PESAH, two differences between Sephardic and Ashkenazi traditions

1. qiniyot. As we explained yesterday, the Ashkenazi custom is to refrain from eating rice and any other kind of seeds during Pesaḥ. This is called isur qitniyot (the prohibition of legumes).   Now, even though the Ashkenazi custom forbids the consumption of qitniyot during Pesaḥ, qitniyot products could be kept during Pesah at one’s home and there is no need to throw them out or sell them (Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, penine halakha, following SH. A. Rama, 453:1).  Also, as pointed out by Rabbi Eliezer Melamed,  although the Ashkenazi custom  is to forbid qitniyot during Pesaḥ, that is  only when the qitniyot constitute the majority of that product (more than 50%) but if qitniyot are present in a smaller proportion (corn-syrup, corn-starch, etc), the food is not forbidden (see Mishna Berura 8-9).  You can read the book of rabbi Eliezer Melamed, Penine halakha online, here
2. eno hozer vene’or.   The Sephardic tradition holds that if a food does not have a Hamets ingredient or by-product in their basic composition, but has a Hamets additive or ingredient in a proportion smaller than 1.6 (or 1/60) of the total product (usually an additive), if that food was elaborated before Pesah, that food is permitted for Pesah.  Whereas for the Ashkenazi custom,  it does no make a difference if the food was done before or during Pesah: even a minimal amount of Hamets (0.001) renders the whole product non-Kosher for Pesah.  There are many practical consequences to this rule. One of them is that for the Ashkenazi custom every product to be consumed during Pesah has to be done exclusively under strict Kosher for Pesah Rabbinical supervision. Thus, in a food factory, the criteria to avoid the presence of Hamets would be, in practical terms,  the same as the criteria applied to avoid the presence of an allergen in the food product. Establishing a complete Hamets-free environment to preventing even an accidental Hamets’s cross-contamination.
Dedicated to the memory of Ya’aqob Ben Yehuda z”l



PESAH, all about rice

Rice, corn and any seed, legume or grain which is not one of the five grains (wheat, rye, spelt, barley and oats) are not Hamets and do not become Hamets even if they undergo a fermentation process. 
  
The Ashkenazi custom, however, is to forbid the consumption of legumes and grains like rice or corn during Pesah (qitniyot).  Let us analyze the case of rice. Obviously, the Ashkenazi tradition does not consider that rice or any other grain besides the five above mentioned grains is Hamets. The reason for the abstention from rice on Pesah is that it was common to find grains of wheat mixed with grains of rice. Either because the fields where rice was grown were usually nearby or within the same fields where wheat was grown, and/or because whole rice-grains and wheat-grains look alike. In the market, it was not uncommon to find grains of wheat within bags of rice or other grains and legumes.  And, as we will later explain, the prohibition of Hamets during Pesah is so severe that even one grain of wheat would render a whole food e forbidden for Pesah.
  
The stringency of refraining from rice is not an exclusive Ashkenazi tradition.   Sephardic Jews are divided on the issue of rice. Moroccan Jews and other Jews from North Africa also avoid eating rice during Pesah, while Persian, Syrian and other Middle East Jews consume rice during Pesah. However, to avoid the possibility of the accidental presence of a grain of wheat in the rice, the Persian and Syrian custom is to check the rice three times before using it for Pesah.   
Information about rice, Rabbi Eliyahu Ben Hayim. 
1. “As per phone conversations with rice importers and receipt of confirmation letters from them, Rabbi Eliyahu Ben Haim has confirmed that the following brands of rice are 100% pure, not enriched, and have no additives or preservatives. Therefore, they are suitable for use on Pesah.  The brands are as follows:  Lalquila, Shahzadeh, Pari, Royal, Zebra, Deer, Empire, and Gold & Quilla. Even though these rices are 100% pure, our custom is to clean the rice and check it three times before using it for Pesah.”  
2. Information about enriched rice from Rabbi Yehuda Boroosan, Mashgiach from OU, Atlanta, GA. 
“Rice is a primary staple food for many people. When rice is processed into white rice, the fiber and nutrient rich outer bran is stripped first, leaving behind the germ and endosperm. In many cases, the nutritious germ is lost as well during the polishing process. As a result, white rice is not terribly nutritious, naturally. Therefore, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires that any rice labeled “enriched”, regardless of its point of origin – whether domestically grown or imported – must contain at least the minimum level of thiamin, niacin, iron and folic acid as specified in the Code of Federal Regulations. “Organic Rice’ on the other hand may not contain other nutrients, in compliance with the regulations set forth by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM). Although the USDA does not require any import permit to import processed “Natural Rice” such as Basmati, Jasmine, etc., without enrichment, for food consumption to the US, in some countries abroad the trend has become to enrich their natural rice that is intended for import purposes.  
  
Niacin (Vitamin B3) – is produced through synthetic process. Although the production process is synthetic, it does rely on enzymatic process. The enzymes used in the process are not of any chametz concern.
Iron ferrous sulfate) – is an inorganic chemical and is not of any chametz concern.
Folic Acid (Vitamin B9) – is an innocuous ingredient and presents no issues for Pesach.
Thiamin (Vitamin B1) – is a vitamin that is made through reaction of ethanol with formic acid to produce ethyl formate that is used to make Vitamin B1. Ethanol variously made either from wheat, sugar cane, sweet potato or corn depending on its price in the market. Presently, there is no definitive assurance that the ratio of Ethanol is less than 1/60 of the total mix that is utilized to produce the final product. However considering the fact that all four vitamins are blended together along with a carrier and then only 3/10 of a pound of enrichment is added to every one thousand pounds (0.03%) of rice, the enrichment is considered null & void. Hence, if you purchase enriched rice DURING Pesach, it will be preferable to rinse it before cooking to remove vitamins. Rice purchased before Pesach could be used as it is. 



PESAH, what is and what is not Hamets?

Our father, Rabbi Yosef Bitton is in mourning for his father, Ya’aqob Ben Yehuda, sitting shib’a in Buenos Aires with his family, asked us to send the HOTD for this week based in what he wrote last year.
 During Pesah we are not allowed to eat, benefit from or even posses anything hamets But, what exactly is Hamets? Hamets (or Chametz) is any fermented substance -solid or liquid- that comes from one of the following five grains: wheat, rye, spelt, barley and oats.
The Hamets fermentation takes place only after eighteen minutes have passed, from the moment one of these grains or one of its by-products comes in contact with water. 
Some common examples of Hamets products are: Bread, pasta, crackers, cookies, fiber-drinks, cereals, baby foods, whiskey and beer.
The following three factors need to be present simultaneously for a food to be considered Hamets.
(i) Flour or any other product derived from one of the above mentioned five grains.  A fermented food product which is not or that does not contain any element coming from one of the five grains, like rice or corn, is not Hamets. (tomorrow, BH, we will explain this subject better).
(ii) Water: when flour coming from one of the five grains is mixed exclusively with pure fruit juice, without water, the dough is not considered Hamets but Matsa Ashira.  
(iii) Time.  The Matsa  has two of the three elements that makes a product Hamets: flour and water.  But it is entirely baked before eighteen minutes have passed from the moment water and flour came in contact.  Time, therefore, is the main difference between Hamets and Matsa. 
The prohibition of Hamets includes another element, a food additive which the Tora calls se-or (שאור). Se-or (grain yeast) is a catalyzer of the fermentation process. In other words, once you have a dough, flour and water, mixed together the fermentation process could take place in 18 minutes, or you can add se-or / yeast and the fermentation process will be faster.  All the prohibitions of Hamets apply to se-or as well.   
Today’s HOTD is dedicated to the memory of Ya’aqob Ben Yehuda, z”l who passed away eve of Shabbat 19 of Adar II 5774. תנצב”ה



PESAH, Hand made vs machine made matsa

מצות אכילת מצה


In general, when making a religious article or one of its accessories to be used for a Mitsva, this item must be done with the specific intention of being used for the fulfillment of that Mitsva.  Example: we can not use left-overs of commercial leather (made originally for shoes, etc) to make a Tefilin or its straps. The leather has to be processed explicitly for the purpose of fulfilling the Mitsva of Tefilin. Before processing the leather, the artisan says: leshem mitsvat Tefilin, [“I’m processing this leather to be used…] for the purpose of the mitsva of Tefilin”.  The same principle applies, for example, with the threads used for the Tsitsit, they must be manufactured for that specific purpose, and if they have been made for another purpose, or even for not specific purpose, these threads are unfit for fulfilling the Mitsva of Tsitsit.  

Similarly,  the Matsot that will be consumed during the first two nights of Pesah (matsot mitsva), must be elaborated with the explicit purpose of the fulfilling the Biblical mitsva of eating Matsa.
Now, unlike the case of leather left-overs or commercial made strings, Kosher for Pesah Matsot, are always made for Pesah.
In the case of the Matsot, therefore, the question is a little different and it applies specifically to Matsot made by machine.  Do we consider that the “human intentionality” extends from the man who activates the machinery, who actually says: leshem matsot Mitsva,  to the machinery itself, in which case the Matsot will be unquestionably fit. Or, is this “purposefulness” discontinued as soon as a non-human factor intervenes? The rabbis debate on this matter. Some rabbis assert that machine made Matsot are preferable to hand made Matsot, because although the question of purposefulness still remains, machine Matsot are less exposed to human errors, and that factor supersedes the matter of purposefulness. However, many rabbis (among them rabbi Obadia Yosef, z’l)  recommend to use for the two nights of Pesah, when eating Matsa is mandatory, a Matsa elaborated by hand, with a reliable Rabbinic supervision.  According to some rabbis (Rabbi E. Melamed) this purposefulness is also part of what gives a Matsa its status of shemura (see yesterday’s HOTD).
Following this last opinion it is recommended to use hand made Matsot for the first two nights of Pesah, if one can find them and especially afford hand-made matsot shemurot. If not, one can use Matsa shemura made by machine.  For the rest of Pesah, it is unnecessary to use hand-made matsot.

SHABBAT SHALOM!
Lighting candles in NYC            6:49 pm
Shabbat ends in NYC                  7:50 pm


PESAH, Regular Matsa or Matsa shemura?

מצות אכילת מצה

Matsa (in English “Matzah”) is a special unleavened bread made of a flat dough. The dough is prepared with flour and water, without yeast. The flour normally comes from wheat, but in theory, Matsa could also be made with barley, oats, rye or spelt’s flour. The whole elaboration process from the time the flour gets in contact with water until the Matsa is baked takes less than 18 minutes.

There are different types Matsot.  In the coming days we will learn the differences between 1. Regular  Matsa and Matsa Shemura, 2. Hand-made Matsa and machine-made Matsa and 3. Regular Matsa and egg Matsa (= Matsa ‘ashira). 

Let us begin with regular Matsa and Matsa Shemura. 

The difference between these two Matsot has to do with the level of supervision (shemira), more specifically, at what point of the elaboration of Matsa  the supervision begins.

For Regular Matsa the supervision begins from the moment of the mixing of the flour with water. It is necessary to make sure that the flour was kept in a dry place (humidity makes the flour Hamets). Furthermore, the water to be used to make the dough should be at room temperature level (warmer water accelerates the process of fermentation). No dough, even a small piece, might be unattended. Any piece of dough left unbaked for 18 minutes is Hamets. The machines are cleaned after each production for residues of dough, water, etc. 

Matsa Shemura: In addition to all the rules for regular Matsa, kept throughout the process of making the dough up to the baking of the actual Matsot, in the elaboration of Matsa Shemura the grain is supervised from the time of harvesting. For example: The wheat kernels are carefully examined to make sure that there are no grains which have split or that are sprouting, in which case they could be affected by a minimum moisture.  The grain is stored and transported in special places to protect it from humidity, etc.   

Obviously both Matsot are Kasher for Pesah. The use of Matsa Shemura is recommended particularly for the first two nights of Pesah (in Israel, only the first night), when we say the Berakha ‘al akhilat Matsa. Why? Having Matsa Shemura during the nights of the Seder is a practice that we follow in attention to the Biblical words (Ex 12:17)  ושמרתם את המצות “and you shall guard the unleavened bread”.   

During the other days of Pesah there is no need to use Matsa Shemura because during the rest of the Holiday there is no formal obligation to eat Matsa but only to refrain from eating Hamets.



PESAH, why do we eat Matsa?

We explained yesterday that one of the three positive Biblical Mitsvot of Pesah is to eat Matsa.  Now, why do we eat Matsa? There are at least two reasons. One, is explicitly mentioned  in the Tora and the second, less known, is mentioned at the very beginning of the Hagada.  Let us begin from the second reason. 

For many, many years when we were slaves in Egypt, every single day we ate Matsa. We ate Matsa for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Matsa was the food conceived by the cruel Egyptians as the ideal meal for the Jewish slaves. First, because the Matsa lasted longer than regular bread in the slave’s stomach. And mainly because Matsa was cheaper than any other food. All you need to make Matsa is flour and water. Matsa was cost-effective also because of its time-factor. To make regular bread you need to let the dough rest for approximately 15-20 minutes and only then you would place the spongy-dough into the oven. In the Egyptian captivity the raising of the dough was skipped. Instead, the Jewish slaves had to put the dough into the oven flat because they had to work for the Egyptians without a pause. The Egyptians were not willing to waste 15 extra minutes of Jewish work to allow the dough to raise and made it into regular bread.
Thus, we declare at the very beginning of the Hagada pointing at the Matsa: ha lahma ‘aniya… This is “the bread of poverty that our ancestors ate in Egypt”

The Biblical text emphasizes a different reason for eating Matsa. Upon our departure from Egypt we also ate Matsa. Why? Because we did not leave Egypt progressively, during the course of a few weeks or even days. We were rescued by HaShem in a speedy operation (behipazon) which lasted just one night. (Try to visualize the mobilization of 3 million people leaving in one night!). And as much as we were eager to have our first normal meal with bread, ironically, there was no time to waste in preparing bread for the journey. We did not have even 15 extra minutes to wait for the dough to rise. We had to leave swiftly. 

Ever since, Matsa also has the taste of freedom. In our memories, Matsa reminds us of the food we take with us when we went out of Egypt. 

Matsa represents both, the sweet flavor of freedom and the bitterness of slavery. With the Matsa, particularly during the Seder when eating Matsa is mandatory, we celebrate our freedom without forgetting our suffering.



PESAH, less than a month away

Pesah is less than a month away. The first night will be celebrated B’H Monday April 14th, 2014.  Pesah’s laws and customs are so many and so diverse that our Rabbis indicated that thirty days before Pesah we should start reviewing the laws of Pesah. So, we are a little behind schedule…

Anyways, let us begin by reviewing the Biblical Mitsvot of Pesah.

In his introduction to Hilkhot Pesah, Maimonides describes each commandment enumerating a total of EIGHT Biblical Mitsvot for Pesah. In this number, Maimonides obviously excludes all the Mitsvot related to the Pesah sacrifice (qorban Pesah).

We have 3 positive commandments and 5 prohibitions in Pesah.

THE THREE POSITIVE COMMANDMENTS OF PESAH ARE

אכילת מצה 1. To eat Matsa during the first night of Pesah (in the Diaspora, it becomes automatically mandatory to eat Matsa during the first “two” nights)

2 והגדת לבנך . To tell the story of Pesah, the Hagada, to our children during the first night of Pesah (in the Diaspora,  the first “two” nights). This Mitsva includes many other Mitsvot and traditions, like drinking the four cups of wine, eating maror, etc.

3 השבתת חמץ. To dispose (=disown) of our Hamets on Pesah eve, the 14th of Nisan (Monday April 14th) before noon.

THE FIVE PROHIBITIONS ARE

4 איסור אכילת חמץ . The prohibition of eating Hamets during Pesah

5 איסור אכילת תערובת חמץ. The prohibition of eating anything that contains Hamets during Pesah

6 בל-יראה . The prohibition of owning Hamets during Pesah

7 בל -ימצא. The prohibition of owning Hamets during Pesah.

(Mitsvot 6 and 7 are indeed identical, an exceptional case in the entire Tora!)
8 איסור אכילת חמץ ערב פסח אחר חצות היום. The prohibition of eating Hamets on Pesah eve (Monday, April 14th), from noon time.

In the coming days B’H we will have the opportunity to define and review each one of these these eight Mitsvot.



READ


Jewish passenger saved from Malaysia flight by travel agent who wouldn’t book him on Shabbat 

from Jerusalem Post



PESAH: List of approved foods and products for 5773

 The foods and products described in the following list do not contain Hametz and are authorized for Pesah 5773.
The products mentioned in this list do not bear a special Kosher for Pesah certification. They should be bought before Pesah begins. They can only be used if the package is new and unused. 
The authorization of these articles is only for Sephardim and it is based on information obtained from Kosher for Pesah lists elaborated by experts Orthodox rabbis.
Rabbi Yosef Bitton 
Click HERE to download the list of Products for Pesah 5773/2013