Dear Rabbi
Last year I spent Pesach at a hotel in Israel and got to watch enviously as so many people were enjoying all the rice concoctions while I had to sit idly by and enjoy my more bland Ashkenazi diet. Is there any way I can switch to becoming Sephardic next year?
Julie-Ann
Dear Julie-Ann,
I’m always intrigued how people that may not be observant in their Kosher diet all year round (what is it they call it these days? “Non offensive food.”) are nevertheless punctilious in their observance of Pesach dietary laws. Don’t get me wrong – I think it’s great, and I believe deep down it is linked to one’s spiritual essence and how that correlates with Passover and our birth as a nation, but I remain intrigued all the same. So you were in a hotel – didn’t cook a meal, didn’t make a bed, just luxuriated for eight days, and you’re still not happy. The grass on the other side is always greener isn’t it – or in this case, the rice being whiter. You don’t mention if you’re married or single. If it is the latter, you could always find a nice Sephardic man and then you would have to follow his customs. Word of warning though: I gather some of them have a custom to beat you with the horseradish during the Seder .
I’m always intrigued how people that may not be observant in their Kosher diet all year round (what is it they call it these days? “Non offensive food.”) are nevertheless punctilious in their observance of Pesach dietary laws. Don’t get me wrong – I think it’s great, and I believe deep down it is linked to one’s spiritual essence and how that correlates with Passover and our birth as a nation, but I remain intrigued all the same. So you were in a hotel – didn’t cook a meal, didn’t make a bed, just luxuriated for eight days, and you’re still not happy. The grass on the other side is always greener isn’t it – or in this case, the rice being whiter. You don’t mention if you’re married or single. If it is the latter, you could always find a nice Sephardic man and then you would have to follow his customs. Word of warning though: I gather some of them have a custom to beat you with the horseradish during the Seder .