Religion & Beliefs

Sweet (Kosher, Non-GMO and Organic) Dreams!

By AmyGuth / January 10, 2008

I remembered this afternoon that I had a dream about Faithhacker. In the dream, I was sitting with Tamar Fox and we were talking about making a "Product of the Week" post. This evening, I was thinking about this dream, and if such a weekly post did exist, how long, I wondered, would take for me to run flat out of things to write about?

As I was considering this, just a bit ago, I got a pretty respectable (and entirely unrelated) headache and, thus, got sidetracked from thinking about Jewy-related products, and thinking instead about a great buckwheat pillow I used to have that felt fabulous to rest an aching head upon. So, I Googl'd, to see if such a thing still existed, and look at the way things come together:

Not only do buckwheat pillows still exist, and in fact, might even be more popular now than they were a decade ago when I had one, but they exist in organic and kosher form. But not only as pillows, but also as mattress rolls. Who knew? Okay, probably a lot of you, whatever. Point being, not only do I not have to live without this fabulous pillow any longer, but I don't have to worry about sleeping in a pile of pesticide-ridden treyf, either.

To find out what on earth would be so great about sleeping on buckwheat (the kernels, not the guy), read this.

 

POST A COMMENT

  • By Dan Garwood 1/11/08 at 2:48 p.m. UTC

    "I could see wool and linen sheets being a big no-no, as you could wrap
    yourself in a sheet (like clothing), but a pillow cover/case you can't
    really use for clothing."

    Unless you're a house elf. 

  • By Yaakov 1/11/08 at 9:04 a.m. UTC

    Buckwheat is kitnyos. However, even Ashkenazi Jews are permitted to own kitnyos during Pesach. You just can't intentionally eat Kitnyos. So, the Buckwheat pillow is ok.

  • By Jonathan..again 1/11/08 at 7:56 a.m. UTC

    Forgot one thing…

    Are buckwheat pillows kitniyot, and if they are, what are you going to sleep on during Passover????

  • By Jonathan 1/11/08 at 7:49 a.m. UTC

    Jews are allowed to own all sorts of non-kosher things, and wearing parts of non-kosher animals is just fine.  They just can't eat non-kosher animal products.  Think footballs (pigskin) and grocers who own all sorts of treif, but sell it to the masses.   Think of all the leather that you wear every day (shoes, belts coats, kipot, etc) that most probably doesn't come from a kosherly shechted cow.  I had a very frum rabbi when I was a kid who loved his "Hush Puppies" (shoes), which were all made of pigskin in those days. 

    Now, I don't know about the linen and wool pillow cover issue.  I could see wool and linen sheets being a big no-no, as you could wrap yourself in a sheet (like clothing), but a pillow cover/case you can't really use for clothing.  Anyone want to chime in on this one???

  • By Simon 1/11/08 at 2:22 a.m. UTC

    a guess:

    could a pillow combine linen and wool and so be non-kosher just like clothes that did the same would? 

  • By Dan Garwood 1/11/08 at 12:28 a.m. UTC

    I was wondering the same thing as zbird.  I mean, it's one thing for Jews not to touch pigs, but unkosher buckwheat?

    Then again, this raises some even sillier questions: do the feathers in a Jew's feather pillow have to come from kosherly slaughtered fowl?

    I can think of at least one example in which a non-food item needs to come from kosher animals: Torah scrolls.  Of course, considering the difference in religious importance of the Torah versus a pillow, I have a feeling this might be an atypical example.

  • By Cavanaugh 1/10/08 at 10:52 p.m. UTC

    Perhaps it's so if you have a case of sleep-eating (http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/guide/sleep-related-eating-disorders) you don't need to worry about violating kashrut in your sleep?

  • By zbird 1/10/08 at 9:19 p.m. UTC

    considering that it's not food, that is.  –Z

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