Passover Guide and Seder Supplement

How Not to Panic in preparing for Pesach

Do not do general cleaning prior to Pesach. This is not, I repeat not, part of the mitzvah.

This year it is best to treat Friday as Erev Pesach ( no Hametz to be eaten after 10 am, biyur hametz etc. though the Pesach does not officially begin till Shabbat night.

Two days before Pesach- collect all food items which contain Hametz from all the rooms and gather them up in one drawer or closet and mark it Hametz. No additional "cleaning" is necessary.

Then all that is left is the kitchen. Here too collect all Hametz products a which which are or contain Hametz e.g. pastas, beer, (check cans with food) and gather them up in one or two closets and mark them Hametz. Hametz should be out of sight during all of Pesach.

Clean your refrigerator and freezer and put all perishable Hametz products so they cannot be seen or used during Pesach on separate shelves.

If you will use your oven during Pesach then it must be cleaned well and heated up to maximum for a few minutes or have someone with a blow-torch do the job. Your burners on top of the stove which are used for cooking should be cleaned and all flames lit for a minute or two.

Clean your sinks and table tops. Then cover them with plastic, aluminum foil or anything you deem fit.

Take out your Pesach dishes, pots, pans etc. and make your kitchen ready for Pesach cooking with Pesach products only for Shabbat.

The Hametz that is left keep in a special place but try not to eat it or make crumbs since your home is already Hametz free.

Make sure your Hametz is sold to a Gentile prior to the holyday. ( this year on Friday before 10am).Usually this is done through a rabbi who acts as your agent.

This year observe all the Pesach rules already on Friday though the Seder is not till Saturday night. Instead of bread or Hallah one may use regular Pesach matzah on Friday night. Others use egg matzah for the meals till the seder since there is a tradition in the Talmud that one should not eat regular matzah the day before the seder. Other rabbis permit even the eating of regular matzah even prior to the Seder Follow either tradition.

As for medicines which may contain Hametz, this is left to every individual to decide for himself since it involves one's health. A person needs medicines on a regular basis if he does not wish to decide for

himself should seek guidance from a dietician, pharmacist or physician.

A Proposal to Foster Jewish Unity

Preface

extent on a responsum (tshuvah) from the Rabbinical Assembly of Israel (affiliated with the Masorti/Conservative movement).

Introduction and Definition of Qitniyot

products (including tofu or bean curd), vanilla beans, cola beans, wild rice, peanuts, maize, caraway seeds, potatoes, garlic, radishes, coffee, poppy seeds, sesame, mustard, sunflower seeds, etc. (There is no single

agreed upon list of the "forbidden" items in this category which adds to the confusion.) Essentially, the category of qitniyot includes virtually all food items not included within the five prohibited grains, which over the years since the 13th century have been declared "prohibited" to European Jews by one or more rabbinic authorities. The five grains which can be used to make halah, and therefore can become hamaiz and are prohibited on Passover are:
Hitim - wheat [Triticum durum and vulgare]

Se'orim - 6- and 4-rowed barley, [Hordeolum sativum and vulgare]

Kusmim - {Even Shoshan=Triticum dicoccum, J Cohen=spelt}emmer/lesser spelt/ rice wheat [Triticum dicoccum]

Shibbolet Shu'al - {Even Shoshan=Avena; J Cohen=oats}2-rowed barley [Hordeolum distichum]

Shippon - {Even Shoshan=Secale=rye, JCohen=rye} spelt wheat [Triticum spelta].

These are the only items which can become hamaiz. While there is virtually total rabbinic agreement since Talmudic times that these Biblical Hebrew terms comprise the sum total of items which can become hamaiz, there is not agreement regarding the proper translation of the terms kusmim and shibbolet. Some authorities include oats in the above list but it is doubtful whether oats should be included.

Cereal foods such as buckwheat ("kasha") and grains such as rye are sometimes mistakenly included in the above group because of mistranslations of the Hebrew or upon modern Hebrew usages which should not be applied to terms in their Biblical contexts. [NOTE: This does not make rye breads made of a combination of rye and wheat flour kosher for Passover.]

For years I have had a "Rice for Passover" campaign. I believe that it is time to have a unified halakhah that facilitates all Jews freely and comfortably eating at each other's homes on Passover. This Ashkenazi prohibition was origianlly promulgated by mistake and there is no reason to perpetuate this custom other

than it has become traditional. On the other hand, there are many reasons to abolish this custom.

Maintaining the prohibition against eating qitniyot serves to perpetuate the power and influence of the

worst segments of the Ashkenazi clerical establishments, implicitly denigrates Sephardic customs and traditions, and stifles the natural and desirable process of incorporating Sefardi traditions into the traditions

of all Jews. Personally, I recommend that all Ashkenazi Jews show their acceptance in principle of such a change by placing qitniyot on Elijah's place-setting regardless of whether they personally are accustomed

to eating qitniyot.

Proposed Modern Practice

1. 
   place qitniyot on Elijah's plate to symbolize the fact that you are acting out of a feeling towards your own personal and family traditions and NOT out of acceptance of misguided rabbinic rulings that were wrong and foolish when they were promulagated and which today are divisive;
   
2. 
   place qitniyot on Elijah's plate to symbolize a vision of a time to come very soon when there will be unity among the different Jewish communities (even while different traditions are preserved as customs);
   
3. 
   follow the wise recommendations of the Rabbinical Assembly of Israel: "Undoubtedly, there will be Ashkenazim who will want to stick to the "custom of their ancestors" even though they know that it is permitted to eat legumes on Pesach. To them we recommend that they observe only the original custom of not eating rice and legumes but that they use oil from legumes and all the other foods "forbidden" over the years, such as peas, beans, garlic, mustard, sunflower seeds, peanuts, etc. Thus they will be able to eat hundreds of products which bear the label "Kosher for Pesach for those who eat legumes." This will make their lives easier and will add joy and pleasure to their observance of Pesach."
   

But let us also think about customs we want to preserve and customs we want to change: We do not pass on to our children a 17th, 18th or 19th century version of Judaism or a heder education (which is available in this country today) or most other archaic aspects of Eastern European Jewish culture. Our homes are modern homes and our children observe 20th century Judaism -- and this is good.

There is value in preserving old culinary traditions. There is also value in integrating customs from other Jewish communities into our lives and deepening our appreciation of Jewish traditions by eating other

traditional foods. Can we do both? Wouldn't there be greater value in doing both -- eating the foods we grew up with and eating other "traditional" foods? I think so. How can we do this?
The first seder might be based on a European culinary tradition, but other foods eaten after that. Perhaps foods from different traditions can be eaten at the same meal. Perhaps one seder can be European and another seder be based on Mediterranean Jewish cuisine. There is no single answer.

In the final analysis, people have to go with their heart and do what gives them the feelings appropriate for the holiday. But we also have to act according to our values. As Reconstructionists we affirm that there is value to our food traditions. But we also believe that preserving divisions and conflict between Ashkenazim

and Sefardim is against our values and that preserving an absolute prohibition against eating qitniyot is therefore against our values. We value the sharing of the many Jewish traditions -- which means preserving all of them and learning to share and participate in many of them. Many of us may choose to not eat qitniyot but we should all recognize that this should be a personal choice and should no longer be a matter of halakhah for anyone.

(Note: I have translated large sections of the Rabbinical Assembly of Israel's Tshuvah [responsum] regarding the eating of rice and qitniyot on Passover. I summarized sections that I did not translate and

have thus "reduced" a 21 page printed Hebrew document to a 5 page English text. While my translation and summary do not substitute for the complete text, you may find it valuable and informative. If you are interested in this translation, please contact me (email: bbenbaruch@earthlink.net).
With best wishes for a joyous, meaningful and liberating Pesah, Benjamin Ben-Baruch