Re: Meandering Jerri Type Post

In article <4oNNj.8339$nT1.5278@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
"Annie" <annie@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> spake thusly:

> Our minhag is to eat the chrain inside the romaine lettuce during
> moror and then again with matzoh during koraich. Some people add the
> horseradish root to the chrain inside the romaine (not me). Women
> aren't excused from any of the rituals involved, we even say kiddush
> together instead of just listening to the baal habais...just at the
> seder, btw, not Shabbos or other holidays.

Yes, I wasn't saying that you don't need to eat horseradish because
you're exempt, I'm saying that no one needs to eat horseradish per
halacha[1].  It's just a minhag[2].  The real halacha is to eat maror.
Both horseradish and romaine halachically are forms of maror.  Your
total of horseradish (whether chunk or grated) and romaine needs to
add up to a k'zayis.  If you're having trouble eating your minhag's
minimum of horseradish, chunk or grated, you can (and halachically
should) compensate with romaine rather than missing out on your
k'zayis.  This is not a male vs. female thing -- guys can do the same
thing, l'khat'khila[3].  We guys just tend to eat more horseradish
because we're manly/macho/stupid.  :)

But don't take my word on it!  Especially since I haven't stepped into
a yeshiva[4] in at least 10 years.  Ask your local rabbi.  :) Assuming
you care about halacha, of course -- if you don't, you can just ignore
this.  :)

> Some time ago someone (some Rabbinical authority, I'm gonna assume) 
> determined that the k'zayis is supposed to be the volume of an egg as 
> opposed to an olive and their/his reasoning was that back in the day the

> olives were considerably larger than they are now.

Indeed.  Which still doesn't tell you how large the k'zayis is,
because eggs come in different sizes, too.  Even chicken eggs are sold
in sizes ranging from medium to jumbo.

There are some rabbanim who actually gave a metric equivalent for the
k'zayis in cubic centimeters.

- Morty


[1] halacha = jewish law

[2] minhag = custom/tradition.  Jews take traditions very seriously.

[3] l'khat'khila = literally "before the fact", i.e. as a question of
    halachic preference.  As opposed to "b'di'eved", "after the fact":
    not preferred, but if done anyway, or if there is no choice, the
    requirement is still fulfilled.

[4] yeshiva = Jewish place of study/school.  Literally, sitting place.