[Avodah] The Halachic Adventures of the Potato

[Zev Sero via Avodah]

> "The Halachic Adventures of the Potato" « by R' Yitzchak Spitz
> https://ohr.edu/this_week/insights_into_halacha/5184
> [...]
> In fact, and this is not widely known, the Chayei Adam does actually
 > rule this way,

Sigh.  This claim comes up regularly, but as far as I can tell it's not 
true.  If anyone has actually seen this inside the Chayei (or Nishmas or 
whatever) Adam, please correct me by citing the location, but do *not* 
cheat by copying a citation from some secondary source; I will not 
accept it, because I know very well that there are many secondary 
sources who claim this, but none of them give a *valid* reference to 
where he wrote it.  What I *have* seen in the Nishmas Adam is an aside, 
in the course of writing something different, that by the way in Germany 
they treat potatoes as kitniyos.

In fact I'll go further: I don't believe that there has ever been a 
posek of any stature who forbade potatoes as kitniyos, nor any community 
that ever accepted such a practice.  I have seen many sources claiming 
that someone else, somewhere else forbade it, or that some other 
community far away treats it as kitinyos, but never any first hand 
acccount.   When the Rosh writes that in Provence they said Tal Umatar 
from Marcheshvan 7th I believe it, because he was there and saw it with 
his own eyes. But I have never seen anyone report having seen with his 
own eyes a community that forbids potatoes, or a psak din to that 
effect.  It's always someone else somewhere else. Until I see a first 
hand account I don't believe it.


-- 
Zev Sero                May 2017, with its *nine* days of Chanukah,
zev at sero.name           be a brilliant year for us all