Online Fame, Shabbat Dateline

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Dear Rabbi Simon

I have been asked to be interviewed for an online magazine.  Initially, they wanted to interview me today (Friday) with the intention to publish the online article on Shabbat. I asked them if the interview could be done on Sunday, and now they have agreed to delay the article. However, it is probable (though not sure) that the article may be published online next Saturday. No Jews are directly involved in the writing of this article. Can I participate in the interview knowing that the article could be published online over Shabbat?

Shabbetai

Dear Shabbetai

TY for your interesting question. You are a celebrity in the making.

I am presuming that the publishers are not Jewish, and their intended readership is not Jewish per se (even though no doubt some of their readers are). If these presumptions are correct, there is no barrier to your participating in the interview as described. Although a Jewish person may theoretically access his computer on Shabbat in order to read this particular publication, you are not enabling or even causing him or her to profane the Shabbat. S/he can equally wait until after Havdalah to read your interview—just like the rest of us.

Best wishes and Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Rashi Simon

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Ask the Rabbi: Quinoa on Pesach
Dear Rabbi Simon,
Where do you stand on quinoa (and the kitniyot ban) for Pesach?
Many thanks,
Tzippy
***
Dear Tzippy,
In line with other American authorities, I am in favour of quinoa. Although I reject completely the voices (mostly from Israel) seeking to abolish the ban on kitniyot entirely, IMO we do not need to include in the prohibition pseudo-grains that were unknown in the Old World until modern times. Best to buy with a Pesach hechsher though, to be free of any possible wheat contamination.
Rabbi Rashi Simon
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