[Sca-cooks] "Glatt Kosher" and "Ashkanzic Kosher"?

[Lilinah]

Stefan li Rous
>and others, Sepharic? Jews across Africa and up through Spain

You got it backwards :-)

Many Jews moved to the Iberian Peninsula while it was under Roman control.

When it became al-Andalus, Spain, and Portugal, Iberian Jews 
eventually began calling themselves Sephardim. In 1492 the Sephardim 
were thrown out of Spain by Ferdinand and Isabella. Not all were 
found at that time, so the expulsions continued into the next century 
or two. And even Jews who had converted to Christianity were treated 
badly for centuries (as discussed in "A Drizzle of Honey"). They are 
known as Marranos and the family names are recognized even today, so 
that, although it has been over 500 years, some are still treated 
with prejudice in some place (or at least were even into the 1980s 
and 90s...).

Anyway, a lot of Spanish Jews fled to North Africa, while a smaller 
number fled to the Netherlands. The first Jews in the colonies that 
became the USA were Sephardim, the oldest is Touro Synagogue, which 
was founded in 1658, in Newport, Rhode Island, by Portuguese (i.e. 
Sephardic) Jews.

Many Sephardim also ended up in the Ottoman Empire. However not long 
OOP-for-the-SCA the Ottomans began persecuting the Jews.

>but I hadn't realized that the food
>restrictions were different

The Ashkenazim, and the Sephardim, and the Mizrachim (Jews who never 
left the Middle East) have different rules. Certain things are true 
for all of them, but when it comes to what is allowed for 
Passover/Pesach, the Ashkenazim tend to be "xenophobic" about foods, 
as someone on this list put it. The Sephardim and the Mizrachim allow 
foods that the Ashkenazim forbid.

For example, during Passover, Jewish law prohibits the consumption of 
foods containing leavening (esp. yeast), or any food made of the 
"five species" of grain - generally considered to be wheat, rye, 
barley, spelt, or oats - which might ferment. The exception is 
matzoh, which is ritually supervised to make sure no leavening occurs.

The Ashkenazim also will not eat rice, legumes (chickpeas, lentils, 
beans, etc.), or corn/maize during Passover, while the Sephardim 
(and, i think, the Mizrachim) will eat them. Some major US soda 
producing corporations make special "kosher for Passover" sodas 
without corn syrup. Soy is another problematic item, and the 
Ashkenazim won't allow it for Passover, but IIRC, the Sephardim, at 
least, can consume soy. Basically, if it's unfamiliar, the Ashkenazim 
ban it during Passover.

Some small evangelical Christian denominations also keep Kosher, 
since that is how Christianity was originally - follow all Jewish 
laws, plus recognize Jeheshua (aka Jesus) as the Meshiach (aka 
Messiah). It was Paul who decided he'd get more converts by not 
making the gentiles have to keep Kosher, and by not making the 
gentile males get circumcised. I've got a Christian Passover Haggadah 
in my collection...
-- 
Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM)
the persona formerly known as Anahita

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