Every once in a while, klal yisroel is graced with a double yuntiff, this year the helige 4/20 fell out on the seconbd day of pesach and around the world yidden were over joyed that this year we could have a true oneg yuntiff because the day did not fall out on shabbos or on an ordinary weekday as it has done so many times in the past.
Unfortunately many yidden, even ehrliche frumme yidden do not hold of 4/20, they hold of cancer causing cigarettes, but since no gadol b’torah from Europe ever had access to good herb in the cold climes of eastern Europe, the minhag to keep even one day of the 4/20 yuntiff in chutz la’aretz never caught on. It does happen to be that like most things splitting klal yisroel, 4/20 was also something of a split. Legend has it that since the Baal Shem Tov smoked a pipe before shachris, the Vilna Gaon himself saw to it that the cherem on chassidim include smoking pipes and since rolling paper was a hard to find commodity and the burning of paper for non-food items on pesach deemed a problem – the Gra himself banned the celebration of 4/20.
Not only have many misnagdim openly admitted that smoking the ganj is assur anytime, they have even gone so far as to call it kitnyot which would make it possible to grind it into a powder and confuse some as bread flour – obviously. Like the holiday of shushan purim and pesach sheini, 4/20 has been lost – only to have been recently revived due to all the baalei teshuvas and gerim entering our holy kahal.
4/20 was celebrated around the world today by Jew and gentile alike, I just hope that everyone scraped the resin from their bowls and koshered them before pesach, lest you benefit from the spark of chometz – remember – chometz is not bittul on pesach and smoking one crumb leftover from a post 4/20 munchie session would mean karais for you and it’s just not worth it.
Hilchos 4/20:
In order to fully fulfill the mitzvah of oneg yuntiff, one should make sure to pick the best possible buds – since the day has fallen on the second day of pesach it has been considered an enhancement to pesach itself especially as way to elevate the secpond seder which is usually not as fun as the first – make sure to be hiddur mitzvah and use the proper kelim and good weed.
Marijuana is considered kitnyos by many poskim, so make sure not to eat it if you are of ashkenazic descent, since kitnyos is not chometz you can get benefit and own it on pesach so smoking it does not break any issurim.
Make sure to clean and kasher any kelim, this would include vaporizer, bowl, bong, water pipes, hookahs, roach clips, keef boxes (maris ayin considering the powdery residue looks like flour and any other paraphanelia you may have. I’m not a regular pot smoker so ask your local orthodox pot head about issues concerning your pot smoking kelim.
The gematria of pot is not 4/20, the date is not inherently Jewish, but many poskim have ruled that shalom bayis and oneg yuntiff trump following the ways of the goyim – thuis they have permitted us permission to celebrate 4/20, wear clothing on yuintiff and eat food – all of which are chukas goyim.
I was told by my friend Julie that in America 4/20 is a two day yuntif, while in Israel it remains a one day yuntif – can anyone confirm this?