This could be a Passover holiday that lives in infamy. It may be a Passover with Gefilte Fish, Matzoh Balls and Coconut Macaroons - but this year Tam Tams will not be seen on the seder table. The San Jose Mercury News reports on the Tam Tam crisis:
Imagine Easter without Cadbury eggs or Marshmallow Peeps. Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie. Valentine's Day without See's candies.
Passover without Tam Tams?...
..."This is huge, it's a dire emergency" said Susie Weitzman, who works at the Jewish Community Center in Los Gatos. "My kids love Tam Tams. They eat them with tuna and crunch them up in their soup."
The shortage stems from an engineering glitch with new baking machinery at the Manischewitz plant in Newark, N.J. And the problem reportedly can't be fixed before Passover, which begins at sundown on April 19.
For those who are kosher-challenged, Tam Tams are bite-size unleavened crackers. Eating unleavened products - things not made with yeast - is an essential rule of Passover. It's supposed to remind Jews that when the ancient Israelites escaped slavery in Egypt, they only had time to bake flat crackers to eat on the run.
This is the first time since 1940 that the popular crackers won't be available for Passover. The news was first reported by the New Jersey Jewish News.
Manischewitz representatives Thursday weren't available for immediate comment.
Oy!
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