"W. Baker" > wrote in message
...
> Ellen K. > wrote:
>
> : "W. Baker" > wrote in message
> : ...
> : > Ellen K. > wrote:
> : >
> : > : Correct, it is not required to eat anything that would be injurious
> to
> : > one's
> : > : health.
> : >
> : > : I have been trying to find a way to still be able to wash for bread,
> : > with
> : > : the blessing, and say the full grace after meals, on the sabbath,
> : > without
> : > : losing control of my BG, because it just doesn't feel "shabbosdik"
> to me
> : > to
> : > : not do this. I don't care if I don't eat bread during the week.
> : >
> : > : The halacha is, to make the blessing on the bread and say the full
> grace
> : > : after meals, a kezayis of bread (based on the halachic definition of
> : > bread,
> : > : which is also different depending what custom one follows, but all
> have
> : > in
> : > : common that the dough must include one or more of wheat / rye /
> spelt /
> : > oats
> : > : / barley and be made with water) must be eaten. To additionally say
> the
> : > : blessing on washing the hands prior to blessing and eating the
> bread,
> : > two
> : > : kzeisim (= a beitzah) must be eaten.
>
> When you go to a kosher restaurant or when there is a dinner at the shul
> or a wedding or other catered aaffair, there is a hand washing station
> that has a bowl of small pieces of bread or those little tiny round disks
> of bread for you to eat for our motzi and that qualifies you for the
> bentching.

It does NOT qualify you for the bentshing unless maybe those little pieces
are an Ashkenazi kezayis (which is possible). The idea of the bowl with the
little pieces is to have as little time as possible elapse between a)
finishing the washing and b) making the motzi and eating bread. One is
expected to eat the regular bread at one's table on returning there.

>This loos like much less than your half a cheet of rye matzo.

The way the Ashkenazim figure it, the size of the pieces that could be a
kezayis varies a LOT for different types of bread. I saw an article about
it with examples that honestly made no sense to me, but I admit that I did
not spend a lot of time trying to figure out how they got those results.

> maybe your shul is more machmir than my Orthodox one in NYC, but I wonder.
> No one ever told me to eat more than a pinch of the roll at a Friday night
> shul dinner.

It could be that nobody was paying attention to how much bread you ate. Or
nobody thought it was their business to tell you such a thing. Or the
people you were sitting with didn't know themselves. If you asked your
rabbi the specific question you might get a different answer.

> I am truely puzzled. i know thaat at Pesach there are all
> kinds of minimums for assorted symbolic foods,

Yes, there is a requirement of a kezayis of matzo for several times when
matzo is eaten during the seder, I think one of the times it is supposed to
be two kzeisim. The other required foods also each have a required amount.
Again, the required amount is measured differently by Ashkenazim and
Sephardim.

> and the Jewish Diabetes
> Organization gives some vry small, permissible leser quantities for those
> with diabetes that are accepted. I suggest o look at that group.
>

I read the material on their site. They are using the Ashkenazi method of
calculation, and without even mentioning that Sephardim hold differently. I
think most people don't realize there is a difference in this matter, I
certainly had no idea until I delved into it, as far as I knew a kezayis was
an ounce.

Just to be clear here, I am not telling you you are doing anything wrong. I
only explained the situation in the first place because Janet seemed to be
telling me *I* shouldn't be doing what I'm doing.

Hope that helps.

> Wendy