A Zissen Pesach To One And All

Silverman Hagaddah (1960)

Rather to my surprise, my blog post Kosher for Passover? – The Strange Case of Kitniyot seems to have been a big hit, and, even stranger still, with readers in Israel. I’m still not entirely sure why. But it is definitely timely and striking a blow against the obsessive-compulsive way the Passover holiday is observed definitely feels like the right thing to do. So rather than post something new, I’d rather invite readers to have a look at this post, which I put up on March 10 and is available through the hyperlink above.

My two posts regarding letters to the “J,” the local Jewish community newspaper, on the subject of whether local synagogues should look to the independent minyan movement for ideas also seem to have done well. I am referring to What’s (Not) Missing From the “J” (No. 4) and What’s (Not) Missing From the “J” (No. 3), which were posted on March 17 and March 1, 2013, respectively.

So, all things being equal, I’d rather keep these posts up in first place for a bit longer. Plus, with Passover fast approaching and with the principal days falling during the work week, there is really not enough time to do a full-blown blog post this week. But next week is promising.

In the meantime, I wish all my readers a “zissen” (sweet) Pesach. I’ve always preferred that greeting over the somewhat hackneyed wish that readers have a “kosher Pesach.” Smacks of the compulsiveness that, I fear, obscures much of the joy of the holiday. If you are in any doubt in that regard, take a look at Heshy Fried’s March 21, 2013 post in Frum Satire, entitled Extreme Pesach Items: Kosher for Passover Salt Water.