[gregoryuconn] Food, Glorious Food

[gregoryuconn]

Although Ali is an ordinary man, he on several brief occasions owned a large portion of his country's food supply. Why?

True story, caveat earlispoilr.

[wwhere]

Hi!

Is Ali H/A/M?
"Ordinary man"... Is he ordinary in a biological sense? Is he ordinary in a social sense? is he ordinary in a monetary sense?
"Brief occasions"... More than twice? More than ten times? More than a hundred times? Does it matter how many times exactly? Do these occasions last more than a second? more than a minute? more than an hour? more than one day? more than one week?
"large portion"... Important how much is that? More than half? More than 3/4? More than 90%? 100%
"his country"... Important which country is that? Is it in Asia? Europe? Africa? Oceania? South America? North America?

Is Ali in our present time (sXXI)? Is he from the past?

Is the total population of his country important? Has he constituted on several brief occasions a large portion of his country's population?

[gregoryuconn]

Is Ali H/A/M? Yes, though gender is irrelevant
"Ordinary man"... Is he ordinary in a biological sense? Yes Is he ordinary in a social sense? Yes is he ordinary in a monetary sense? I'll say yesish..... He's somewhat wealthier than average but he's not like some super rich guy.
"Brief occasions"... More than twice? Yes More than ten times? Yes More than a hundred times? Definitely not Does it matter how many times exactly? Not specifically, but it couldn't be more than 100. Do these occasions last more than a second? more than a minute? more than an hour? more than one day? more than one week? Yes to all, slight ish to one week
"large portion"... Important how much is that? Not the exact amount More than half? Possibly More than 3/4? Maybe More than 90%? I don't think so. 100% Definitely not.
"his country"... Important which country is that? Yes Is it in Asia? This Europe? Africa? Oceania? South America? North America?

Is Ali in our present time (sXXI)? Yes Is he from the past?

Is the total population of his country important? As in the total number of people who live there? No. Has he constituted on several brief occasions a large portion of his country's population? No.

[Mimino]

Does the occasion where he owns the food supply repeat every year? exactly once per year?
Is he actively doing something to become owner? to cease to be the owner? is he aware that he owns the food?
Does he become the owner of the food in the very moment the food comes into existence as food? (i.e. like crop being harvested? fish being caught?)
Does the food he owns include: vegetables? cereals? meat? fish? seafood? fruits? livestock?
Does the country where this happens consist of merely islands in the ocean?

[gregoryuconn]

Does the occasion where he owns the food supply repeat every year? exactly once per year? Yes to both
Is he actively doing something to become owner? Yes to cease to be the owner? Yes, possible ish is he aware that he owns the food? Yes
Does he become the owner of the food in the very moment the food comes into existence as food? (i.e. like crop being harvested? fish being caught?) Perhaps if it came into existence while he owned the other food, I'm not sure. But in the vast majority of cases, at a minimum, no.
Does the food he owns include: vegetables? As in fresh vegetables? No cereals? Definitely. meat? Yes, in some cases fish? In some cases seafood? It would NOT include non-fish seafood like shrimp and lobster. This is a surprisingly good question. fruits? As with vegetables, if we're talking fresh fruits the answer is no. livestock? You mean like living animals? No.
Does the country where this happens consist of merely islands in the ocean? No (though the geography of the country isn't really relevant.)

[Mimino]

Is it then dried fruit? dried vegetables? canned meat? canned fish? in general food that can be stored for a while?
A food reserve of some sort? Army supply?
Does at any point the government own this food? if so: before Ali owns it? after he owned it?
Does Ali earn money with that?
Is the food still good for consumption when Ali owns it? Is it intended to be used as food?
Does Ali sell the food? would he legally be allowed to sell it?
Does he give the food away for free? destroy it?
Is it smuggled food?

[wwhere]

Is the country Israel? And is this somehow caused by an annual, slightly longer than a week, religious occurrence? Like maybe having to not own food for a week, so all food nominally changes to one person's possession?
Is Ali's religion important? Is he Jewish? Is he Muslim? Being from another religion allows him to own the food without sinning and save all the country from doing so?

[gregoryuconn]

Is it then dried fruit? dried vegetables? canned meat? canned fish? COuld include any of these in general food that can be stored for a while? But it isn't specifically this.
A food reserve of some sort? Army supply? Would include all of these
Does at any point the government own this food? if so: before Ali owns it? after he owned it? Yes to all.
Does Ali earn money with that? No.
Is the food still good for consumption when Ali owns it? Yes. Is it intended to be used as food? Not while Ali owns it.
Does Ali sell the food? would he legally be allowed to sell it?
Does he give the food away for free? destroy it? No to all of these.
Is it smuggled food? No (or irrelevant).

Is the country Israel? Yes! And is this somehow caused by an annual, slightly longer than a week, religious occurrence? The holiday is exactly a week Like maybe having to not own food for a week, so all food nominally changes to one person's possession? Not all food but....
Is Ali's religion important? Is he Jewish? Is he Muslim? He's Muslim, but any non-Jewish religion would work. Being from another religion allows him to own the food without sinning and save all the country from doing so? Exactly.

****SPOILER******

During the holiday of Passover, Jews are not permitted to own chametz - basically anything made with any sort of one of five grains, or isn't certified as not containing it. The laws regarding Kosher for Passover products are confusing, but generally fresh fruits and vegetables don't need to be certified, hence the answers to those questions. To avoid having to destroy all the chametz, Jews will traditionally, through a rabbi, sell all their chametz to a non-Jew, and the rabbi will buy it back on their behalf after the holiday. In Israel, Passover lasts for only seven days (unlike the rest of the world where it lasts eight) but obviously it needs to be sold before the holiday and bought after, hence slightly more than a week. Israel handles all sales of Chametz owned by the state - in prisons, military, the country's emergency food supply, food courts/cafeterias in government buildings, etc., through the Chief Rabbinate, who also handles many private sales for businesses and individuals. The chametz is sold by the Chief Rabbinate to Hussein Jaber, a Muslim hotel manager from Abu Ghosh, who puts down an approximately $14,000 deposit and is required to pay $300 million by the end of the holiday if he wants to finalize the purchase. After he inevitably doesn't come up with this large some of money, his deposit is returned following the holiday and the chametz returns to its prior owners.

[wwhere]

Thanks for the puzzle. It is fascinating!

[JenBurdoo]

This is a common "loophole" on Passover - my family used to have our neighbor take our chametz for the holiday. It is possible even to leave it in your own home and basically claim that your pantry temporarily "belongs" to the neighbor, so that it technically isn't in your house!