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<DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2
face=Arial>From: "Prof. Levine via Avodah"
<avodah@lists.aishdas.org><BR>Subject: [Avodah] Understanding an
Unfriendly Minhag: Not Eating Out<BR>
on Pesach<BR><BR><BR>>....Lest anyone think that I actively
endorse<BR>>this practice of not eating out on Pesach, let me say this: Rabbi
Reiss'<BR>>article brought many sources to show that this practice is a
legitimate<BR>>minhag, not to be disparaged; but I did not see any suggestion
of why<BR>>someone would want to act this way, or any explanation of how this
practice<BR>>got started. This is especially so in situations where the
kashrus<BR>>standards of the would-be host are at least as high as those of
the<BR>>would-be guest. ... [--RAM]</FONT></DIV><FONT
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<DIV><BR>And how, pray tell, is one to determine how "the
kashrus<BR>standards of the would-be host are at least as high as those of
the<BR>would-be guest"?<BR><BR>Is one to make an inspection of the host's
kitchen and review all of <BR>the products he uses? If so, is this not
insulting to the host?<BR><BR>YL</FONT></FONT></DIV>
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<DIV>>>>>>></DIV>
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<DIV><BR>You don't inspect the host's kitchen because you don't eat in his
house! That's the point!</DIV>
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<DIV>Chassidim and others have this minhag of "not mishing" on Pesach
--" not mixing" our meals with other families. This custom of
not eating at other people's houses on Pesach has its source in this,
precisely: the desire not to insult anyone, not to embarrass anyone and
not to hurt anyone's feelings on this of all holidays, the one holiday when we
are all more careful than usual about what we will and will not eat.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The "unfriendly" chassidishe minhag has a very friendly corollary, at least
in chutz la'aretz where we have two days of yom tov: On the last day of
Pesach we /davka/ go out to eat or invite others to our homes and make a point
of "mishing." If you don't have anyone over for a meal at least you go out
visiting other people's homes in the afternoon, and make a point of eating
something there. It's sort of like a sukka hop, you try to visit a few
different homes and also host a few different people in your home. At
least this was the minhag in my family growing up and among the people I knew in
my youth.</DIV>
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<DIV><B><FONT color=#0000ff>--Toby Katz<BR>t613k@aol.com</FONT><FONT lang=0
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