A Passover story you'll never believe...

[rockymountaindem]

Happy Passover everyone!

It's that time of year again where I must forgo all leavened bread products (actually, I only started this a couple of years ago as part of my program to be more observant).

I am a student at the University of Toronto, at St. Michael's College. St. Mike's is a Catholic institution, and I was put here because they ran out of room at the more secular dorms on campus. I went into the dining hall tonight where they were serving lasagna. I asked if the noodles were egg noodles (because if they're made of grain I can't eat them this week). The cook, much to my surprise, asked if I am Jewish. I replied that I was, and told her that I'd just go get a salad. She told me that they knew it was Passover and that they had some special non-bread stuff prepared for the Jewish students. Needless to say I was pleasantly surprised. So, they come out with a tray of some suspicious looking cafeteria style meat, and plop some on my plate. I asked them what it was. The cook replied that it was ham. I asked again. Yeah, it was actually ham.

I walked out into the dining hall with my special Passover ham in stunned amazement. Here these people go out of their way to have special food for Passover for the 4 Jews here at St. Mike's, and they make ham.

I sat down with my friends and told them what happened. I gave the ham to this *huge* wrestler I know who'll eat anything. Then my Jewish roommate walked by to go get his food, and I warned him not to ask any questions and just get the salad and some potatoes.

One of my friends, who is Ukrainian Orthodox, got up and went inside with my roommate. He asked the same question about the lasagna, said he was Jewish, and got his slice of ham. At this point, he informed the cook that ham was also against "his" religion. Then my Jewish roommate walked over to him and said "what's going on here? We can't eat that". So out comes the manager to profusely apologize to my roommate and my honorary Jewish friend. They immediately said that they had matzo in the back, and quickly prepared some turkey and carrots for my roommate and my friend. My friend gave his turkey to me and I finally got something to eat.

I guess these Catholics need to read their bibles more

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

1. Happy Pesach to you!

Valarie

[rockymountaindem]

2. Thanks!

[EstimatedProphet]

3. Nothing like that passover ham!

Yum! Almost as good as the lamb boiled in milk!

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

4. DUMB DUMB DUMB FORGET IT I SAID NOTHING

Nothing, you hear me?

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

5. Nu?

[absyntheNsugar]

6. You know this would be funny if it weren't so sad

<shakes head>

[asthmaticeog]

7. Similarly, but not nearly as funny...

...my cousin made beef for the Seder meal, but in order to accomodate non-red-meat-eaters, he prepared sushi. Some of it made with shellfish. A Jew did this. For Passover. Not that we're the most observant family ever to come down the pike (obviously), but for cryin' out loud, fundamentals, people!

I didn't call him on it, as it WAS a thoughtful gesture to prepare an alternative. I just grinned to myself and pounded another glass of wine to wash down my delicious beef.

BTW, hag sameach, rockymountaindem!

[Book Lover]

8. It kills me to defend a Catholic anything

but as a former Catholic, I think they really were trying their best.

Look at it this way - you have a conversation piece for the rest of your life with that story

[stellanoir]

9. having run a vegetarian kitchen in a whitebread school. . .

and having eaten kosher for a while I can totally empathize. Most folks are clueless.

Happy Pesach.

[rockymountaindem]

10. I'm not trying to bring down their effort,

but even the people in Colorado Springs know Jews don't eat pork. If they know, then I'd think people in a cosmopolitan city like Toronto would know. Did you know there are 165,000 Jews in Toronto? On the first night of Passover I went to a friends house for a Seder. On the drive up the "Jewish" street was packed. I asked what all the traffic was for. They replied "oh, this is Passover traffic, everyone is going to somebody else's house". Un-friggin-believeable. I come from a town with 2 synagoge with a combined membership of maybe 700 families. Toronto has enough Jews that we can create a traffic jam all by ourselves. Here in Toronto there are synagogues *next-door to other synagogues*! I couldn't believe my eyes... "hey, there's a synagogue. What's that next to it? Another synagogue!" There's even a Chabad street that intersects Bathurst (the "Jewish" street I mentioned earlier). Man, I almost fell off my seat.

Sadly, events have put me in the one puddle of religious conservatism in Toronto, St. Mike's college.