EATING RICE ON PASSOVER

According to Jewish tradition, it is not permitted to eat fermented grain products (called hametz) during the entire Passover week. The Mishnah specifically mentions wheat (hittim), barley (seorim), spelt [also known as farro] (kusmin), rye (shifon) and oats (shibolet shual) (M. Pes. 2: 5). [Danby translates kusmin as “goat-grass”]. Ashkenazic Jews add to this list of prohibited food items rice, millet, corn, beans and other legumes (called kitniyot) in Hebrew. Most Sephardic Jews do not follow this custom and eat rice and other legumes during Passover. 

What is the reason for this prohibition that emerged among Jews of Eastern European background?  Apparently, the custom originated in France in the 13^th century and from there it spread to other Jewish communities in Europe. According to some sources, the reason is that these legumes resemble grain. Some point out that rice also “rises” when cooked in water. Others argue that some people could become confused and actually resort to making flour out of them. 

In 1988, a prominent conservative Rabbi in Israel, David Golinkin, wrote a responsum on this subject and stated that the actual reason for this custom is unknown, and in fact contradicts an explicit statement in the Talmud (BT Pes. 114b). He also quoted another medieval Rabbi, Rabbi Yeruham, who called it “a foolish custom.” [See a longer article online by Jeffrey Spitzer, “Kitniyot, Not Quite Hametz” in My Jewish Learning].

Similarly, the CCAR, in its 1996 responsum on this subject, indicated that the early Reform Jews in Europe found this custom unnecessary and burdensome, and abolished it. It also stated that the “Reform practice, following the standard of the Talmud, permits the eating of rice and legumes during Passover,” but added that some observant Reform Jews may continue to follow the Ashkenazic tradition, if they wish. 

I think it is time to eliminate this unnecessary burden on our fellow Jews. As a Sephardic Jew, I will continue to eat rice and legumes, without any sense of guilt. 

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D.

April 2014.

THE SONCINOS MOVE TO THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE

In 1454, Symon Ebreus, a descendent of Moses of Speyer (14^th cent.) in Germany, came to Soncino, in northern Italy. In 1483, his grandson, Rabbi Israel Nathan, along with his two sons, Joshua and Moses, established the world-famous printing press that became known after the town itself. However, in 1490, just seven years after, he and his family were expelled from Soncino, because of the religious persecutions that took place during the rule of Ludovico Maria Sforza (1452-1508), the Duke of Milan. Family members spread to different places of Italy (e.g., Casal Maggiore, Naples, Brescia, Fano, Pesaro etc.) and continued to publish books, both Jewish and non-Jewish. In 1527/8, Rabbi Gershom, the son of Moses Soncino and grandson of Israel Nathan, moved first to Salonika and from there to Constantinople, today, Istanbul. He, too, continued in the tradition of his family and published many Jewish books. His son, Eleazar b. Gershom Soncino also became a prominent publisher. 

Other members of the Soncino family took residence in different parts of the Ottoman Empire, still continuing with the publishing trade. We find Gershom b. Eliezer Soncino in Cairo (in 1557); Moses Joshua Soncino in Smyrna (c. 1715); some members even immigrated to Safed. One of the latest in the business was Joshua, son of Moses Soncino who lived in the first half of the 18th century (c. 1737). 

In his collection of studies on Turkish Jewry[i], the historian Avram Galante, mentions Rabbi Eliezer Soncino who was the rabbi of the Italian community in Constantinople (late 1500’s) as well as a certain Moises Sonsin, who lived in the late 1700’s. Galante also states that the city of Smyrna had a neighborhood known as “Sonsino.” During my youth in Turkey, I had heard that there were other Sonsinos in the country, but I never met them.

A word about the spelling of our name: In Italian, the letter “c” in Soncino is pronounced as “tch,” like the “c” in “Chile” or “cheetah.” In Hebrew, the same letter “c” was rendered by “tzadi,” and pronounced as “Sontz/sino.” However, Turkish or Spanish does not have a letter that is equivalent to the Hebrew “tzadi.” Besides, in Turkish, “c” would have been pronounced as “dj.” I surmise that is the reason why the spelling of our family name was moved from SonCino to SonSino, in line with the French and Spanish pronunciation. 

Today, the Sonsinos are spread all over the world. From our Sonsino page in Facebook I know that there are Sonsinos in Latin America, in Israel, in the States and other parts of the globe. The family is no longer engaged in the printing businesses. The name was taken over by a Jewish-English publishing company in 1929 (the “Soncino Press”) to honor the famous printers of the past. 

Today Sonsinos are found in many professions. However, to my knowledge, I am the only one in the world who is a Rabbi. At least there is one more now. 

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D.

March 2014

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[i] Avram Galante, Histoire des Juifs de Turquie. Isis, vol. 1-9.

VISITING THE TOWN OF SONCINO

 

This year marks the 560^th year of the arrival of a German-Jewish family to Soncino, a little town in northern Italy, and their success in establishing a world-famous printing business in medieval Jewish life. 

In 1454, Franceszo Sforza, the then duke of Milan, whose jurisdiction extended to include Soncino, authorized Symon Ebreus (Simeon, the Hebrew) to settle in Soncino, along with his family and friends, and practice “artem feneratoriam” (namely, to give money in interest). However, when town officials set up a public loan office and made private banking almost impossible, Israel Nathan, the son of Simeon and a wealthy physician, along with his sons, Joshua and Moses, decided to open the printing press that called itself after the name of the town. Soon, they began to publish many Jewish books, and became so famous that of them it was written, “From Zion shall go forth Torah, and the word of the Lord from Soncino” (Based on Isa. 2: 3).

In March of 1961, I visited the town of Soncino. It was still a small rural town, with a large castle called Rocca Sforzesca. The town people were not accustomed to foreigners. I remember seeing a number of women doing the laundry in a small river. When they noticed my travelling companion and me, they suddenly stopped their work and set their puzzled eyes on us, asking each other, “Who are these people?” Once they found who we were, and especially that I was a descendant of the Jewish family that printed books in their town, they became quite friendly. I then realized that I was the only Sonsino in Soncino! We then met the local priest, Monsignor Pietro de Micheli, who graciously gave me a copy of his book, Soncino; Memorie e Notizie (1956).

We stayed only one night in town. The next morning, we hired a guide who took us around. We visited the famous castle of Soncino. Our guide also took us to two interesting streets. One of them was called, “Via della Stampa” (“The Street of the Printing House”) and the other “Via degli Stampatori” (The Street of the printers), a clear indication of the location where the family lived. The town is very proud of the fact that its name is now famous throughout the world.

And so am I.

Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D.

March, 2014