[Avodah] popcorn on Pesach

[Micha Berger]

On Wed, Mar 17, 2010 at 08:59:05AM -0400, Jonathan Baker wrote:
: My question is why:  why should we outlaw air-popped popcorn, or microwave-
: popped popcorn, if it takes way less than 18 minutes to pop the popcorn?
: We don't outlaw all wheat products...

Qitniyos never leaven, so why would qitniyos before 18 min be any
different than qitniyos after? Whatever of the reasons offered was the
driving force behind qitniyos, it would seem to exclude "you may apply
the same rules to flour" -- since the rules for qitniyos go beyond those
of flour.

This may be an argument against the sevara that qitniyos were banned
because they used the same bags and silos as wheat, since any qitniyos
made within 18 min of getting wet would then be permissable -- as any
flour lost within it would be backed on time.

OTOH, which Ashkenazi makes his own matzah, relying on his own oven's
ability to completely bake dough in less than 18 min? We don't use flour
outside a matzah bakery altogether. Maybe the wider ban on qitniyos is
related to that, rather than the 18 min time limit we set in a matzah
bakery.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Man can aspire to spiritual-moral greatness
micha at aishdas.org        which is seldom fully achieved and easily lost
http://www.aishdas.org   again. Fullfillment lies not in a final goal,
Fax: (270) 514-1507      but in an eternal striving for perfection. -RSRH