By Mark D. Zimmerman
Jews worldwide are preparing for Passover, with the first seder taking place this coming Wednesday. Traditionally, Jews do a thorough cleaning of their houses, removing all chametz, or forbidden foods, particularly leavened bread. Dishes are changed, shelves are lined, and kosher-for-Passover products replace the year-round foods in the kitchen. Sadly, however, there are unscrupulous businesses which take advantage of those celebrating this holiday. New York Attorney General Letitia James recently issued a consumer alert warning New Yorkers to be “cautious of practices targeting Jewish communities before Passover.” What type of business did she particularly criticize for raising prices dramatically prior to recent Passover holidays?
A. James particularly criticized some hardware stores and local shops for raising the price of cleaning supplies including brooms, vacuum cleaners, and garbage bags. She referenced one store in an Orthodox neighborhood in Brooklyn which her investigators found selling paper towels for $4/roll, rather than the normal price of about $1/roll.
B. Attorney General James expressly warned New York state liquor stores that there will be no tolerance for price-gouging of kosher wine at Passover time. The attorney general noted that last year her office had received over 100 complaints about unusually high prices for kosher-for-Passover wines. She reminded wine and liquor store owners that they were at risk of having their state liquor license pulled if they violated New York State anti-price gouging laws.
C. Attorney General James called out car washes, as Orthodox Jews not only clean their houses, but they apply the same rules to their vehicles. Many religious Jews bring their cars to car washes prior to the holiday, and in recent years there are reports of car washes in Orthodox neighborhoods raising their prices by 50% prior to the Passover holiday.
D. The attorney general specifically warned New York’s Fulton Street Fish Market vendors, whose sales of carp, whitefish, and pike account for 80% of their April sales. Said James, “At a time when our Jewish citizens celebrate around the seder table with matzah, haroseth, bitter herbs, and gefilte fish, we must ensure that they are not taken advantage of by unscrupulous fishmongers and other vendors.”
E. The attorney general’s consumer alert called out sellers of beard brushes for unfairly raising their prices. “The search for chametz is one of the most important pre-Passover traditions,” said the attorney general. “We must be sure that our Orthodox citizens not be taken advantage of as they buy beard brushes so they can thoroughly clean their beards of any hiding bread crumbs.”
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Mark Zimmerman is the author of a series of Jewish trivia books, under the title RASHI, RAMBAM and RAMALAMADINGDONG: A Quizbook of Jewish Trivia Facts & Fun.