Passover Controversy

The house is cleaned, the food is cooked, all the chametz (grain products, most commonly known as bread) has been thrown out or given away...I'm ready for Passover! All across the country, homes have been scrubbed, cars have been vacuumed, and people have even ritually cleansed themselves in preparation for the holiday that begins tomorrow night.

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There is still one fight brewing...a few weeks ago, an Israeli Court ruled that non-public businesses may continue to sell bread. The Court made a distinction between two different kinds of public domains. So while grocery stores may not sell bread, restaurants may. The ruling has the religious right up in arms! I am equally up in arms - but for the opposite reason!

The ultra-Orthodox are furious - they want Israel to remain a Jewish country, upholding Jewish laws and standards. And perhaps more immediately important, they don't want to see what they can't have. Growing up in the States, it was always a struggle to watch my friends bring their pizza/bread/pita/cake/cookies to the lunch table, when I was stuck eating matzah with cream cheese and jelly! So I do sympathize with people who don't want to walk down their street, in a Jewish neighborhood, in a Jewish state, and be tempted by what they aren't supposed to be eating.

That said, while we ARE a Jewish state - we also tend to be an Orthodox Jewish state, if not bordering on Haredi (far right wing Orthodoxy). As the tag line for the liberal movements in Israel says, יש יותר מדרך אחד להיות יהודי, there is more than one way to be Jewish. And it is a slogan that not only I believe in, but is well represented in the State of Israel by the large number of non-Orthodox Jews.

Studies have shown that of all the traditions that people may or may not keep, the vast majority of Jews around will attend a Passover family meal, known as a seder. The degree to which the seder appears "traditional" will vary greatly. But if a Jews does nothing else notice-ably Jewish all year long, chances are, they will be celebrating Passover.

When I was a kid, Passover meant not eating bread. That meant I would go into McDonalds (a highly non-kosher restaurant) and order a "hamburger without the bun". I'd eat my non-kosher meat, cooked in a non-kosher kitchen, and perhaps even put a piece of cheese on it (violating one of the major principles of keeping kosher - mixing milk and meat) - but because it was Passover, I wouldn't be eating any bread!

While that is no longer how I keep Passover, as I am one of those people who cleans out every last crumb of chametz (grain products) from her home, there are plenty of Jews in Israel and all around the world, who keep the spirit of Passover, if not the letter of the law.

And being the pluralistic person that I am, I believe that they should be allowed to eat what they want. Do I hope they eat bread? No. But if I force them not to, I will not teach them to keep Passover, but I will be teaching them to hate Judaism and the religious establishment.