(no subject)

[lethargic_man]

Knocked my Music 4000 keyboard over the other day; the ribbon cable went taut as it fell, and promptly tore itself out of the plug at the end (the opposite end from the one I've repaired several times already). Having now repaired this, again with a pair of pliers, the pins are all wonky, and the plug is never going to go properly back together again (even if I hadn't snapped off all the plastic lugs holding it together), but at least the keyboard is working again. Maybe I ought to get myself a little desk vice for such purposes...

Today I got myself a blowtorch, to help in the Pesach kashering (possibly not this year so much as future years when I do kasher my oven, though it would help to expedite the process of cleaning my gas hobs). What do you reckon are the chances I'll set my place on fire? :o)

Comments

[compilerbitch.livejournal.com]

I am constantly amazed that however much time goes by with a goodly proportion of my friends and acquaintances being Jewish, there is roughly one observance a week mentioned on my friends list that I've never heard of. Which, considering that this is also roughly the frequency of observances being mentioned, that's one complicated religion you've got there! :-) I'm sure there are probably some clever statistical tricks I could use to figure out the total number from the collision rate relative to the overall rate, but I can't be bothered.

Can I ask the stupid question -- what's kashering, and why do you need a blowtorch for it? I mean, any excuse to fiddle with a blowtorch is generally fine by me, but I can't help wanting to ask!

[lethargic-man.livejournal.com]

I am constantly amazed that however much time goes by with a goodly proportion of my friends and acquaintances being Jewish,

They are?

there is roughly one observance a week mentioned on my friends list that I've never heard of. Which, considering that this is also roughly the frequency of observances being mentioned, that's one complicated religion you've got there! :-)

Yup. The Babylonian Talmud occupies an entire bookshelf, including its commentaries, and was followed by century upon century of law codes, commentaries, commentaries upon the commentaries, and responsa.

Can I ask the stupid question -- what's kashering, and why do you need a blowtorch for it? I mean, any excuse to fiddle with a blowtorch is generally fine by me, but I can't help wanting to ask!

Kashering is the process of making something kosher. During the festival of Pesach (Passover), you are not allowed to have any חמץ (chāmetz, leaven) in your possession; this means doing a full re-kasher of one's kitchen—not just a spring clean, but rendering all surfaces and utensils ritually clean. The use of a blowtorch is not essential, but it can expedite the process, by turning stubborn-to-remove food traces into charcoal, which (a) does not count as food, and (b) is probably easier to remove.

[compilerbitch.livejournal.com]

By 'leaven' does that mean something yeast-containing? I suppose modern yeast is relatively safe for anyone with a normal immune system, but I can imagine that this may not always have been the case so it makes some sense. Attacking food deposits with a blowtorch would certainly kill any yeast in them pretty effectively too.

(Yes, I often seem to find out that people I happen to know, particularly here in the US but also in Cambridge and London, turn out to be Jewish by descent, even if they aren't practicing the religion to any significant extent)

[liv]

Leaven (or at least the Hebrew term we are translating by it) means specifically fermented grain. So during passover we mostly avoid leaven by avoiding any grain products which might possibly get leavened. Matza is the exception, because although it contains grain it has been carefully watched throughout its production to make sure it did not become leavened. But wine is perfectly fine, (in fact, it's a compulsory component of the Passover meal, the Seder), because it isn't a grain product.

It further complicates matters that these laws were originally derived by people who didn't know about yeast, so we have to match their folk definition of leavening to something we can understand in terms of modern microbiology. Even more complication comes from the fact that the major commentators who developed the law into a workable form were city-dwelling intellectuals who knew next to nothing about agriculture. So they did dumb things like counting legumes as a sub-category of grain because the seeds sort of look alike. There are also some New World grains like quinoa that don't count as grain because they weren't known at the time the laws were formulated.

Yeah, like you said, complicated religion we have here...

[lethargic-man.livejournal.com]

So they did dumb things like counting legumes as a sub-category of grain because the seeds sort of look alike.

They're not counted as a subcategory of grain, they're counted as things which (especially ground-up) are easily mistakable for grain.

There are also some New World grains like quinoa that don't count as grain because they weren't known at the time the laws were formulated.

Not because they weren't known at the time, but because they don't grow in the land of Israel. That's why rice isn't counted as a grain. Now, whilst rice is counted as קטניות, I suspect by the time you get to the twentieth century, Ashkenazi poskim were desperate to find something they could eat...

[compilerbitch.livejournal.com]

Yup. The Babylonian Talmud occupies an entire bookshelf, including its commentaries, and was followed by century upon century of law codes, commentaries, commentaries upon the commentaries, and responsa.

I think there is a common misconception (amongst Christians) that Judaism is based on the Christian old testament. Clearly that can't be the case -- however you translated it, there would be an information theory problem associated with getting all that material into such a small place!

[compilerbitch.livejournal.com]

(And yes, I know that's backwards logic -- I'm getting all too used to that kind of thinking this side of the pond)

[lethargic-man.livejournal.com]

I think there is a common misconception (amongst Christians) that Judaism is bsed on the Christian old testament.

This is probably because most of what Christians know about Judaism comes from the OT, and the NT, at which time the Bible was all the Jewish religious books there were, as there was a taboo on writing down the Oral Law.

[curious-reader.livejournal.com]

I would be too scared using a blowtorch. I once a borrowed a week one from Yakar people but only opened it and needed to ask the neighbours to close it for me as the gas came permanently out. I always ring Shabbat but only when I move. I don't know how much the nice Chabbad Rabbi has time before Pesach. The poor man had an accident and broke his arm. He had an operation and let somebody else doing it whilst he was watching and instructing him.

[curious-reader.livejournal.com]

Whoops little mistake. I meant a weak blowtorch. It was not working properly. I never put it on fire.

pesach kashering

[(Anonymous)]

why don't you just use Mr Muscle Oven Cleaner instead?

Paul

Re: pesach kashering

[lethargic-man.livejournal.com]

I do, but it still involved lots of work, when I kashered my oven in the first place. And can you use Mr Muscle to clean all the bits of the gas hobs?