Newsgroups: israel.mail-jewish From: mljewish (Avi Feldblum) Subject: 1994 Purim Speil Date: Thu, 24 Feb 1994 10:21:55 GMT The Halachah of M&Ms Written and Compiled by Sam Saal The Cast: Narrator, holds the whole play together like caramel in a candy bar. Mr Goodbar, a member of the Elite Ruth, a woman as sweet as honey, or candy O. Henry, another Chew-ish person Clark, a real Jew-Jew Be Narrator: How did M&Ms get their name. Are they not misnamed? Why are they Kosher? How do we know? Why did they finally get a Hashgacha? What do those M's really stand for? Is there such a thing as a food that is inappropriate to be eaten with M&M's? If so, which? What Halachot of M&Ms are relevant? And, for readers with particularly good memory, what about Naomi? Mr. Goodbar: Let's start by understanding the spelling of the name. In English it is obvious; just look at the package. Ruth: In Hebrew, M&Ms might be called Mem u Mem, but do we spell it with regular mem's or is one or both of them a mem soffit? Henry: While they occur infrequently, the misshaped M&Ms would be spelled with only the second mem as a soffit. As in moom. Ruth: Mem oo mem has a numerical value of 40 plus 40. The flood lasted 40 days and 40 nights - mem plus mem. Are we going to get a flood of newly Hechshered products? Clark: There are those who say that when the number 40 is used in the Torah, it refers to a long time, but not necessarily exactly 40. The 40 years in the desert may have been longer, after all, a whole generation died before entering Israel. The flood during Noah's time was 40 days and was long enough to destroy the world. Henry: The Gematria of M&M is 40 and 40. Twice 40 therefore means not just a long time, but a very long time. From this we learn that it has been an inordinately long time that we've been waiting for M&Ms to gain Hashgacha. Clark: Elsewhere in Halachah, the number 40 is approached, but not met. The classic case is Makot - lashes. The Torah always refers to 40, yet we interpret, and limit, it to 39. Is this significant? Mr. Goodbar: I can think of two reasons. We should be loath to pay full price for M&Ms, and calling it lamed-tet & lamed-tet would be more accurate except that it's too long. Ruth: Rambam.... Ten at Once The Fresser Rov wrote ``This Narr: Note the two mem's in his name. immoderate way of eating is permitted only on Purim as a Ruth: ...said in his M&Mishne Torah that way of remembering the ten one only eat M&Ms in one of two sons of Haman killed in ways: either one in each cheek pursuit of the mitzvah of or by putting 10 in your mouth it is not Purim, it comes too at a time to remember the Ten close to endangering one's Commandments. Too many and the life as something only a ben sugar high is detrimental to your sorer u'moreh would do. Yetzer Tov. Too few and the Shechinah will not reside in them. Henry: But how do we know the Shechinah resides in M&Ms? Ruth: Does the Shechinah reside in a Minyan that reads the megillah on Purim? Henry: Yes, of course. Ruth: And what do we eat on Purim? Henry: Four cornered Hamentaschen, of course. Ruth: Very good. So the Shechinah, which resides in a filled Hamentasch, must, necessarily also reside in a filled candy shell by its very filling. However, this is only so when the Hamentasch, or the M&M, is washed down by an authentic egg cream. Clark: Not only that, but the shell acts as a fence around the chocolate candy: V'asu Syag laTorah. And just as Torah is always good, so is chocolate. Ruth: Exactly! Just as the Shechinah resides amongst those who study Torah, so it resides in those who consume chocolate. Henry: This may be the problem with Paskez's version of M&Ms. Although they've been supervised as Kosher for longer than M&Ms, their chocolate is of poor quality. Surely, the Shechinah cannot reside in them or in those that eat them. Ruth: But the chocolate in M&Ms is not that good. Clark: True, it is, however, better than that in Paskez, according to the joyous standards set by Rav S. Mach. Rav S. Mach points out that the chocolate must melt somewhere before the throat, a minimum Paskez doesn't attain. Henry: And that quality minimum is, of course another shell, or fence, around the Torah. Mr. Goodbar: Why do you work so hard to find M&M's relevance to Purim? Ruth: What do you mean? Mr. Goodbar: M&Ms' connection to Purim is obvious. You are looking for Sod in the mouth when the Pshat is melting all over your hands. M&M stands for Mishloach Manot. Of course it is appropriate to have M&Ms on Purim! Ruth: I'm not so sure. The Beis Ball, whose authority in settling disputes is unquestioned by his followers, has claimed that the origin of the name M&Ms is from Mickey Mantle. Henry: But the other school of thought, embodied in the ``Torah Ump'' or the ``TrUmp'' for short, says that his Rebbe taught him that the name Mar-la... Narr: From ``it is bitter for her.'' Special Thanks To: (in no particular Henry: ...Marla Maples is the true origin of the order and to the term M&Ms. We eat sweet M&Ms to surprise of some) remember her name and to take away the Ben Berliant, Mason bitterness. Resnick, Avi Feldblum, Rani Narr: Now that we understand the name, is Averick, Howard there a proof in the Megilla that M&M's Denemark, Art are Kosher? Werschulz, Warren Burstein Clark: Certainly. Memuchan's name occurs two times in the Megilla. The first time it is spelled correctly, but the second time a vav occurs, improperly, after the first Mem. Narr: Mem-vav-mem-chaf-nun. Clark: We all know that the letter vav is the word ``and,'' and therefore it is clear that the Megilla was trying to tell us: mem oo mem, kain... Narr: M&M, yes! Clark: M&M's are permitted. Narr: We've already seen the opinion that M&Ms stand for Mishloach Manot, but do M&Ms have any other special significance for Purim? Mr. Goodbar: Certainly. Wasn't it the Maharal Mi-Prague... Narr: Note the two M's. Mr. Goodbar: ...who said M&Ms' name has two mems, or mothers. Vashti had two mothers. As it says in the Megilla ``Vashti asetah mishteh nashim.... Narr: Vashti was made from two mothers. Mr. Goodbar: Thus, as Vashti had two mothers, M&Ms have two mems. Ruth: There is another miraculous aspect of M&Ms. Why are M&Ms different from all other candy? On all other candy bars the candy sits on a flattened side. M&Ms have no flat side. They are completely smooth. Clark: The crucible(1) in which the first M&M was formed was one of the items made just before evening on the sixth day of creation, as it says in chapter five of Pirke Avot. (footnote 1) Eleven things were created on the eve of Sabbath at twilight, and they are: the mouth of the earth, the mouth of the well, the mouth of the she-ass, the rainbow, the manna, the rod, the shamir, the letters, the writing, and the Tablets. Some add: the evil spirits, the sepulchre of Moses, the ram of Abraham our father. Some add: the tongs made with the tongs and the crucible for perfectly round M&Ms. (Ethics 5:9) Narr: We discussed how many M&Ms one should eat, but just touched on how they are to be eaten. We should return to this important issue. May one nibble the shell off? Henry: We've already learned that the shell is like the fence around the Torah. Just as it is forbidden to traverse this fence, let alone remove it, so nibbling the shell is forbidden. Ruth: Besides, the meticulousness necessary to accomplish this is certainly a waste of time. Probably as much of a waste as reading this Spiel. Mr. Goodbar: But if removing the shell is forbidden, how can one eat them? Henry: The mouth itself becomes the shell, or fence. To minimize the amount of time there are two shells, the candy shell and the mouth, one should also not suck on an M&M. After all, it is inappropriate, if not forbidden to put a fence around a fence. Clark: The traditional way of drinking tea is through a sugar cube. Could you drink coffee or an egg cream through an M&M? Ruth: Coffee is possible, but a cold drink would be dangerous... Narr: Sakanat Nefesh... Ruth: ... because the M&M wouldn't melt. You might swallow the M&M whole and risk choking. Henry: It would also be sacrilegious. Two reasons: adulterating the egg cream and the issue of slowly sucking on the M&M we just discussed. Mr. Goodbar: But washing M&Ms down with an egg cream is OK? Henry: There's a difference between sucking on an M&M - which is forbidden - and washing one down, something unquestionably Kosher. Clark: Is there a problem with eating an M&M on Shabbat? Ruth: What do you mean? Clark: If you bite an M&M the wrong way, you might break a letter. Just as there are those who don't eat the letters on a birthday cake for fear of breaking the letters, I suspect they'd have a similar problem with M&Ms. While sucking on the M&M would be the obvious solution, that would be forbidden by the same people who don't use ice cubes on Shabbat for fear the cubes' shape change constitutes M'lacha. Mr. Goodbar: Broken letters would only be a problem if you actually had a word. With M&Ms, you only have one or two letters. Narr: Two letters? What do you mean? The only letter on an M&M is an em! Mr. Goodbar: You've got the em, but if you rotate an M&M 180 degrees, you have an upside down em, which looks like a shin. And if you nibble the shell off the M&M, you have the possibility of the chocolate candy melting in your hand, not in your mouth. Henry: The Mem-Shin pair shows this would be a case of Mess Gadol Hayah Sham. Ruth: The proof for this comes from the Talmud Mama Metzia: ``It is a bargain. It melts in your mouth, not in your hand.'' Narr: (Hebrew for the above, not visible in ASCII. Sorry!) Clark: Why did M&Ms finally get a Hashgacha? After all, as Rabbi Pas Belly said.... Narr: Sephardi and many Israeli speakers know him as Rabbi Pot Belly. Clark: ...if it isn't Kosher, its taste doesn't matter. Ruth: The M&M Hashgacha is recent, yet when it was announced, the announcement included all current packages already on the shelf. The Kosher certifiers managed to go back in time to certify all existing packages, whether labeled as Kosher or not. This wondrous feat is currently under study by NASA, the Superman Heroics Institute of Tanganyika, and various politicians. Clark: They will probably all come up short as everybody knows the secret is one contained in the writing of the Kabbalah which, as we all know, may not be studied until one is forty years old. Henry: In the forty days and nights of study so far, the only conclusion these fine and learned institutions have come to is that the actual package, box or bag of any size, has nothing to do with the retroactive Hashgacha. Mr. Goodbar: There is another possibility. M&Ms may have already had a Hashgacha, albeit an unreliable one, for a long time. The Circle-R, an `R' in a circle, the symbol of the unOrganized Rabbis, has been on packages for a while. The O-U may have just been able to take over this Hashgacha so that M&Ms could be served and eaten by the Chumra-bound. Henry: I understand that one of the delays in getting the Hashgacha was that Mars was a closely held company. Isn't that a problem of Negiah? Mr. Goodbar: This would only be a problem for those who think chocolate is not better than sex. Ruth: For those who have been waiting for a long time for M&Ms to get a Hashgacha, the anticipation might be close. Narr: Why did M&Ms finally decide to get a Hashgacha? Mr. Goodbar: The RAN says it was because Entenmann's wanted to use them in cookies that were under Hashgacha. The Milchegge Rav says it is because of Ha'gain Da'as, the increase.... Narr: Ha... gain... Mr. Goodbar: ...of knowledge. Narr: Da'as. Mr. Goodbar: ...And we all know what the green M&Ms allegedly increases. Henry: How did that claim ever begin? Clark: The green M&Ms represent the leaves of the trees. Mr. Goodbar: OK. Clark: Trees were created in B'reishit. Ruth: Of course. Clark: The first Mitzvah given to mankind was P'ru U'r'vu. Henry: True. Clark: So green M&Ms are a reminder of creation and procreation for all time. Mr. Goodbar: As I was starting to say, the Ha'gain Da'as Torah view, which is against eating M&M's because they bring to mind Milk & Meat, a forbidden combination. Ruth: Thus, another possible explanation for the meaning of the acronym, M&M, is Milk and Meat, which may have delayed the Hashgacha. This problem is, of course, also M'ridah b'Malchut. Narr: All roads lead to the question of those M's and what they mean. Mr. Goodbar: The Ha'agen Da'as torah camp objects on another count as well: M&M's is a subtle yet insidious allusion to the rebellious Soloveitchik Hashkafa. While originally, the Rav's Derech was T&M... Narr: Torah u'Madah Mr. Goodbar: ...it has deteriorated into the following: Ruth: Medicine u'Madah, at Einstein Medical School... Henry: Money u'Madah, possibly Marketing u'Madah, at Sym's Business School... Clark: Mental-health u'Madah, at Ferkauf... Ruth: Meeting-the-needs-of-our- communities u'Madah, at Wurtzweiler... Mr. Goodbar: and Henry: Matrimony u'Madah, at Stern. Mr. Goodbar: So, maybe we should not feed our children M&Ms lest they be tempted to enroll at Y.U. and follow the ways of the strangers. Ruth: What about the problem of eating or drinking pairs of something? R' Dimi... Narr: Pesachim 109b and next few pages. Ruth: ...says that this only applies to pairs of eggs, nuts, squash and one other thing, but since we don't know what the other thing is, perhaps it's M&Ms? Mr. Goodbar: Good question, especially because the problem is hinted at by the fact that we are dealing with a pair of Ms in the name. Henry: By the way, larger even numbers are allowed, Abbaye and Rava place this number as low as four, but Tosfot says that Rava only means that four is safe from demons, not sorcery. And there is almost certainly someone around dressed as a sorcerer on Purim. This problem might even apply to the larger numbers, up to ten, although M&Ms in mouths of 10 are certainly not a problem. Ruth: One might think that we would not have to worry about this, as it says... Narr: Page 110b. Ruth: ``one who is careful should be careful and one who is not doesn't have to,'' but how can one remember, on Purim, if one is normally careful or not? Narr: With the entry of M&Ms into the Kosher market, are there new Minhagim arising regarding their consumption? Mr. Goodbar: Rabbi Marvin B. Simcha, the MiShenichnasAdar-er Rav, has thoroughly investigated the issue of the Chiyyuv of eating M&Ms on various Yamim Tovim. He ruled that the two holidays that most likely involve a chiyyuv of eating M&Ms are Shavuot and Purim. Narr: What is his reasoning? Mr. Goodbar: The Chiyyuv of eating M&Ms on At-Bash Shavuot is based on kabbalistic Recall that in reasoning. In Gematria, mem is 40, the ``At-Bash'' as we already know. Using At-Bash system of mem is paired with yud, whose gematria Gematria, each is 10. Thus the ``At-Bash'' gematria is letter in the 50. Because the candy is called aleph-beit may ``M&Ms,'' there are two mems, also be giving 100. We next need to associated with account for the ``&,'' which is (of an additional course) the Hebrew letter vav, letter, namely, having a gematria of 6. Multiplying we write the the 100, for the mems, by 6, for aleph-beit the vav, we arrive at a value of forwards and 600. Finally, there are six colors of M&Ms... then (underneath this line) write it backwards, pairing up the letters that Narr: Red, yellow, orange, green, light brown, and appear on top of dark brown. each other, so that aleph and tav, beit and shin (etc.) are paired. Hence the name ``At-Bash.'' Mr. Goodbar: Adding this 6 to the 600, we arrive at 606. Now 606 is the gematria of ``Ruth,'' of whom we read on Shavuot. Narr: But we don't Pasken from Ketuvim. Mr. Goodbar: Nuuuu. So that 606 is the number of additional Mitzvot given at Har Sinai during Matan Torah. We already had 7 since we were Bnei Noach. Either way, the M&M-Shavuot connection is proven. Clark: You said Purim was the other appropriate holiday. We already discussed that M&M may stand for Mishloach Manot, and that the Megilla assures us ``M&M, Yes!'' What more proof do you have? Mr. Goodbar: ``A man is obligated to drink on Purim until he doesn't know the difference between `cursed is Haman' and `blessed is Mordechai'.'' Narr: Megilla 7b. Mr. Goodbar: The Gemara goes on to tell the story of Rabbah and Rav Zeira holding a Purim Seudah. As a result of their intoxication, Rabbah killed Rav Zeira. The next day, Rabbah brought Rav Zeira back to life through the power of his prayers. In Shabbat 156a, we learn a reason why this unpleasantness might have been anticipated, namely, that Rabbah was born under the sign of Mars and was thus predisposed towards the shedding of blood. Obviously, M&Ms are appropriate on Purim because M&Ms are manufactured by the Mars Company, but only because of this Talmud. Henry: But isn't that a problem of Avodah Zarah, eating a candy named ``M&M,'' because it stands for ``Mars & Mars,'' the company that produces them. Ruth: After all, Mars is a Roman deity. Even the painfully frummy knock-off product, ``Nem&Nem'' skates a bit too close for extremely right-wing tastes. Mr Goodbar: But the Talmud's respect for some level of astrology is good enough for the rest of us. Clark: More recently than Rome, we've seen all those golden M&Ms behind the heads of famous biblical figures in medieval paintings. Narr: Weren't those halos? Clark: Oh, yeah. Never mind. Narr: This appears to cover the issue as well as M&M's candy coating covers the chocolate. All: Have a Freilach Purim!