This Passover, Kosher Pig's On the Menu

Modern life is filled with kosher pigs, utter inconsistencies we sometimes hardly notice; but they are there, and they are enlightening. For Jews, this Passover is case in point.

• Here’s a little break from the heaviness of the current news, with a relevant message about hypocrisy. But given the importance of what’s happening, I also share below a digest of some important links and quick thoughts regarding this week’s stories. To see that, scroll down or click on the footnote (and yes, there’s lots to share).¹

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AI-Generated image - NOT REAL - from Canva.com

This year, Passover begins on a Saturday night, April 12, something we don’t experience often. According to Rabbi David Golinkin, this anomaly occurs only 12% of the time.

And whenever it occurs, people invariably ask two questions: When should we stop eating hametz (prohibited leavened products)? And the corollary, by what time should our house be completely clean for the holiday? On Friday morning or Saturday morning?

The standard response is the house should be ready on Friday, before Shabbat, instead of the morning of the Seder (this year Saturday), which is usually the case. For most American Jews, who are secular in most respects, the premise is based on an utter inconsistency. Many will have their houses ready for Passover by Friday afternoon because they want to do Passover “right,” when in fact they’ll be rushing their preparations in order to keep Shabbat rules they don’t normally keep.

To be “consistent” with their normal practice, the non-Shabbat observer should consume leavened products until Saturday — not Friday — morning. Why should this Shabbat be different from all others?

The late Rabbi Richard Israel once wrote a book titled “The Kosher Pig.” The intriguing title stems from a story he tells about a pious Jew who was told by his doctor he had a rare disease that could be cured only by eating pork. Now, Jewish law states that in order to save a life, virtually any of the law’s requirements can — in fact must — be broken. But that wasn’t enough for this man. He determined the pig had to be slaughtered in the kosher way, painlessly, before he ate it. So he brought the pig to the local ritual slaughterer, who acquired a special knife that would never be used on a kosher animal. After slaughtering it in the “proper” ritual manner, the shochet examined the pig’s lungs to look for blemishes. He had no idea what he was looking at, but he finally concluded the lungs had no serious abrasions (and was therefore “smooth” or “glatt”).

“So, nu?” the man asked, “Rabbi, is this pig kosher?” The rabbi examined the lungs for some time and then declared:

“It may be kosher, but it’s still a pig.”

Modern Jewish life is filled with kosher pigs, utter inconsistencies we sometimes hardly notice; but they are there, and they are enlightening.

Which brings me back to Passover. The same thing happens every year regarding dietary restrictions. On Passover, many Jews who otherwise do not keep the dietary laws in their everyday lives become fanatic about ridding their homes of leaven and bringing matzo sandwiches to the classroom or office. A ham-on-matzo sandwich is hardly an unthinkable scenario in this perplexing world of kosher pigs. It’s kind of like the guy who drives to synagogue on Yom Kippur but tells the policeman writing him a ticket he can’t put money in the meter on a Jewish holiday.

Some more gems from Israel’s book:

“An observant Jew has just made a serious pass at me. Do you think he will want me to go to mikva (ritual bath) before I have an affair with him?”

And another:

One commercial fisherman in California called his rabbi to see if it was kosher to use pieces of squid as bait when he goes fishing. An interesting question, because squid has no fins and scales and is therefore unkosher; but does it affect the Kashrut of the fish caught? A fascinating question, except he called the rabbi on Saturday morning to ask it.

Oy.

All of these people are, to some degree, serious Jews, and for that alone we must commend them. We might laugh at the inconsistency, we might even call it hypocrisy, but if they are hypocrites, we should all be so hypocritical. We all must learn the difference between pretending and striving, between going halfway in earnest and throwing it all away without giving it half a chance.

To be a hypocrite means at least we’ve set high, virtuous goals for ourselves, even if we don’t always live up to them. I’d rather do that, and fall short, than set no high standards at all. Most of us are so afraid of being called hypocrites we take the easy road. If we expect little of ourselves, we usually deliver.

So as we approach this unusual alignment of Passover and Shabbat, let’s allow for a little kosher pigheadedness. For those Jews and others who’ve rarely kept Shabbat in this manner before, don’t feel funny about keeping it a little more meticulously this time. It’s OK to be inconsistent.

You might even enjoy it.

This article is adapted from one that was syndicated by R.N.S.

And now…a digest of key links from this week’s news…

1. Some key articles, vids and pods:

Jeffrey Goldberg and Anne Applebaum discuss the Signal group chat | New Orleans Book Festival

• Boston Globe editorial today: Antisemitism is a Real Problem at Harvard. Yanking $9b in Federal Funds is not the Solution “…Moves like this cheapen the cause of fighting antisemitism. It doesn’t help Jewish students to halt cancer research or close labs. What would help Jewish students — and all students — is an administration that sincerely wants to work with schools to solve their problems and make sure all students learn in an environment free of discrimination.”

  

  

  • And while we’re at it. I have major differences with Bernie Sanders over Israel, but he was totally spot-on at this hearing last week. Watch this brief clip.

  • 19 hours into anti-Trump Senate speech, Cory Booker proclaims, ‘Hineni’ — I am here (JTA) Later, he donned a hostage pin and mentioned Edan Alexander, the Israeli-American soldier from New Jersey who is a captive in Gaza. See also: Breaking down what Cory Booker spoke about during his record-setting speech, and when. (Begen Record)

    • Ha’aretz podcast: 'Qatargate': Explaining the Scandal That Has Netanyahu Panicked. Headline below from Yediot: What Did Netanyahu Know?

      

  Why Netanyahu's Aides Became Suspects, Potential Charges, and Their Qatar Connection

  The investigation into the ties between Netanyahu's advisers and Qatar raises complex legal issues, including whether they qualify as public servants and are therefore liable for bribery charges, as well as the fact that the same attorney represents both the PM and one of his aides

  

  source: Ha’aretz

  • For those looking for a clear analysis of the current sitation in the Middle East, diplomatically and miliatarily, a superb lecture by a seasoned expert…

  Ehud Yaari - The Day After the End of the Gaza War: New Opportunities

  And here’s another resource that I recommend highly:

  Distress Signal | March 28th 2025 (Unholy podcast)

The most comprehensive and balanced source of info on Israel the current situation is Unholy. Yonit Levy, Israel’s Walter Cronkite (there is no one currently to compare her to in this country) provides balanced and insider background that puts American media outlets, on the left and the right right, to shame. See the contents of the current podcast below. The protests in Gaza - by Palestinians - is a huge story that has been under-covered over here. It could represent a real turn.

02:07 The Signal Gate Scandal 05:01 Judicial Overhaul and Political Power 08:12 Public Sentiment and Protests 10:56 Comparative Politics: Israel and the US 14:05 The Future of Israeli Democracy 15:23 The War and Territorial Claims 21:51 Protests in Gaza: A Shift in Dynamics 27:41 The Human Cost of Conflict 30:55 The Arrest of Hamdan Bilal 32:12 The Signal Story: A Security Breach 40:26 Amateurism in National Security 44:11 Chutzpah Award: Political Controversies 47:45 Resilience in Adversity: The Story of Eli Sharabi

• Why support this Saturday’s Hands Off National Day of Action? I recieved this letter from the Clergy Letter Project that explains our current concerns perfectly:

  Dear Members and Friends of The Clergy Letter Project,

  I am writing today not as the founder and executive director of The Clergy Letter Project but simply as an individual concerned about the state of democracy in the United States. In case you are not aware of the protests set for this coming Saturday, 5 April 2025, I want to bring them to your attention and encourage you both to participate and to invite others you know to participate as well.

  You can read more about the scheduled protests here and with over 1,000 rallies scheduled nationwide, you can find one near you here.

  Although I believe everyone in the United States should be concerned about what is happening, I think members and friends of The Clergy Letter Project might be particularly concerned for a host of reasons.

  Science is under attack: The country’s scientific infrastructure is being hollowed out while respect for the process of science is being undermined. NIH funding has been savaged, a huge percentage of personnel at NOAA, FDA, and CDC have been fired, and an individual with a clear bias against the efficacy of vaccination has been put in charge of assessing vaccination safety. Consider the statement released by more than 1900 members of the US National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine decrying the assault on science. Needless to say, this is not a group that is prone to making extreme statements!

  Religion is under attack: Trump and members of his administration have repeatedly attacked religious leaders for promoting the ideals inherent in most religions: caring for others, especially those most in need. I’m certain you’ve seen plenty of these examples since the inauguration, but I want to bring one specific one to your attention. The Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande has been accused by the federal government of human trafficking because of their long-standing practice of helping migrants legally in the United States. Please take a look at how Bishop Michael Hunn addressed this issue.

  Human rights are under attack: Under the guise of deporting criminals, people are bring rounded up on our streets, often by federal agents hiding their personal and professional identities, and brought into custody. These people are provided no opportunity to defend themselves. Some have been shipped to prisons, described as slave labor camps, in El Salvador even though there’s ample evidence that they’ve done absolutely nothing illegal, with the government admitting just today that at least one such person was sent there in error (although they say there’s nothing they can do about ensuring his return). Trans people are being singled out for particular attention with executive orders limiting their rights.

  Free speech is under attack: Members of the administration have clearly said they have the right to deport any person who says anything with which they disagree. That this is not mere hyperbole is demonstrated by the fact that a Tufts University student from Türkiye has been arrested for writing an op-ed piece published in her college newspaper arguing that Tufts’s refusal to divest from companies supporting Israel is a mistake. According to reports in The New York Times, the US Naval Academy is in the process of removing hundreds of books from its library, books including those discussing the lives of Jackie Robinson, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Albert Einstein, claiming that they’re anti-American.

  The environment is under attack: Virtually everything associated with combating climate change is being dismantled, as are many of the protections we’ve had covering clear air and water. Regulations are being rolled back, National Monuments are being scaled back, while deforestation is being promoted and public lands are being put up for sale.

  Our educational infrastructure is under attack: The Department of Education is being dismantled while colleges and universities are being threatened with defunding unless they capitulate to the administration’s demands, demands which often limit speech. And capitulating is what too many of them seem to be doing. The Smithsonian Institution is being instructed to alter the way it views and presents American history with parts coming under particular attack; it’s unclear if the National Museum of African American History and Culture will be permitted to continue to exist.

  The rule of law is under attack: The administration has been ignoring court orders, seemingly without consequence. Trump has been attacking some of the nation’s largest law firms, and some are capitulating to his extortionate demands. The Department of Justice has been making threats to politicians for saying things Trump doesn’t like and people protesting Elon Musk’s actions by promoting a Tesla boycott are being threatened with legal action.

  The American safety net is under attack: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and VA services are all under attack. Services have been dramatically scaled back and the number of people working in each of these areas has been dramatically reduced. Reports suggest that FEMA is likely to be closed in the fall.

  For all of these reasons and more, I encourage you to join a local protest this coming Saturday and to urge friends, colleagues, neighbors, and relatives to do the same. If millions of us show up to say that what is happening is unacceptable, is inhumane, is dangerous, is immoral, is despicable, is un-American perhaps we can convince millions more to join us. Our elected leaders will have to notice such a movement.

  But, whether our leaders act in response to our protests or not, I believe we must protest because what is occurring is so terribly wrong. It is up to us to demonstrate to the world that we are unwilling to accept what is happening. I hope you feel similarly and join me, in your location, on Saturday.

  Thanks for reading and for all you do.

  Michael

  Michael Zimmerman

  Founder and Executive Director

  The Clergy Letter Project

  www.theclergyletterproject.org

  https://bsky.app/profile/mzclergyletter.bsky.social

• I leave you with this distrubing image: To see the front page of a Chinese newspaper and wonder whether the two countries have switched places, Freaky Friday style. Of course we know that China is as dangerous as always. But has it become a more stabilizing force?