We talk about Passover being about freedom. Not only freedom _from_ oppression, from slavery, from want, but also freedom _to_ limit ourselves, to make choices, to live by a set of ethics and morals as set out by the Torah on Shavuout, or just in general — as free people we have privilege and also responsibility.

But damned if that privilege doesn’t drive us crazy sometimes. I enjoyed this article by Sara Deseran called Feast of Burden, which talks about the challenges of wild vs. farmed lox, the ten minute agonizing over the freezer case at your grocery store, the guilt that comes when your head knows but your stomach still craves.

Deseran quotes Patricia Unterman, “the food writer and co-owner of Hayes Street Grill—the pre-theater institution known for its support of small farms and hook-and-line fishing. She admits to me that she agonizes over what to put on her menu: “It’s a constant battle: what I can serve, what I can’t serve. [Food] is our local religion, which means that everything becomes an issue of moral decision.” ”

Is it a moral decision? Is it something we do anyways, even if we know it wont make a difference? Is it in the practice of limiting desire that we live Jewishly and ethically in the world?

Read the full article.