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Jewish Community News
Ask the Rabbi: April 2004
Kosher for Passover
By Rabbi Leslie Alexander
Question: Dear Rabbi, Passover is here again and I am so confused! Last year, I went to the grocery store and bought all kosher for Passover products, but even then, I got something wrong. I bought mustard to use in a recipe and my friend would not eat it because he felt that mustard is not kosher for Passover. The jar said kosher for Passover! What’s up with that?
Dear Confused,
I can completely understand why you are at a loss, but permit me to explain.
No Jew is supposed to eat chametz on Passover. Chametz is any food product
consisting of the five grains: wheat, barley, spelt, rye and oats that
have been in contact with water for more than 18 minutes.
There is another type of food, called kitniyot, legumes,
which consists of rice, corn, soy beans, peas, lentils, peanuts, mustard,
sesame seeds and poppy seeds. These are NOT chametz, but are sometimes
hard to distinguish from chametz. In order to prevent anyone from mistakenly
consuming chametz, these kitniyot were forbidden to eat as well. It was
also thought that these foodstuffs could easily become mixed in with chametz,
and in eating them, one could end up eating chametz as well.
If so, you ask, then why are they in the store with a bold KOSHER FOR
PASSOVER label on them?
The Sephardic community does not prohibit the eating of
kitniyot. It was thought that Sephardic families used kitniyot, primarily
rice and beans, as a staple in their diet, whereas Ashkenazic Jews were
more dependent on potatoes for their staple. For this reason, it was not
felt that Sephardic Jews should have to suffer without their legumes,
thereby restricting their diet from food on which they were dependent.
Today, much of the kosher for Passover food that we consume comes from
Israel. In Israel, the Sephardim are a prevalent Jewish group. So some
of the kosher for Passover food production is fine for Sephardic Jews
but not the majority of Ashkenazic Jews living in the United States.
An interesting twist on the kitniot issue is that a number of rabbinic
authorities will allow even Ashkenazic Jews to eat derivatives of kitniyot
that could not possibly be confused with hametz grain. So it is possible
that you could opt to eat peanut oil, corn oil or sweeteners or soy oil.
The Conservative movement’s Committee on Law and Standards has ruled
unanimously that peanuts and peanut oil and peanut butter are fine to
eat because peanuts are not actually legumes at all! But be careful when
you buy this product because most peanut butters have other additives
that are real chametz and therefore out of bounds for the duration of
Passover.
Over the last few years some attention has been cast on a product that resembles a grain, but is not a grain. That is quinoa, which is actually a type of grass and is fine to eat on Passover whether you are Ashkenazic or Sephardic. I hear that it is prepared like rice, is high in protein and is found at most health food stores. That’s something new to introduce to your friend on Passover!
Passover is a holiday when we not only have legal guidelines for what to eat, but so many of us have family traditions to add to the mix. Good for you for moving toward keeping kosher for Passover. All of life is an opportunity to learn and even those of us who have observed for a long time are always learning. Relax, stay away from the chametz, and don’t worry about a few glitches with the kitniyot. Chag Sameach!
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