Kinneret may not be "Kosher for Passover"

National Infrastructure Minister Yosef Paritzky (Shinui) ordered Mekorot, the national water carrier, to continue pumping water from Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) during the week of Passover in early April. Ultra-Orthodox Jews are protesting the decision, due to their fear that pieces of hametz -- leavened bread religiously prohibited for consumption during the eight-day festival -- thrown into the lake will enter the country's drinking water supply.

In previous years, Mekorot has stopped pumping water from the lake during Passover out of consideration to the ultra-Orthodox population. But this year, due to a plentiful rainfall, the government had to decide whether to risk the wasteful disposal of some of the precious resource or continue pumping.

The Kinneret is currently some 16 centimeters (6 1/2 inches) below the "red line" marking its maximum level. If the lake level continues to rise, Mekorot will be forced to open the Deganya dam and release fresh water into the Jordan River, from which it will flow southward to the Dead Sea. Not opening the dam when the lake is at full capacity would risk flooding in Tiberias and other low areas along the shoreline.

"As long as stopping the pumping of water doesn't cause damage to the economy, we can take into consideration the Haredi population," Paritzky said on Sunday. "But in the present circumstances, if we stop pumping (and open the Deganya dam) we will waste water at a cost of three million dollars. I don't see any reason to transfer these costs to the public," he said.

Government officials, and leading rabbinical authorities, say the risk of tap water being hametz (not kosher for Passover) is slight and can be eliminated by filtering. Several years ago, ultra-Orthodox congregations in Jerusalem appealed to members not to drink tap water because of reports that Arabs were seen throwing sandwiches into the Kinneret. Some very observant members of the community continue to only drink certifiably kosher bottled mineral water during the holiday.

Paritzky's decision drew protests from the ultra-Orthodox, who said the secular minister was demonstrating chutzpah.

"It was the Holy One, blessed be He, who filled the Kinneret in response to the Jews' many prayers," MK Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) said.

"It is the right of all those faithful Jews who prayed to the Holy One, blessed be He, and asked that he open up the skies and bring rain to the Land. Now along comes Paritzky and wants to steal the water that the Jews prayed for. He will make it so Jews won't be able to turn on the tap during the holiday, and will have to filter their water," Gafni said.

Gafni said he would ask Paritzky to cancel his decision, and if not, he would raise the issue for urgent discussion in the Knesset.

Shas party leader MK Eli Yishai said, "Paritzky wants to turn all the people of Israel, the majority of whom are scrupulous about hametz, into sinners." Yishai said he believed that it was possible to find a solution that would be acceptable to the ultra-Orthodox population.

Shas spiritual leader, Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef, said, however, that it was permissible to drink water from the Kinneret during Passover "as long as it is filtered properly."

MK Hemi Doron (Shinui) tried to ease the concerns of Gafni and Yishai by saying they could be assured that bread would not come out of their water taps. "In my house, I have a water filter that makes sure nothing 'foreign' comes out with the water. All the Kinneret's water purification facilities have filters, and therefore any excuse to not drink the water due to a fear of hametz being present seems to me a bit absurd, and gives me a great laughing fit."

Doron said he could understand not pumping from the Kinneret if the lake was nearly empty, "but to stop it out of a fear of bread crumbs? That's ridiculous."

MK Roman Bronfman (Meretz) criticized Paritzky's decision and charged that it apparently came to compensate Shinui's voters for their party's failure to support a civil marriage bill in the Knesset last week.
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mosheshmeal
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Wooo hoo!!!  Deep woods, man!!!

I thought you're gonna talk about the lady Kinneret. Music not kosher??

Quote

not while counting the omer

jake7484, on Mar 22 2004, 05:53 PM, said:

True!

Actually, the Brisker position is that public music is prohibited. As are other public parties even without music. Private music, such as listening to the radio when alone or with one other person, would be allowed.

She'arim Metzuyanim Bahalacha on Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, 117:4

"City water, which comes through pipes to houses, whose administrators mix in additives to clean it, and there are those who worry that these additives are made from chametz -- one should nevertheless say that it is permissible. Even though the Taz (OC 442:8) and the Magen Avraham (442:15) wrote that it is permissible to derive benefit from chametz that has become inedible for a dog, implying that it is forbidden to eat it, nevertheless the Chok Ya'akov (442:19) wrote that if it becomes mixed with something else it is neutralized (batel), even in a simple majority, since one has no intent for it. The Chazon Ish (116:8) wrote similarly regarding medicine that in a mixture there is no prohibition at all. In our case also where the additives are mixed with water and one has no intention for them through which we would say that he gives them importance, there is no concern."

However, the bread is being thrown in by Arabs for the sole puropose of making the water Chametz.
However, I asked my rov about this and he mentioned something about water being transferred into different keilim, I guess similar to holding filters or something, would make the chametz battul.

cynic, on Mar 23 2004, 03:54 PM, said:

It's probably more of a feeling thing. Would you feel comfortable drinking the water if you knew a-rabs were throwing bread in the kinneret?

mosheshmeal
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mosheshmeal, on Mar 23 2004, 04:41 PM, said:

Yeah, why not?