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February, 2010 Ma'aseem - From Hamantashen, Crumbs of Wisdom

1/27/2010
For several years I've had a reputation for being able to tell you, at any given time, how many days until Passover begins. My method is pretty simple since I can do basic math in my head: January has 31 days, February has 28, March has 31, so with Pesach beginning on March 29, 2010, and today (the day I'm writing this column) being December 29, there are 90 days till Pesach begins (2+31+28+29). Oy, only 90 days to get ready!





I'm not a tax accountant, but February through April have always been busy months on my calendar. My mother, of blessed memory, used to start getting ready on Purim, 30 days before Pesach. She did a very thorough job of cleaning the kitchen, but, as she explained to me, dust is not chametz1, so she didn't try to clean the whole house then. She was also very successful at enforcing the rule that no food ever be eaten anywhere inside the house but the kitchen or dining room; I haven't been so successful and it's not uncommon for me to find food wrappers or empty beverage containers in any room of the house, so I have to clean more than the kitchen and dining room and I have to start before Purim.





Well, I have a new plan that I'm going to share with you that's going to make it much easier for me to get ready for years to come. My home is going to be Kosher for Passover year round! No need to change, ever again! I had the beginnings of this idea four years ago, in 2006, when we renovated our kitchen and I decided that after 35 years of marriage it was time to give myself a "kitchen shower"; I bought all new meat and dairy dishes, flatware, pots and pans, glasses, and table linens, ready to start using when Pesach began that year. The new kitchen wasn't quite finished on time, but it was usable, so I gave away all my old stuff and started using my new stuff. When Pesach ended I didn't have to put the new stuff away and bring out the old stuff -- the new stuff was now going to be my "chametz kitchenware"!





When 2007 came around, I had to go through my usual process of replacing everything for 8 days. And I did that again in 2008 and 2009. But not this year! I know it's a little soon for another "kitchen shower" but I'm going to do it (kids, if you want my four-year-old stuff, let me know now). I'll kasher my appliances and countertops and clean all my cabinets one last time. The new wrinkle in all this will be that I'm going to keep the kitchen chametz-free all the time! Each year when all the Pesach goods become available in the supermarkets, I'm going to stock up on everything. I'll have to eliminate most dairy products from our diet for most of the year, although I think that some of the well-supplied supermarkets I frequent, like Wynnewood Genuardi's and Narberth Acme, have Passover yogurts, cheeses and other dairy products long after the traditional season ends. And many products carry the Passover certification year-round (raisins, coffee, sugar, Empire poultry, etc.).





Really, what chametz do we need to eat? Do we need to eat challah? We can make hamotzi on matzah. Do I need to bake challah? (Actually, maybe I do, since I take out my frustrations while kneading the dough...) Can't all baked goods be made with matzah flour? Hmm, think about matzah flour hamantaschen -- yum! Do any of us need to eat breakfast cereal? (Those boxes that try to pass themselves off as breakfast cereals for Passover are a hoax! Cardboard inside of cardboard!) Plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables and we'll all be happy campers. If we have a serious longing for chametz, we'll go to TBI for one of the great Shabbat dinners or lunches.





To my husband, if you even think about bringing chametz into the house, stop outside at the picnic table or in the garage and eat it there! There is some reason to wonder if I'll ever be inclined to clean or replace my shelf liner again...





Oh, and by the way, there are now 60 days till Purim! Enjoy!





Meryl S. Raskin


President




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