# Mispocha: How many Sins were committed here? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 9, 2014, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispocha-how-many-sins-were-committed-here/700821 "2014-10-09T02:52:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispocha-how-many-sins-were-committed-here/700821/1 "2014-10-09T02:52:41Z")
Here’s the situation. It’s Saturday during Passover and you drive to Wendy’s for lunch and get a bacon cheeseburger. How many sins did you commit? 1. You drove during the Sabbath. 2. You carried money and car keys on the Sabbath. 3. You paid for something with money\* on the Sabbath. 3.a. If you used a debit/credit card you had to type in your PIN or sign your name. 4. The kitchen is certainly not Kosher. 5. Hamburger + cheese. 6. Bacon. 7. The bun. So, what have I missed? \*I figure if turning on a light switch is considered making a fire, paying for something with a credit/debit card is just as bad as using cash. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispocha-how-many-sins-were-committed-here/700821/2 "2014-10-09T03:14:24Z")
Breaking your mother’s heart. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispocha-how-many-sins-were-committed-here/700821/3 "2014-10-09T03:25:07Z")
> [@susan](#): > > Breaking your mother’s heart. Isn’t that pretty much 24/7? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispocha-how-many-sins-were-committed-here/700821/4 "2014-10-09T03:30:23Z")
Better than pork, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispocha-how-many-sins-were-committed-here/700821/5 "2014-10-09T03:40:07Z")
Did you get a drink with that? It was probably sweetened with prohibited corn syrup. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispocha-how-many-sins-were-committed-here/700821/6 "2014-10-09T04:53:30Z")
What’s wrong with the bun? If you’re Reform, probably the only sin was to patronize Wendy’s, thus encouraging them to keep putting that obnoxiously smug redhead on the air. Depending on when you went to the restaurant, you might have missed shul. That’s the only other one I can see there, but I am not an observant Jew. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispocha-how-many-sins-were-committed-here/700821/7 "2014-10-09T04:58:03Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > What’s wrong with the bun? Leavened bread. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispocha-how-many-sins-were-committed-here/700821/8 "2014-10-09T05:35:07Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Leavened bread. Ah, Passover. Missed that. Did you eat reclining? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispocha-how-many-sins-were-committed-here/700821/9 "2014-10-09T06:38:27Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Ah, Passover. Missed that. Did you eat reclining? I’m not Jewish. I can eat what I want. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispocha-how-many-sins-were-committed-here/700821/10 "2014-10-09T09:52:49Z")
Technically, I doubt that the original Jewish calendar included leap days (nor clearly delineated timezones), so I think your only hope is that God isn’t a technocrat to begin with. Otherwise, you’re pretty much screwed no matter what you do.\* It’s like the police. There’s enough laws that they could almost certainly, legally and justifiably, pick you up for _something_ at any given moment. What lands you in jail isn’t whether you’ve done something, it’s whether you did it in such a spectacular (or spectacularly stupid) way that you’re just asking to get a kick to the ass for it. Link should be safe, but the rest of the site is NSFW http\*\*://oglaf\*\*.com/assorted-fruits/ ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispocha-how-many-sins-were-committed-here/700821/11 "2014-10-09T10:06:27Z")
In the interest of keeping this away from the “let’s knock all religious practices” crowd, (and, I think, in the spirit in which it was posted), I am moving this to MPSIMS. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispocha-how-many-sins-were-committed-here/700821/12 "2014-10-09T10:40:59Z")
> [@](#): > > Here’s the situation. It’s Saturday during Passover and you drive to Wendy’s for lunch and get a bacon cheeseburger. How many sins did you commit? Zero. I’m not Jewish. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispocha-how-many-sins-were-committed-here/700821/13 "2014-10-09T12:39:14Z")
If you’re not careful interacting with the cashier or standing in line, you may have come into contact with a woman you’re not related to. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispocha-how-many-sins-were-committed-here/700821/14 "2014-10-09T13:03:04Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > Zero. I’m not Jewish. Funny, you don’t look Jewish. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispocha-how-many-sins-were-committed-here/700821/15 "2014-10-09T13:10:37Z")
> [@Flywheel](#): > > Funny, you don’t look Jewish. that’s because I’m _Druish._ ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispocha-how-many-sins-were-committed-here/700821/16 "2014-10-09T13:16:45Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Did you get a drink with that? It was probably sweetened with prohibited corn syrup. Not a problem for Mexican Jews. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispocha-how-many-sins-were-committed-here/700821/17 "2014-10-09T13:29:19Z")
> [@Flywheel](#): > > Better than pork, isn’t it? Ummmm… > [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > Here’s the situation. It’s Saturday during Passover and you drive to Wendy’s for lunch and get a bacon cheeseburger. How many sins did you commit? > 6. Bacon. [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pork) says bacon is a type of pork, “_Ham, smoked pork, gammon, bacon and sausage are examples of preserved pork._” ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispocha-how-many-sins-were-committed-here/700821/18 "2014-10-09T13:35:05Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Not a problem for Mexican Jews. We don’t need no stinkin’ payos… ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispocha-how-many-sins-were-committed-here/700821/19 "2014-10-09T14:31:19Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > Zero. I’m not Jewish. Mr. Mostel, you’re such a kidder. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2014, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispocha-how-many-sins-were-committed-here/700821/20 "2014-10-09T14:44:31Z")
You’ll need to define what you mean by “sin” here. The Jewish concept of “sin” is different than the Christian concept of sin. And no, I’m not being pedantic. It is a material distinction. Lets assume that by “sin” you mean something more akin to “transgression.” Remember that there is no one central Jewish authority, and not all Jews believe that they are obligated to do the same group of things. An ultra-orthodox Jew might believe that turning on a light switch on the sabbath is a transgression. A reform secular Jew wouldn’t see it as such. So, is your question “how many transgressions are here from an ultra-orthodox perspective” or “how many transgressions would this be according to your own tradition and practice?” If it’s the former, I’ll leave that to more knowledgeable parties than I. Most of whom are probably sitting in their sukkahs right about now. If it is the latter, I’d say “none,” because I’m not shomer shabbos, I don’t follow the Passover customs regarding leavened bread, etc. The only transgression would be a non-religious one, because I try to eat healthier meals than bacon cheeseburgers from Wendys.\* - I get my cheeseburgers from Wendy’s without the bacon. 😛 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispocha-how-many-sins-were-committed-here/700821.md?page=2)