Se'or - Sourdough Starter & The Amulet Of Challah

י"ד בניסן תשס"ז

Dave at Balashon posts (via Orrin Tilevitz on Mail-Jewish) regarding se'or and the myth that yeast is forbidden on pesach:

To the extent this myth exists - and I don't know anybody who thinks baking soda and baking powder are inherently not kosher for Passover - it may be a result of the widespread mistranslation of the word "se'or" (see, e.g., Exodus 12:15). Beginning with the King James and continuing through the original JPS and the current Art Scroll translations, the word is rendered as "leavening", which could include baking powder and soda - or, for that matter, egg whites. I once spoke to an Orthodox rabbi who told me that "se'or" meant yeast, and therefore yeast was inherently prohibited on Pesach. (My response was to ask whether he drank wine on Pesach, a question lost on him because he seemed not to understand what fermentation was.) But se'or doesn't mean any of these things. It actually means "sourdough starter" (see, e.g., Rav Saadia Gaon's commentary, and the supercommentary on it, in Torat Chaim), which is a mixture of flour, water and yeast spores from that air, that is left to ferment, in the process of which the yeast grows. AFIK, until recent times sourdough starter was the leavening agent in bread; bakers in chazal's era did not have yeast as a separate product.

Consequently, we can see that all "things of the ego" are not forbidden. Merely those "things of the ego" which ultimately lead to "sourness" are forbidden.

A sour ego, necessarily then, retards development and is an obstacle to psychospiritual redemption. This idea is connected to the fact that my challah tray (the one I've had for nearly a decade) broke this year. It won't be around for pesach.

Challah is from the hebrew root חלה meaning to "retard development", "weaken", "hurting", "hindering well being", "appeasing", "losing control of senses", and an "amulet or necklace against illness" [1]. Thus, and importantly, we can see that the mitzvah of challah acts an amulet against illness, suffering and losing control. Ultimately however, using the amulet of challah to avoid tikun of the feminine retards feminine psychospiritual development.

Thank Goddess my challah tray broke!

There is a well known understanding in The Craft that if one uses a protective amulet or talisman, when the amulet or talisman breaks, this indicates that it is no longer needed, it has successfully fulfilled its purpose of protection, and the danger has passed by. In other words, the danger the device was protecting against has "passed over". A real pesach kinda thing.

Footnote:

[1] Etymological Dictionary Of Biblical Hebrew, R' Matityahu Clark

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