Chametz (also chometz, , ḥameṣ, ḥameç and other spellings Transliteration from ; ) are foods with that are forbidden to Jews on the holiday of Passover.
Chametz is a product that is both made from one of the five species of grain and has been combined with water and left to stand raw for longer than eighteen minutes (according to most opinions) and becomes leavened. This law appears several times in the Torah; according to halakha (Jewish law), Jews may not own, eat or benefit from chametz during Passover. The penalty for eating chametz on Passover is the divine punishment of kareth (cutting off).
Etymology
The adjective
chametz is derived from the common
Semitic root Heth-
M-
Tsade, relating to
bread,
leavening, and
baking. The related noun
chimutz is the process of leavening or fermenting. It is cognate to the
Aramaic language חמע, "to ferment, leaven" and the
Arabic language حَمْض
ḥamḍ, "acid", حَمُضَ
ḥamuḍa "to be sour", "to become acidic", "to acidify". This root relates to acidity and sourness in Hebrew as well, as the word
chometz - - means vinegar, and the word
chamootz - - means sour.
Torah-related sources
The
Torah has several commandments governing
chametz during
Passover:
-
The positive commandment to remove all chametz from one's home ().
[ Sefer ha-Chinuch]
-
Not to possess chametz in one's domain. (, ).
[
]
-
Not to eat chametz, or mixtures containing chametz (, , ).
[
]
The prohibitions take effect around late morning on the eve of Passover, or the 14th of the month of Nisan, in the Jewish calendar. Chametz is permitted again from nightfall after the final day of Passover, which is the 21st day of the month and the last of the seven days of Unleavened Bread (). Traditional Jewish homes spend the days leading up to Passover cleaning and removing all traces of chametz from the house.
Description
Chametz is a product that is both made from one of five species of grain and has been combined with water and left to stand raw for longer than eighteen minutes (according to most opinions) and becomes leavened.
All fruits, grains, and grasses for example naturally adhere wild yeasts and other microorganisms. This is the basis of all historic fermentation processes in human culture that were utilized for the production of beer, wine, bread and silage, amongst others. Chametz from the five species is the result of a natural microbial enzymatic activity that is caused by exposing grain starch—which has not been sterilized, i.e. by baking—to water. This causes the dissolved starch to ferment and break down into sugars that then become nutrients to the naturally contained yeasts. A typical side effect of this Leavening agent is the growth of the naturally adhering yeasts in the mixture, which produce gaseous carbon dioxide from glycolysis, which causes the fermented dough to rise and become increasingly acidic.
The five grains
According to the
Talmud,
chametz can only be present in the five species of grain. Other species are considered not to undergo "leavening" (
chimutz), but rather "spoilage" (
sirchon), and thus cannot become
chametz.
[Yerushalmi Pesachim 2:4 (16b); Talmud Bavli Pesachim 35a]
At least four of the five grains contain high levels of gluten. The fifth grain ( shibolet shual) is translated in Ashkenazi Jewish tradition as "oats" (which are low in gluten), but many modern scholars instead understand it to be a variety of barley (high in gluten). If the latter opinion is correct, then all five grains are high in gluten. That suggests that gluten is a necessary component of chametz, as it holds the dough together while rising, allowing the formation of a fluffy bread loaf.[
]
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Why Are These Cheerios Different from All Other Cheerios?
Leavening
, such as
yeast or
baking soda, are not themselves
chametz. Rather, it is the fermented grains. Thus yeast may be used in making wine. Similarly, baking soda may be used in Passover baked goods made with
matzoh meal and in
. Since the matzoh meal used in those foods is already baked, the grain will not ferment. Whether a chemical leavener such as baking soda may be used with flour in making
Matzah is disputed among contemporary
Sephardic authorities.
[Rabbi Ovadia Yosef permits it since the baking soda produces its own carbon dioxide rather than causing the grain to ferment while Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron and others prohibit it. The question is purely academic to Ashkenazic rabbis since traditionally, most Ashkenazim do not egg matzoh on Passover.] In accordance with those who permit it, cookies made with Passover flour, wine and a chemical leavener (the absence of water would make them similar to egg matzoh under the
chametz rules) are marketed in Israel under the name "wine cookies" to
Sephardim and others who eat egg matzoh on Passover.
Stringency
The Torah specifies the punishment of
kareth, one of the highest levels of punishment in Jewish tradition, for eating
chametz on Passover ().
During Passover, eating
chametz is prohibited no matter how small a proportion it is in a mixture although the usual rule is that if less than 1/60 of a mixture is not
kashrut, the mixture is permitted. If the dilution happened before Pesach, the usual 1/60 rule applies;
Ashkenazi Jews apply this leniency only if the mixture is liquid.
[Shulchan Aruch OC 447:4, and Rema]
Also, hana'ah (any benefit, such as selling) from some forms of non-kosher food is permitted, but no form of benefit may be derived from chametz during Passover. Mixtures consisting of less than 50% chametz that are not usually consumed by people (such as medicine or pet food—even if perfectly edible) may be owned and used on Passover but may not be eaten.[ Shulchan Aruch OC 442:4, SA Harav OC 442:22, Rambam Chametz Umatza 4:12]
Removal of chametz
In addition to the Biblical prohibition of owning
chametz, there is also a positive commandment to remove it from one's possession.
There are three traditional methods of removing
chametz:
-
Bi'ur: (ביעור) destroying one's chametz. All appropriate methods of destruction, like burning, are included in this category. On the night preceding the 14th of Nisan, a formal bedikat chametz (search for chametz) is conducted by candlelight. The chametz found in this search is burned the next morning, in a formal bi'ur ceremony.
-
Bittul (ביטול): nullifying one's chametz. On the night and again on the morning of the 14th of Nissan, at the formal bedikah and bi'ur respectively, the head of the household recites an Aramaic statement nullifying all chametz remaining in the family's possession. The statements conclude that the chametz "shall be nullified and considered ownerless as the dust of the earth." Bittul must be done before the prohibition of chametz takes effect; once five twelfths of the day have passed on Passover eve, bittul is no longer an effective means of removal, and any chametz that one discovers must be destroyed.
[Shulchan Aruch OC 434:2, 443:1]
-
Mechirah: (מכירה) selling one's chametz. Until five twelfths of the way through Passover Eve one may sell or give one's chametz to a non-Jew, and it is no longer one's responsibility.
[Shulchan Aruch OC 443:1, 445:2] One who keeps the sold chametz in a household must seal it away so that it will not be visible during the holiday. After the holiday, the non-Jew generally sells the chametz back to the original owners via the agent; nevertheless, he is under no obligation to do so.
It is considered best to use both bi'ur and bittul to remove one's chametz even though either of these two methods is enough to fulfill one's biblical requirement to destroy it.[ Mishnah Berurah §434] Mechirah, which averts the prohibition of ownership, is an alternative to destruction.
Sale of chametz
In many Jewish communities, the rabbi signs a contract with each congregant, assigning the rabbi as an agent to sell their
chametz.
The practice is convenient for the congregation and ensures that the sale is binding by both Jewish and local law.
For chametz owned by the Israel, which includes its state companies, the prison service and the country's stock of emergency supplies, the Chief Rabbinate act as agent; during the 2000s, the Rabbinate sold its chametz to Jaaber Hussein, a hotel manager residing in Abu Ghosh, who puts down a deposit of 20,000 shekels for chametz worth an estimated $150 million.
Chametz found during or after Pesach
According to
halakha (Jewish law), if
chametz is found during
Shabbat or
Jewish holidays, it must be covered over until
Chol HaMoed, when it can be burned.
Chametz found during Chol HaMoed (except on Shabbat) should be burned immediately.
After the holiday, there is a special law known as chametz she'avar alav haPesach ( chametz that was owned by a Jew during Pesach). Such chametz must be burned, since no benefit is allowed to be derived from it, not even by selling it to a non-Jew. Chametz she'avar alav haPesach may not be eaten by Jews after Pesach. If a store owned by a Jew is known not to have sold its chametz, a Jew may not buy any from that store until enough time has passed in which it can be assumed that the inventory has changed over since Pesach.
Customs related to chametz
Because of the Torah's severity regarding the prohibition of
chametz, many communities have adopted stringencies not biblically required as safeguards from inadvertent transgression.
Kitniyot
Among Ashkenazi Jews, the custom during Passover is to refrain not only from products of the five grains but also
kitniyot (lit. small things), which refers to other grains or legumes. Traditions of what is considered
kitniyot vary from community to community but generally include
rice,
corn,
lentils, and
beans. Many include
as well.
The custom of kitniyot is observed by Ashkenazi Jews. Some Sephardi Jews from Spain and North Africa (for example, Moroccan Jews) have different restrictions, such as avoiding rice during Pesach. In recent years, there is some movement among Conservative as well as some Orthodox Ashkenazi Jews to cease to observe the tradition of kitniyot.
Egg matzo
Matzo is generally made from flour and water. If made from flour and a different liquid, such as fruit juice or eggs, it is not considered
chametz. Ashkenazi custom is generally to avoid such products, in case some water was mixed into the liquid, which could cause the mixture to become
chametz.
This product is known as "egg matzo" or "enriched matzo".
Gebrochts
At Passover, some
Hasidic Judaism will not eat matzo that has become wet, including matzo balls and other matzo meal products although it cannot become
chametz.
[ IsraelNationalNews: In Time for the Holiday: What is Matzah? How is it Baked?: "According to Jewish Law, once matzo is baked, it cannot become chametz. Some Hasidic communities do not eat "wetted" matzo, for fear that part of the dough was not sufficiently baked and might become chametz when coming in contact with water."] Such products are called
gebrochts (Yiddish: broken), referring to the broken or ground matzo used for baking or cooking. Instead of matzo meal, they use
potato starch in cakes and other dishes. The
Hebrew term for
gebrochts is
matzah sh'ruyah (, soaked matzo), but outside Israel, the Yiddish name is usually the one that is used.
See also
External links
