Just in time for Passover, lots of religious pet news! This week we learned that Pope Benedict XVI's loves cats -- he even has an authorized biography written by a furry friend named Chico who was his neighbor in Germany. The book is called “Joseph and Chico: The Life of Pope Benedict XVI as Told by a Cat" (as told to journalist Jeanne Perego).

As for Jewish furballs, a recent article at Petside.com suggests that Passover is the perfect time to have your pets keep kosher too. While the dogs at my seder (there were four!) seemed to enjoy a stray matzoh ball, the article doesn't offer much insight into KforP pet food. It does, however, provide some helpful hints for keeping Fido kosher the rest of the year:

The companies that now provide kosher kibble adhere to the strict separation of meat and dairy to qualify the food as kosher for animals. This does not make the pet food kosher for human consumption, and in a kosher household, the animal’s dish would have to be washed in a bathroom or laundry room sink, separate from the kosher supplies in the kitchen.

Of course, there are no Jewish laws stating that pets must keep kosher, but for pet owners, it can be a way to ensure that beloved dogs and cats are getting high quality food. In no time at all, they'll be ready for their Bark Mitzvahs.

What is worth a king’s ransom?

According to the musical, "Oliver!," it’s food, glorious food! ... Gulped, swallowed or chewed..

Throw in a Vermont cheese company and two New Yorkers, and you have “Food, Glorious Kosher food.”

At the World Championship Cheese Contest held in Wisconsin, Cabot Creamery’s Cheddar Cheese earned the title of “World’s Best Cheddar.” Now, the “World’s Best Cheddar” has the OU-D kosher for Passover stamp. Cabot’s sharp cheddar, which is aged for five-months, has already received rave reviews.

In a December 2006 press release, Cabot estimated 6 to 8 million Americans eat Kosher products. This prompted the Vermont Cheese Company to seek Kosher certification. “Our Kosher products are in keeping with our commitment to provide our consumers with dairy products that fit their desires and lifestyles,” commented Dr. Rich Stammer, President of Cabot Creamery.

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Was there hemp in the Garden of Eden? Courtesy JPost:

Hemp has increasingly been spotted on the list of kitniyot, or legumes, that Ashkenazi Jews abstain from eating during Pessah, according to several influential rabbinical Web sites, including kashrut.com. But not everyone agrees that hemp qualifies for the ban, and the debate has led many to question the definition of kitniyot

 

The ban on kitniyot during Pessah began because rabbis were concerned that certain legumes would come into contact with the grains forbidden during the holiday. Farmers often grew wheat and rice in adjacent fields, and families frequently stored all of their grains and legumes in the same containers. The kitniyot tradition only applies to Jews of Ashkenazi descent, since Sephardic Jewry never adopted the practice.

Of the dozen rabbis whom The Jerusalem Post questioned on this issue, none offered a conclusive statement about how hemp should be classified for Pessah. As Rabbi Daniel Kohn of Bat Ayin explained, the issue ultimately boils down to an individual decision by each rabbi about whether hemp seeds themselves could be considered edible. If a rabbi decides that the seeds are edible, then hemp - and, by extension, marijuana - would not be considered permissible for Pessah.

Well, at least here's some news that might make this year's Seder more palatable, but this also raises the stakes of eating way more matzah than is good for one sitting.