From Kosher Today (May 4)

Out of Towners Coped With Shortages and Price Hikes on Passover
Los Angeles…Sylvia J. Danzer of The Kosher Maven would not give the kosher industry an ‘A’ for the way they handled this year’s Passover, certainly not in her home city of Los Angeles. In what has become an annual ritual, communities outside of the New York metro area complain about late deliveries, shortages, and higher prices. Said Mrs. Danziger: “Passover in Los Angeles this year was also more expensive in comparison to previous years. Dairy prices for non Cholov Yisroel items such as cottage cheese, sour cream and cream cheeses were at well over three dollars an item; over five dollars for Cholov Yisroel items. Kosher chicken prices hovered around four dollars a pound, while meat prices averaged close to ten dollars a pound or more depending on the cut. The loss of Agriprocessors certainly contributed to the higher costs.” In other markets too in the East and in the Midwest, some customers complained that the display of new kosher items was spotty with some supermarkets opting only for the traditional foods. Danziger gave most of the supermarkets in LA with some notable exceptions a failing grade for their Passover sets: “Although Southern California has the second largest Orthodox community outside of New York, it is often treated as an afterthought when Passover and other major Jewish holiday goods are shipped. This means that when the food that arrives is not sufficient to meet the demand of the supermarkets and kosher stores, some distributors may resort to making up those shortages with items left over from previous years.”

In truth, there were many shortages even in the New York area. Customers complained about the lack of ketchup, yogurts, and some frozen items. One distributor said that the shortages often result from the rather short shelf life of Passover items. “Planning a Passover set is more difficult than other holidays since customers will not touch the items a day after the holiday.” Manufacturers say that the relatively short shelf life is why retailers try to order less rather than more, which accounts for the shortages. The good news was that this year there was no shortage of flavored matzoh, Tam Tams, margarine and Coca Cola, which the distributor described as “progress.”

Back on Friday, April 3, 2009 we ran an article from the Jewish Forward newspaper. The article was about dissent in Israel over the expanding kitniyot list there as well as the growing dissatisfaction with the whole notion as well.

The end of the article from the Forward contained this:

“People have been keeping this tradition for over 600 years,” former Sephardic chief rabbi Ovadia Yosef said in a lecture last month. “Those who kept it were great people. What, we should tell them to give up their traditions?”

Apparently, the good rabbi has stepped into a very important debate. Do we venerate sacred text or do we venerate great rabbis? According to Rabbi Yosef, we venerate great rabbis and community tradition- sacred text be damned! Perhaps some one should tell the rabbi that with his comment he has removed himself from the Orthodox world entirely. Wowzers! Those whom he would most severely impugn are those with whom he has now aligned himself!

Many years ago, a great American posek of blessed memory wrote that smoking must be ok, because great rabbis smoke. Yikes. Our survey says: BUZZZ WRONG!
Smoking is not ok. Smoking is a killer. Those rabbis who smoke may joke that they sell their lungs to the goyim, but offensive as that joke is, it betrays a startling lack of respect for science on their part, not to mention an incredible show of ignorance.

No, we do not venerate great rabbis over halacha. We do not accept community custom blindly over halacha. How many shuls allow people to drink a shot and eat a piece of cake in the rear of the shul on simchat torah? Guess what? It is totally, one gazillion percent against the halacha to do so. So much for community custom.

No one denies that kitniyot may have been an important custom in its time. No one also should deny that the rabbanut, in adding to the list almost every year, breaks with the original rule about the closed nature of the list. Hmmm, apparently we make up our own rules as we go along.

We are not saying that we should start to eat kitniyot here in the States. But neither should anyone be adding to the list.

We continue to hear complaints about the absurdly high prices some places are charging for Pesach foods.

We bought KP Coke and Diet Caffeine Free Coke in two liter bottles for $1.50 per bottle. Two days later in Teaneck, NJ, we were in a store where the price was $2.59 PER BOTTLE! While it is true that no one forces anyone to buy there, it is also true that people will opt for convenience every time. Apparently the store owner knows that and knows that he can get away with charging that price, so he does it. What does that say about us as consumers? Why aren’t we all raising a hue and a cry?

There are products that are KP all year long (kosher cheeses come to mind). Why, then, do they double in cost for Pesach? And why aren’t we all raising a hue and a cry about it?

Pesach cakes- the pre baked kind available in the supermarket- (you know the ones that look real good and taste really bad) average out at $12 to $17 dollars for a cake that is non gebrokts no less. When did potato starch become so expensive? Oh, maybe it is all the cottonseed oil they use in it? After all, cotton seed oil is such an expensive commodity- NOT!

Go to your local kosher take out store and order, for example, cucumber salad. Let’s look at this carefully: sugar, cukes, onions and vinegar. Oh, yeah, no wonder the price is double during Pesach.

We remember one year when Empire raised chicken prices six times between Purim and Pesach. Granted, in those days Empire was under different ownership, but even so, six times? The prices this year are not much better- you still need to take out a second mortgage to shop for this holiday.

We resent that. We resent that businesses make it impossible for people of less than average means to really eat well on this, of all, yamim tovim. Hey, you know what- it ain’t so easy for the rest of us either! Nu? Maybe it is time for us all to complain and make our voices heard.

Some people have questioned our stance regarding peanuts on Pesach. In our FAQ we mentioned that the late, great Rabbi M Feinstein, OBM, allowed peanuts on Pesach. Some thought that we left out the most important part of his tshuvah.

We disagree. Here is a translation of his tshuva (courtesy of the OK):

“Concerning peanuts, which were called stashkes in Europe—they have been accepted as being permitted on Pesach and are not considered kitniyos (legumes that are forbidden on Pesach) because all the reasons for the prohibition of kitniyos do not apply to peanuts. Peanuts are not sown in fields (with grain), and even if they were there is no fear that grain would be mixed together with the peanuts; bread is not baked from peanuts; and generally speaking though they are vegetables they have the appearance of nuts rather than kitniyos. And even though I have heard that in some places they were considered kitniyos, peanuts should not be forbidden in places where it is not known for certain what the custom had been in their city, because, with reference to kitniyos, when in doubt one should be lenient.

Therefore you may give certification for peanuts and the oil derived from them, and they will be permissible to the majority of persons. Those who know for certain that the custom of their city was not to eat peanuts on Passover should not eat them; others are permitted to eat them.”
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The last paragraph is very important. The last sentence, in particular, is instructive. Notice that the rabbi wrote, “Those who know for CERTAIN (empahsis ours) that the custom of their city was not to eat peanuts…. should not eat them, others are permitted to eat them.” We are not aware of any broad based NYC custom that forbids eating peanuts on Pesach. Clearly, the rabbi stated that peanuts “will be permissible to the majority of persons”

Nu? It works for us.

We saw this recipe in an article we read, and it intrigued us. We are not sure if we would actually make it, but, hey, why not? We ate tonsils in Israel- what could be so bad about fried gefilte fish????

Fried Gefilte Fish

Makes 10-12 patties

1½ pounds ground fish (such as carp, pike, haddock or even salmon)
½ onion
1 egg
1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
½ tablespoon sea salt
2 cups matzo meal
¾ cup olive oil

1) Grate the onion and combine it with the fish, egg, pepper and salt, and 3 tablespoons of the matzo meal.

2) Form the mixture into small balls, each about the size of a lemon. Roll each of these in the remaining matzo meal, creating an even coating.

3) Fill a pan with sufficient oil for frying, about ¼-inch deep. Set over a medium-high flame. When a sprinkling of matzo meal sizzles in the oil, add as many patties as will fit without crowding the pan.

4) Fry for 2 minutes on each side, at which point patties should be crisp and golden brown. Check that the fish is cooked all the way through (the center should be white rather than translucent). If not cooked through, continue cooking on lower heat.

5) Serve hot or cold with chrain (horseradish).