Pesach Petition, and Kitniyot

I have written and spoken to several friends in the past as well as this Pesach, wishing that the holiday, after all the intense, physically and emotionally demanding preparations, be extended for another week, to total 2 weeks.

I mean, all that intense work for just one measly week, and then you have to undo everything you originally did, which included cleaning shelves, drawers, cabinets and organizing the entire household, removing chametz dishes and pots and pans, cleaning their cabinets thoroughly, lining them and putting in Pesachdike dishes (if you have no other place to put them) for a week--then undoing everything and putting the Pesach stuff away, and replacing the chametz stuff. Basically, those of us who keep Pesach strictly go through this, year after year. Insane.

So my solution was to circulate a petition and get it signed by millions of Orthodox Jews, to petition our Great Sages to extend the holiday (for humanitarian reasons) to two weeks, so we wouldn't have to right away go through the horrors of "converting" our kitchens back to chametz so fast.  My friend (hat tip, Miriam G.P.) declined to sign the petition, for the reason below.


She's got a point...however, I would look into this site for more answers to the above.  I mean, Ashkenazim should have just as much to eat as anybody, right?  Here's another article from the same site, Machon Shilo, which might shed even more insight on the issue of kitniyot.

Happy 7th day (and "acharon shel") of Pesach, and may Hashem "split your sea," in whatever you need.  Remember to count the Omer!

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