The Kitniyot Liberation Front

It’s been 10 years since the Great Kitniyot Rebellion of 2007 when Rav David Bar-Hayyim issued his famous (or infamous) psak halacha that permitted Ashkenazim to eat kitniyot during Pesach.   Back then, most people were so preoccupied with the removal of kitniyot that the removal of chametz almost seemed like an afterthought. But as the Rav explained, kitniyot are the little things & we need to focus on the bigger issues . Over the last 10 years, many people have talked, written or blogged about eating kitniyot—or not eating them. Even the Reform and Conservative Movements have hopped on the kitniyot bandwagon. But until now, everyone has only cited anecdotal evidence.   In honor of the 10th anniversary of the Great Kitniyot Rebellion, Machon Shilo created an online survey (in English) about Pesach customs and kitniyot. Circulated via Facebook and popular Israel-based email lists, the survey was answered by nearly 150 people. While we can't claim that the...

Rav Eliezer Melamed is the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Bracha in Beit El and is a prolific author on Halacha. His series of clear, yet comprehensive, Halachic works called Pninei Halacha are mainstays of baalei batim and yeshiva students alike. Chapter 9 of his Pninei Halacha: the Laws of Pesach has recently been posted to Scribd and it offers good news for chocolate lovers: Chocolate and candy labeled “Kosher for Pesach only for those who eat kitniyot"  are technically permissible even for those who do not eat kitniyot, because the kitniyot in  these products are added before Pesach and are batel be-rov.  In addition, these products generally contain kitniyot oils, which, according to several leading poskim, are not included in the custom to prohibit kitniyot. He goes on to write that kosher certification agencies label them as "Kosher for Pesach for kitniyot eaters" because "people are stringent". I disagree and believe that this is really due to...

The custom of Tefillin is very ancient, even predating the custom of kitniyot. In the USA, tefillin are commonly worn during Chol HaMoed. When making aliyah, most olim from the USA adopt the the "Minhag HaMakom", a.k.a. the local custom, and stop wearing them during Chol HaMoed. What makes this so interesting is that: Most olim continue to abstain from eating kitniyot during Pesach under pretense of following "Minhag Avoteinu", commonly understood as the custom of their parents, rather than the local custom.  Most olim adopt what they believe to be the local custom despite the fact that their Fathers wore tefillin during Chol HaMoed.  And this is the really interesting part--wearing tefillin is not actually a Minhag (custom), but a Mitzvah D'Oreitah, a commandment dictated by HaShem in the Torah.  Ironically, the first source in the Torah that commands us to wear tefillin has a Pesach theme: And it shall be for a sign for you upon your hand, a...

Section 453: Laws Concerning the Wheat and Concerning the Grinding of Wheat for Matzos Even if a person kneads rice flour and the like with steaming hot water and covers it with cloths until it expands like leavened dough, this does not mean that the rice dough has become leavened, but that it has decayed, and it is therefore permitted to be eaten on Pesach .

Question: My family made Aliyah from the States in August 2006. We are Ashkenazim. The following Pesach I asked the Rav of our Yishuv if we could eat Kitniyot as taking on the custom of Eretz Yisrael etc. and he said no. Are we bound by this answer and is there a way to change our minhag? I feel strongly about this issue. Answer: The system whereby Rabbanim become the Rav of a Yishuv/town/city in Israel is a political and bureaucratic process which, in my view, is neither Halakhically valid nor binding. See Rambam, Mishne Tora, Sanhedrin 2:11 (Vilna edition: 8). Even if this were not the case, a Rav is appointed Rav of the Yishuv and communal issues fall within his purview; one is not required to accept the Yishuv's Rav as one's personal Rav. The Mishna (Avoth 1:6, 1:15) states: "'Asse l'kha Rav", i.e. choose a Rav and follow him. Similarly, the Talmudh ('Eruvin 6b) states that one should not always seek out the lenient opinion, and one who does so is d...

One of the biggest "pieces of shtuth" is the additions to the whole kitniyot craziness. For many years, raw shelled almonds from Supersol were labeled "Kosher for Passover for Eaters of Kitniyot Only". This was pure craziness. Almonds grow on trees and can't become legumes. They were uncooked. The presence of legumes in the factory did not change them into legumes. It was simply an error due to misplaced zealousness. Fortunate this year, the label has been corrected. It is also fortunate that even for those who cling to kitniyot, there is light to disperse the darkness of shtuth. Rabbi Zvi Anshel HaLevi Leshem of Efrat (02-9309133) has written a psak about the halachoth of kitniyot for those who still cling to this custom of the galuth: 1. Some of the oils designated as "kitniot" or "only for those who eat kitniot" are permissible also to Ashkenazim (even according to the position which prohibits kitniot oil), such as peanut, soy, canola and ...

Zealots of Exile are no longer content with their ban on kitniyot and have moved on to banning soft matzah as was eaten by our forefathers for a mere 2000 or 3000 years, minus the last 300. The Rabbinical Council of Victoria (RCV) wishes to express grave concerns about a new product called “Laffa Matza” being sold in certain food outlets in Melbourne, which bears a Kosher for Passover symbol and is soft and chewy. What is clear from this discussion is that: The RCV has not been able to explain why they are concerned--except that the soft matzot are chewy (I have not seen a source for this being a problem nor have they said soft matzot are actually chametz, chas ve shalom) There are vested business interests in this and the "Laffa Matza" is selling well despite their efforts The replies on the Galus Australis blog with the most invective come from people who have never made matzot and don't know what they're talking about There are thinking Jews everywhere who can sep...

Thousands of Jews went up to Har HaBayith during Chol HaMoed in ritual purity. Although I was not able to go up during the festive time, I went earlier this month. Rav Dov Lior, Chief Rabbi of Kiryat Arba, went up and called for easier access for all Jews and that our sovereignty should be reasserted over the site. May it soon be so--in time for Korban Pesah next year--with soft matzoth, some romaine lettuce, a dash of charif and some hummous and tehina. See more details at: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/124469

Coffee beans are indeed kitniyot! They are seeds that are eaten and planted like any other bean (including soybeans or sunflower seeds). The Chacham Tzvi and the Yabetz said that coffee beans are definitely kitniyot, but no one says that they are forbidden on Pesah as everyone knows that when the minhag of kitniyot was adopted in the land of Ashkenaz hundreds of years ago, coffee was unknown and therefore not included under the purview of the minhag. In addition, everyone knew that anything else came along was not to be added to the list of kitniyot. Rav Bar-Hayim relates that Rav Shaul Yisraeli zt”l of Yeshivat Merkaz HaRav told him that he held this same reasoning for permitting the consumption of soybeans during Pesah.

One of the greatest problems with the prohibition of kitniyot it that "al panav" the origin of the custom has been shrouded in mystery. It's not in Torah, Mishna, Yerushalmi or Bavli. It just seems to appear out of nowhere. None of the contamination explanations or "marit ayin" really sit well with me (certainly not if eating pasta made from potato flour is OK). I recently stumbled across this interesting tidbit by Rabbenu Manoah (Provence, ca. 1265) in his commentary on Maimonides (Laws of Festivals and Holidays 5:1): "It is not proper to eat qitniyot on holidays because it is written (in Deut. 16:14) that ‘you shall rejoice in your festivals’ and there is no joy in eating dishes made from qitniyot."

Just imagine, there were amoraim who didn't think that we should merely be able to eat rice--rather they thought that it should actually be on the seder plate: "What are the two dishes? --Said R. Huna: Beet and rice. Raba used to be particular for beet and rice, since it had [thus] issued from the mouth of R. Huna. R. Ashi said: From R. Huna you may infer that none pay heed to the following [ruling] of R. Johanan b. Nuri. For it was taught, R. Johanan b. Nuri said: Rice is a species of corn and karet is incurred for [eating it in] its leavened state, and a man discharges his duty with it on Passover. And just in case, you get confused, I repeat what R. Ashi said: none should pay attention to R. Johanan b. Nuri who said that rice is a species of corn and you get karet for eating it leavened.

"Those accustomed to not eating rice and various kinds of cooked qitniyot on Passover abide by a stupid custom which makes it harder on themselves [to observe and enjoy the festival] and I have no idea why they do so".

This shiur on Machon Shilo is a must-read to get some perspective. You'll hear whether a minhag (custom) is legally binding on a place – or on a person - even if he or she leaves it. It will also cover whether there is a qitniyoth minhag in Erets Yisrael. Don't forget to download the PDF source sheet too. You need to register to listen to it! After registering, the "DOWNLOAD" button will appear. Check it out at http://machonshilo.org/component/option,com_docman/task,cat_view/gid,77/Itemid,64/

My son has started to count down the days to his Pesach vacation from school, so we must be getting close to chag. This year we hope to spread the word about the "shtuth" that is kitniyot (qitniyoth). Last year we generated a lot of interest with just few emails. G-d willing, we will have even greater success. As Rav David Bar-Hayim once said, "I really don't care whether you eat qitniyoth or not. What is important is that you make conscious decisions about the way you observe Judaism, that you don't just do what you're doing because your Father did it." Too many of us just blindly follow the practices of our Fathers of galuth, but as Dorothy said, "We're not in Kansas anymore." Nor in Babylon. We need to return to the wisdom of our fathers, of the Talmud HaYerushalmi.