Thread by @JoshuaCypess

1/ #ReshetKeshet. An entry for the food issues on #Passover

Here's Rabbi Dr. Slifkin's 2021 post about the size of a k'zayit (olive) with links to a number of articles. IMO his sizes can be used b'shaat dachak

rationalistjudaism.com/2021/03/monste…

2/ The seder is a locus for many issues in the #DisabilityShulchanArukh, esp. for every kind of eating issue.

Firstly, the food: allergies, alcohol issues, diabetes, obesity, sensory overload (smells/taste/texture). It's key to know levels of obligation.

https://twitter.com/JoshuaCypess/status/1365335606012837900?s=20

3/ The four cups are rabbinic commands for the purpose of (1) freedom (2) joy & (3) remembering the miracle. D'rabbanans are neutralized through a second leniency & esp. if it countermands the original intent of the command

So we can't force someone to drink that violates 1 or 2

4/ Forcing a diabetic or alcoholic to drink 4 cups of wine is odious.

Stories of extreme behavior - e.g. the 2 Amoraim who'd drink the cups & get debilitating headaches - aren't meant as standard practice or even *optimal* We're to be in awe of their sacrifice, not emulate them!

5/ Yet, as I said before, we shouldn't forget the original mitzvah while allowing a leniency. You should know what l'chatchila is while needing to use a kula. But never be ashamed of using a leniency from necessity.

6/ In this case, if you can't drink wine & need to have ice-water, you can make a declaration for yourself - or if you feel they'd understand, for others - that you're drinking to approximate the mitzvah, emphasize that it's to honor the miracle, and this is the best you can do.

7/ That we can't have the korban pesach (the paschal sacrifice) and yet we still go on with the show is a great example of how flexible halakhah can be, needs to be, and declarations of memory can take care of a lot of problems.

8/ Rav Yirmiyahu Kaganoff, a Ner Yisrael musmakh (he's modern-charedi), is clear that health concerns overpower the food commands on Seder night.

"One is never required to perform a positive mitzvah when there is a potential threat to one’s life."

See: rabbikaganoff.com/indigestible-m…

9/ Some other articles & sources about the wine.

Gush: etzion.org.il/en/four-cups-w…

Halachopedia: halachipedia.com/index.php?titl…

Diabetics: jewishdiabetes.org/article.asp?si…

10/ Looking through Kaganoff, I see he touches on how fast to eat the food at the seder. Speed must be "kdei achilas pras" A 'pras' is 6 (or 8) olives. We need to eat 1 olive size.

My opinion: eat steady & consistently b/c the timing is a tautology

See: rabbikaganoff.com/%ef%bb%bfhow-f…

11/ Threading for now.

@threadreaderapp please unroll.

@threader_app please compile.