Three years ago when I was first diagnosed with Celiac disease my first response was, “well, at least Passover will be easier.” After all, I would now be faced with a lifetime of gluten restrictions; therefore the holiday dedicated to removing gluten from the household should be a snap.
Not so fast. What is off limits on Passover is not gluten itself, but fermentation. According to the rabbis, Chametz, or leavening, refers to any of the five grains -wheat, spelt, oats, barley, rye -being left in water for more than eighteen minutes. The grains themselves are kosher for Passover. Therefore, holiday staples like gefilte fish, matzah balls, and even matzah itself, may be Pesasich, but are definitely not gluten free.
What Celiac disease has taught me about Passover, and about dietary restrictions at large, is how complicated it is to eat at all. And, yet how lucky I am to live in America in the year 2019, when the grocery store is filled with items that are available to me, even on Passover.
But the Fast of Unleavened Bread, is not just about our own personal food tzurus (Yiddish for problems), but our collective food tzurus. Matzah, after all, is the bread of affliction, a reminder of the millions and millions of humans this year who have no idea of where their next meal will come from (584,585,309 to be exact). We fast because they fast, and in light of their suffering, nothing, not even Celiac Disease, can be so bad.
Shabbat Shalom and a happy end to Passover,
Rabbi Alex
Last Updated on 05/02/2019 by wpadm