet for Passover. It's full of useful coupons for those who like gefilte fish and macaroons, as well as a short summary of instructions detailing how to prepare for the holiday. The paragraph about getting rid of chametz (bread) ends with the following beauty:
On the morning of Passover, we burn all the chametz that was found during the search, and anything that was left over from breakfast not stored with the chametz that will be sold to the non-Jew.
"Non-Jew"? Come on, unknown pamphlet writer. "Gentiles". "Goyim". Or, how about just "sold to those who are not Jewish"?
Sigh.
Oh, those meshuggenah... Jews?!
What I do not understand with rabbinical reasoning is, why all the effort of finding chametz, if you already have a Halachic solution by selling it away? If you just leave your crumbs where they are and sell it in the first place, why all the hassel of finding it? Is it just to entertain your children, or teaching them how to waste time on religious affairs?
ReplyDeleteActually nobody in my family ever searched for chametz or did such ridiculous things like selling it. Is it just one of these New World jewish inventions like bagels, which were unheard of in Western Europe until it reached us from the US?
Th.A.W.