Broccoli
Question
After checking all previous responses to this query, I still have a problem. A few hundred years ago, when there was no bodek brand, what did religious people do with broccoli? They certainly did eat it, as this seems to be a new invention. Why are we worried about little bugs we cant see unless we use other methods to find them rather than simply looking for them? How is this different from microorganisms that we know live on broccoli and all other foods, yet since they cant be seen with the naked eye it isnt a problem? I'm sure there is a great response to this, and please expalin in detail, because it seems to me, the unlearned, that this is adding on to requirements set by our Rabbis, and as you always say "kol hamoseef gorea."
Answer
Answered by Aaron AbadiThere are many assumptions in this question. How confident are you in these assumptions. Do you have proof that Observant Jewish communities ate broccoli a few hundred years ago? Are you certain that the bugs that we are afraid of are smaller than what your eye can see? In reality, throughout the generations there were always certain foods that were found to contain bugs & these were checked or not eaten. Till about 25-30 years ago, there were pesticides that were strong & killed the bugs in broccoli & the like. Then these pesticides were found to cause cancer and were not used. The new pesticides leave bugs that are very clearly seen with the naked eye. I saw hundreds of them. That's the facts.... We worry so much about what color hat to wear, but each bug we eat has multiple sins attached. AA