The Ashkenazi custom to refain from Kitniyos on Passover, that's what.
All these congregants and balebatim who think it's absurd that they would confuse the corn syrup in their Coca-Cola, or their cranberry bean soup, with chometz ask me for reassurance. And I can't give it to them. I can only smile sheepishly as in my heart of hearts I totally agree with them.
And since I defend Judaism to the masses, my justification is that ein hochi nami it is totally insane and unnecessary, and Minhag Yisrael Torah Hee that Jews behave insanely and unnecessarily when it comes to Passover. Why? Because the Torah tells us to, at least when it comes to chometz.
When it comes to the standard rules of Kashrus, the Torah tells us not to eat this or that, throw it to the dog even. But when it comes to chometz, we can't even OWN any from the previous midday or have any 1-seen or 2-found in our homes! Rather extreme.
I think that Jews saw this attitude and said "Ah. so that's how neurotic we should get when we develop our rabbinic and communal-custom extensions of the rule." And voila, no corn syrup!
This theory is based on something the RaM'CHaL says in Mesilas Yesharim. He says that Chazal derived their attitude towards rabbinic fences from the Torah's admonitions to the nazir.
It still annoys me. After all, hundreds of thousands of sefardim have no issue with it. There are no more of those kehillos to enforce it, so there's no more jurisdiction issue as described in the Rambam's intro to the Yad. And when it comes to syrups and oils, there are even Ashkenazi Rabbis, most notably R'Yitzchok Elchonon Spector of Kovno,who allowed liquid Kitniyos derivatives.
Chag Kasher v'Sameyach
Posted by Yehupitz at March 19, 2004 11:36 AM