Who doesn't avoid nuts on R.H?

chocolate moose

Mon, Sep 25 2006, 10:50 am

I thought it was a minhag yisroel, until we got a case of honey cake and mandelbrodt and taiglach and some of it was laced with nuts.

So - come clean - who doesn't keep this minhag and why?

chocolate moose

Mon, Sep 25 2006, 11:13 am

sorry to be confusing. I didn't know how to phrase it otherwise.

shalhevet

Mon, Sep 25 2006, 11:17 am

I've also seen recipes in places which should know better (frum magazines etc) for honey cake and other RH delicacies including nuts.
Just because someone doesn't know (or doesn't think) doesn't stop it being minhag Yisroel.

BTW, an extremely frum magazine we suscribe to had a recipe for the nine days for a fish dish which also contained wine.....
We have to use our own heads and not rely on everyone else Very Happy

Sparkle

Mon, Sep 25 2006, 9:00 pm

We just don't eat walnuts - according to DH (and his Rav) all other nuts are OK>

chavamom

Mon, Sep 25 2006, 9:17 pm

mom22 wrote:

We just don't eat walnuts - according to DH (and his Rav) all other nuts are OK>

The minhag is only nuts that are called 'egoz' b/c those have the same gematria as 'chet' (well, same as chet - 1 ). However, for example, almonds are 'shkedim'. Not a problem. Peanuts are 'botnim'. Not a problem.

chen

Tue, Sep 26 2006, 9:42 am

Thank you! Now please tell that to the guest who painstakingly picked every last slivered almond --and I was generous with them--out of my honey cake. (Just his own slice, happily.)

chocolate moose

Tue, Sep 26 2006, 9:45 am

Chen, if it makes you feel any better, our rov told us to avoid ALL nuts. so your guest has an opinion to rely on.

shalhevet

Tue, Sep 26 2006, 9:46 am

chen wrote:

Thank you! Now please tell that to the guest who painstakingly picked every last slivered almond --and I was generous with them--out of my honey cake. (Just his own slice, happily.)

We also learned that almonds aren't 'egozim'.
I hope it wasn't on Shabbos that he did that.
Then again, if you were embarassed maybe it was an issur mi'doraisa on the second day too. Why didn't he just skip the cake altogether? Rolling Eyes

chen

Tue, Sep 26 2006, 9:59 am

Nah, I wasn't embarrassed--but I won't vouch for how the cake felt. It looked like something the cat dragged in by the time he was through with it, but I suppose I ought to be complimented that he apparently wanted the cake so much he was prepared to perform microsurgery on it. As you say, he'd have been better off opting out of the cake altogether.

chen

Tue, Sep 26 2006, 10:02 am

In answer to the original question--I try to avoid nuts wherever and whenever I can, but it's not always possible. Some of them look and sound at first like perfectly normal people. LOL

Chani

Tue, Sep 26 2006, 9:47 pm

Our rav said that it is important at this time of year to remember that "chet" also has the gematria of "chet"!

Ruchel

Wed, Sep 27 2006, 8:55 pm

Lillyofthevalley wrote:

we dont limit anything really

Same here. I've not seen this in my family, I just asked dh and he didn't see this in his either...

Marion

Thu, Sep 28 2006, 4:32 pm

Never crossed my mind. Of course, that might be because I'm allergic to them and avoid them year round. (Charoset in our house is nut-less.)

match

Thu, Sep 28 2006, 5:12 pm

bs"d

Quote:

The minhag is only nuts that are called 'egoz' b/c those have the same gematria as 'chet' (well, same as chet - 1 )

I always wondered about this statement since the gematria of "egoz" is 17 and of "chet" is 18..... Rolling Eyes

Anyone - any ideas?

de_goldy

Thu, Sep 28 2006, 5:17 pm

I dont know how to explain it properly but a difference of 1 (alef) in gematria doesnt matter.

shalhevet

Thu, Sep 28 2006, 7:18 pm

de_goldy wrote:

I dont know how to explain it properly but a difference of 1 (alef) in gematria doesnt matter.

One way of counting gematria adds the number of words to the sum. 17 + 1 = 18.

To understand gematria and not think this is a "cheat" you have to understand that it works backwards. Ie, not that anyone can think of a gematria and from that decide a halacha or minhag. But that there are sometimes halachos/ minhagim/ explanations which are al pi sod (kabala etc which we don't understand) and gematria is used to explain them.

gryp

Thu, Sep 28 2006, 7:22 pm

if you look in the kitzur where it actually says this, it spells "chet" without the alef.