By Ozzie Nogg
OMAHA, Nebraska — Pesach is coming, so make sure to kasher your water.
In his coverage of the Middle East peace process, freelance journalist Andy Rowell writes, “As much as the conflict between Israel and Palestine is about religion and access to land, it is also about resources and who controls those resources. A primary one is water. The issue of water remains a central part of the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis.”
As if that conflict wasn’t thorny enough, the fight over water (at least during Passover) pits Israelis against Israelis. When I read this headline: Jerusalem gets leaven-free holiday water, I assumed it was a spoof by The Onion — the deadpan satirical news source. But no. The headline topped a 2005 story from San Francisco’s jWeekly.com. An article describing “fears of chametz” in Israel’s water ran in Haaretz, too. Here’s the paraphrased scoop:
In the spirit of the holiday in the Holy Land, Jerusalem’s central water company switched over to kosher-for-Passover tap water. The move came after Jerusalem’s Mayor asked the city’s main supplier of water to make sure that only Passover-safe water will run through Jerusalem pipes during the holiday. The water will be directly drilled from the Rosh Ha’ayin area and then sent to Jerusalem, due to concern that water pumped from the Sea of Galilee (a.k.a. Lake Kinneret) may contain traces of leaven thrown into the water by picnickers or fishermen. The leaven-free water will flow into Jerusalem through the weeklong holiday. The special Passover tap water will also run in the homes of Jerusalem’s Arab residents who get their water from the same company.
This hoo-ha doesn’t affect me, so I’m free to say, “Whatever.” Still, I’m intrigued that a group of people, fearful that stray sandwich crumbs might be floating in the Sea of Galilee, could convince Israel’s water authority to plug the Galilee pipe and pump water from underground aquifers and water reservoirs instead — even though most rabbis (even from the strictest streams of ultra-Orthodox Judaism) said the whole thing was unnecessary since the slight risk of tap water being chametz can be eliminated by filtering. “No one feels the difference,” said a water authority spokesman. “Whenever you open the faucet, you have water.”
Now. While Israelis merrily shower and flush their toilets with Kosher l’Pesach water, New Yorkers wrestle with a different halachic problem. Their tap water is considered (by some) to be tref from the get-go. Why? Because copepods — microscopic shrimp — lurk in the H2O. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, these tiny crustaceans are ubiquitous in ponds, lakes, and reservoirs, but New York City is not required by the EPA to mechanically filter its water. Upon this discovery, New York Jews who observe kashruth begged the Department of Environmental Protection to have the water purified (call it an aquatic dybbuk exorcism), but were told that extracting the crustacean critters wasn’t possible, because they deliver health benefits to reservoirs by eating mosquito larvae, thereby keeping water sources clear. (Too much information? I agree.)
New York rabbis debated the issue. The more lenient decided that in some cases, water containing micro-fauna is permitted. Rabbis of a more rigorous bent decreed that tap water in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island should be filtered before drinking. As in all such situations, individuals were advised to consult their own rabbi for guidance, after which many observant Jews bought special filters and new faucet aerators for Pesach.
At this point I should mention that the Orthodox Union Kosher Hotline states: All unflavored bottled water, seltzer and sparkling water is Kosher for Passover, even without any Kosher supervision. Oh, wow. This means Israelis and New Yorkers could have avoided their “is our tap water chamatzdik or not” drey kop had they stocked up on Evian or phoned Claire Brightwater, producer of 100% spring water that bears her last name.
Ms. Brightwater — who calls herself a psychic, healer and medicine woman — collects her water from a source near Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Once the water is in the bottles, Brightwater uses quartz crystals, sage, sweet grass and intentional prayer to “program” the water for good health, happiness and prosperity. She then asks “the Great Spirit to help feed the hungry children, keep the waters clean and to protect the two- and four-legged on this planet.” Finally, Brightwater plays CDs of New Age healing chants for twelve hours a day until the cases of water are delivered. “I think there’s a revolution happening,” Brightwater said. “I really believe that spiritual people like myself want to make a change, with all the suffering in the world now. So many people have e-mailed me to tell me they can feel the energy flowing through them when they drink the water,” she said. “I’m astounded.”
Me, too. I’m also astounded to learn that Hoffman’s, a kosher food manufacturer in North London, offers jars of ready-made Kosher for Passover salt water. And that customers buy the stuff.
I’ll tell you one thing. Writing this article made me look at holy water in a wholly new light.
*
Ozzie Nogg is a freelance writer from Omaha, NE. Her book of personal stories, Joseph’s Bones, won First Place in the 2005 Writer’s Digest Press International Self-Published Book Awards. To read her short fiction, poetry, essays and occasional blog posts, visit:
http://rabbisdaughter.com and http://ozzienogg.com