[Avodah] Pizza - is it Pashtida?

[kennethgmiller at juno.com]

R' Micha Berger wrote:
> I think current norms simply didn't catch up with the fact that
> the basis of the pesaq of saying mezonos on one slice was based
> on a reality that since changed. Few people snack on pizza today
> compared to in the 50s and 60s.

We could probably have a long discussion on what the current norms are, and what realities have changed, if any.

My feeling is that the biggest change (in these inyanim) relates not to what people consider a snack, or what they consider a meal. Quite the contrary. I think the biggest change is that nowadays people tend not to bother even thinking about whether the food they are are eating is a snack or a meal.

Especially when people are alone, they often eat whenever it is convenient, and as much or as little as they're in the mood for, with little regard for whether or not it is a "meal". Actually, I suppose this could apply to groups too: I remember a job I once had, where if there was a staff meeting called for anywhere between 11 and 3, they would order pizza (with assorted toppings) for the staff. I occassionally paid attention, and I found little consistency in regard to whether or not people would also have lunch that day. Some would, some wouldn't. I never actually did this, but I often felt that *IF* I'd ask them "Are you having this as a lunch or a snack?" most would have to think before answering, and that I'd get a wide variety of answers, including things like, "It's a snack, and I'll have another snack later" or similar things.

> Few people snack on pizza today compared to in the 50s and 60s.

I have no idea whether or not I agree with this. It's not unusual for me to be eating pizza on a Motzaei Shabbos while sitting at the computer reading Avodah Digest. Is that a meal or a snack? I really don't know. My brain will give a predictable answer after figuring out how-many-slices and what-else-is-there, but I have no idea what answer my heart and stomach would give.

If it is true that I rarely snack on pizza today compared to in the 60s, it is because nowadays I would never bother to bake a pizza or go to a pizza shop unless it was mealtime and I was hungry. But in the 60s I wasn't kosher yet, and if I was out shopping, snack pizza was an easy option. Come to think of it, snack pizza was an easy option when I was zocheh to live in Yerushalayim, too.

Like I said in the first paragraph, this could be a long discussion. Personally, I think the 1-slice vs. 3-slice rule is as good a way to resolve the question as it ever was. Provided we hold Pashtida to be Pas Habaa B'kisnin, of course!

Akiva Miller

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