Pesach in Cancun, Greece or Las Vegas?

By Shmuel Sackett

Adar II, 5768
March, '08

I just finished reading a Jewish newspaper that a friend sent me from the States and I am totally confused!!! This paper had over 20 pages of ads from various Pesach programs and I can't make up my mind. Please read my dilemma and if you can help me, email me your advice at Shmuel@jewishisrael.org. I would greatly appreciate it.

My first choice was actually one of the many hotels in Florida. My favorite one advertises a "Hawaiian Luau Night". What a great Pesach experience - matzah, marror and a good old-fashioned Hawaiian Luau. I was about to make my reservation but noticed that the ad did not say "non-gebrokts". Hey, Luau or no Luau, I insist on non-gebrokts only! What do you think I am? Some kind of modern Jew???

The next ad I liked was about Pesach in Greece. The ad boasted, "an enlisting atmosphere of Torah". Think about that. A few months ago we celebrated Chanukah when the Greeks did not allow Jews to study Torah and now Jews are traveling on Pesach to Greece to have "an enlisting atmosphere of Torah". Boy, have times changed!

My wife refused to go to Greece. Why couldn't I marry a true Eyshet Chayil? So, I had to look further. The next ad was for a beautiful hotel in Cancun. WOW!!! Pesach in the Caribbean!! How holy is that???!!! To make things really exciting, the ad said the following; "Chassidishe and Bais Yosef Shechita". I have to admit that I have no idea what that means but it sounds very "machmir" and we all know that machmir is good. Can you imagine being machmir in Cancun? As my kids would say: COOOOOL!!

Well, we found out that it's too hot in Cancun so we kept looking. Let's see; there was Pesach in Los Cabos that said "Glatt Kosher and Scuba Diving" (but is the "Glatt" in Los Cabos also Bais Yosef?), Pesach in Italy on the Italian Riviera, Pesach in Las Vegas that boasts a "World championship golf course, 18,000 square ft European Spa and a Fully stocked Bais Medrash" (but how far is the Bais Medrash from the European Spa? I hate walking on Pesach) and Pesach in Disney with "100% hand Shmurah matzah, Daf Yomi and totally non-gebrokts" (does Mickey know that too??).

I'm telling you this is hurting my Shalom Bayis! I want Greece but my wife absolutely refuses. She wants Los Cabos. (Where is that anyway???). Two of my kids want Disney while my frum son insists on Chassidishe shechita which would leave us only with Cancun!

My daughter tells me that the Rabbi of the shul we used to dovin in is the Scholar-in-Residence in Spain where the ad says "No Kitnios". But when I demanded to know how fully stocked their Bais Medrash was she could not answer me!!! I'm telling you - kids today just don't get it!

So what do I do? I called my Rabbi back in New York and asked him what he felt. He said that he's going to Disney and if I book through him I can save 10%. Any suggestions?