Goat Blood Unavailable, Man Paints Doorpost With Soy Sauce

He took the measures in response to the climbing figure of coronavirus patients in Israel.

Jerusalem, March 31 – A local resident fearful of coronavirus decided not to wait until the eve of Passover to take certain traditional protective measures against plagues, but found himself without the materials necessary to conduct the ritual as documented, and felt compelled to fall back on a similar-looking ingredient he does have on hand: a dark liquid common in East Asian cuisine.

Gad Demmit, 35, sought this week to implement further safety protocols as the number of COVID19 cases increased again, and as the authorities tightened restrictions on movement and assembly to contain the pathogen’s spread. Those restrictions made obtaining a goat or sheep in its first year even more difficult than under normal circumstances in an urban setting. Mr. Demmit therefore resorted to measures unthinkable in ancient Egypt: smearing soy sauce on the doorposts and lintel so that the Messenger of Death passes over his home.

“I hope it’s good enough,” he conceded in a telephone interview. “I mean, I wasn’t exactly looking forward to slaughtering an animal in this apartment, but still, you want to do things the right way. The best I could find was a butcher who would deliver some meat, but no blood. This will have to do.”

Demmit took the measures in response to the climbing figure of coronavirus patients in Israel, among them more than two dozen seriously ill. At least fifteen Israelis have perished in the pandemic, which has infected upwards of 3,500 in the country, and the statistic continues to rise – both as  result of actual spread and of augmented testing that reveals the virus’s actual reach.

Soy sauce ingredients usually include wheat or barley, benefit from which in most forms – or even possession of such – during Passover falls under multiple Torah prohibitions that even most secular Israelis strive to observe as part of their cultural heritage. Demmit plans to apply the substance each night after sunset to renew its protective properties, but has submitted an inquiry to a Rabbi regarding its application on Passover eve itself, when the prohibitions are already in force. “It’s my understanding based on vague recollections of religious education years and years ago that fulfillment of a commandment isn’t considered ‘benefit’ the way eating or, say, selling might be,” he explained. “So maybe soy sauce might still be OK to use if I’ve already sold it to a non-Jew? If that doesn’t work out I don’t relish the prospect of trying to convince my wife or daughter to part with any of their cosmetics.”

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