|
Woof Woof: How Dogs Became Essential to Pesach
Rabbi Joshua Kulp
Some of the people reading this column have probably attended a talk I’ve given many times at synagogues across the US, one which I call “Rabbits and Lettuce.” As an introduction, I show illustrations from Haggadot throughout the centuries in which a hare is portrayed being chased by hunting dogs. The dogs, as I explain, are the villains, symbolic of our enemies, hunting the poor hares, symbols of the never-ending persecution of the Jews. My problem is that I’m a great lover of dogs. My shih tzu Joey cuddles with me every night until I finally kick him out of bed for stealing the blankets. So in this piece, I want to look at another aspect of dogs, one that makes them essential to the observance of Pesah.
The issue really is related to what is “food.” Do we consider items that have the same ingredients that are in food to be food if they are not edible or really even eaten? As you’re probably already imagining, this is relevant for the issue of taking medication that contains hametz? Can such medication be used on Pesah? Clearly, this issue is not relevant to medicine that is necessary and you should consult with your medical doctor about any medical decisions. But what about medicine that we could certainly live without? Cough medicine, for instance, for a mild cough. I will try to trace this issue through a few key sources, but of course, this brief article is no substitute for learning the issues at a deeper level.
The rabbis need to determine what is “food” since there are special rules governing the impurity of food that do not apply to non-food items. Mishnah Taharot 8:6 rules that human food continues to be considered “food” until it will no longer be eaten by a dog. In other words, if your bread has gone stale and you would not eat it, but a dog still would (picture wild hungry dogs, not finicky shih tzus) then it still counts as food. This mishnah is cited in juxtaposition with a baraita on Bavli Pesahim 45b which refers to bread that has grown moldy. According to the first opinion, if a human would not eat it but a dog would, then the bread can still become ritually impure. Rabbi Natan is even more lenient, and says that it cannot. The mishnah agrees with the first opinion. To be out of the category of food requires the food to be inedible to dogs. The hunger of a dog, its willingness to eat most, but not all things, allows these wild creatures to be our arbiters of what is food and what is not.
One might think that here we already have the answer to our question–following the majority opinion, once bread would no longer be eaten by a dog, it no longer counts as bread and therefore would not need to be removed before Pesah. The problem is that “leaven” or “starter dough” which the Torah explicitly prohibits on Pesah is exactly this–bread that has gone bad, which even a dog would not eat. This is addressed in another source on the same page. According to the first opinion, bread that has gone bad must still be removed on Pesah because it can be used to make more bread. But according to Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar, this is true only if the bread is designed to be used for food. If one took some of this bad dough and used it to make a stool of sorts, then it can be maintained on Pesah. However, according to another opinion found there, in order to maintain this “dough stool” in one’s home over Pesah one must cover it with plaster. Such an act renders the hametz completely inedible and unusable as food and thus it need not be removed.
There is one more source that comes into play in this issue. On Pesahim 21b Rava rules that if one burned hametz before Pesah, the burnt hametz can be maintained in one’s house on Pesah. Rashi explains that since its taste and appearance have so radically changed, it is no longer considered bread.
As we can imagine, there are numerous debates concerning the finer points of these issues in halakhic literature throughout the centuries. Nevertheless, the Shulkhan Arukh, Orah Hayyim, 442 rules both of these cases. In section 2, he rules that if the bread has gone bad and cannot be eaten by a dog, it need not be removed. Clearly he is not referring here to anything that would be used as starter dough. And in section 9, he rules that if one covered hametz with plaster to use as a seat, then it too may be maintained on Pesah.
There is one more dispute that needs to be brought in before we turn to our practical question concerning medicine that contains hametz. While it is clear that hametz that would not be eaten by a dog may be maintained on Pesah, it is not clear whether one can eat such hametz on Pesah. Rabbi Zerachiah Halevi (the Ba’al Hameor, 12th century Provence) and Rabbenu Nissim (the Ran, 14th century Catalonia) both argue that eating inedible food does not turn them into food and therefore it is permitted to eat your chair made of leaven on Pesah or even after Pesah (bon appetit!). R. Asher (the Rosh, 13th-14th century Germany and Catalonia) argues against this position–eating something turns it into food. After all, how can we say something is not edible when people are eating it! The main relevance of this is with regard to medicines which contain hametz, often as an adhesive coating. Clearly the Meor and the Ran would have no problem with using such medication–but would the Rosh?
There are three other mitigating factors that lead to a general permission to consume medicine that contains hametz on Pesah. First of all, the medicine is in a mixture of hametz and non-hametz. The rules regarding mixtures are more lenient than they are regarding pure hametz. The second mitigating factor is that swallowing pills is not the same as eating them. One does not derive any culinary pleasure while swallowing a pill. The third mitigating factor is that it is often not all that clear whether the medicine even contains hametz–even if grain products were used, were they leavened? Thus, it seems quite clear that medicines that are swallowed without being tasted should be completely permitted on Pesah.
Regarding tasty medicines, often those directed at children, Rabbi Melamed in Peninei Halakhah rules that they do require certification for Pesah. However, he also notes that if it is unclear whether the medicine even contains any hametz, then the medicine should be permitted, even if it has some taste. This is due to a host of halakhic doubts and factors concerning whether this would be prohibited. If possible, one should try to find out if there is any real hametz in the medication. Consulting your local rabbi might be helpful. If there is no obvious hametz in the medication, then it can be consumed as medicine when necessary, since medicine is not food. However, if there is known hametz in the tasty medicine, and the medicine is not necessary (according to one’s medical supervisor) then alternatives to the medicine should be sought.
| 
