Kitniyot

Food

There is much debate in the Talmud about eating kitniyot on Passover. Generally translated as “legumes,” kitniyot includes rice, corn, sesame, and more. Jews are forbidden from eating leavened foods on Passover, but most Ashkenazi communities also forbid kitniyot.

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Navigating Kitniyot on Passover

HALAKHAH

While Ashkenazi Jews traditionally avoid kitniyot (legumes) on Passover, there are permissible uses and exceptions that can make the holiday more manageable. The Shulchan Arukh, a 16th-century code of Jewish law by Rabbi Joseph Karo, clarifies the rules and exceptions regarding kitniyot during Passover.

These are the things through which one fulfills the obligation of [eating] matza: wheat, barley, spelt, oats and rye - and the custom is to take wheat initially (Maharil) - but not rice and other types of legumes [kitniyiot], and these also do not come to be leavened and it is [so] permitted to make a cooked food from them. REMA: And some forbid [it] (Tur and Hagahot Maimoniot and Mordechai on the Chapter [entitled] Kol Sha'ah). And the custom in Ashkenaz is to be strict [about this], and one should not change [it]…

Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 453:1

The Permissibility of Sesame Seed Oil on Pesach

HALAKHAH

The transformation of sesame seeds into oil removes any concern of chametz, making it permissible on Pesach despite the Ashkenazi custom of avoiding kitniyot. Rabbi Chaim Jachter explores the halachic debate surrounding the permissibility of sesame seed oil during Pesach, particularly in the context of Ashkenazi customs.

In the year 5669 (1909), a great controversy erupted between Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kook and the Jerusalem Badatz regarding the permissibility of sesame seed oil on Pesach. Rav Kook published a short work (summarized in Yesodei Yeshurun 6:424 and Hamo'adim Bahalachah, p.259) outlining why he permitted this item for Pesach consumption. Although sesame seeds are kitniyot, he notes that their form has changed into oil. No oil can ever become chametz even if it contacts water, so the minhag to avoid kitniyot does not include sesame seed oil…

Gray Matter I, Laws of Holidays, The Minhag of Kitniyot 3:6

Harmonizing Customs in Marriage

HALAKHAH

Navigating differing customs within a marriage can be challenging, especially regarding kitniyot during Passover. Rabbi Eliezer Melamed’s contemporary halakhic work, Peninei Halakhah, provides clear guidance on how a wife should adopt her husband's customs and the conditions under which she may revert to her family's customs if her husband dies.

The following question arises frequently nowadays: what should a married couple do when one spouse comes from a family that refrains from kitniyot and the other from a family that eats kitniyot? A similar matter was addressed by one of the great Rishonim, R. Shimon b. Tzemaḥ Duran (Tashbetz 3:179), who writes that they obviously cannot eat together at the same table while food permissible to one is forbidden to the other. Therefore, the wife must adopt her husband’s customs, for “a man’s wife is like his own body…

Peninei Halakhah, Pesach 9:3:2

Rice as Grain on Passover

TALMUD

Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Nuri considers rice to be a full-fledged type of grain, making one liable for karet if eaten in its leavened state during Passover. The Talmudic tractate Pesachim discusses the laws of Passover, including the consumption of matzah and the prohibition against chametz.

The Gemara notes: The mishna is not in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Nuri, who said: Rice is a full-fledged type of grain, and one is liable to receive karet for eating it in its leavened state, like other types of grain. As it was taught in a baraita: Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Nuri prohibits eating cooked rice and millet on Passover, due to the fact that they are close to being leavened.

Pesachim 35a:8

Adopting Your Husband's Dietary Customs

HALAKHAH

A woman is required to adopt her husband's customs, including dietary practices. Rabbi Eliezer Melamed’s contemporary work, Peninei Halakhah, discusses the principle that a wife should follow her husband's practices in all matters of local custom.

The status of a woman who married a man from a different ethnic community is similar to that of one who migrates to a place where local custom differs from what he is accustomed to: if he intends to live there forever, he must cease practicing his earlier customs and accept the local custom (based on SA YD 214:2; OḤ 468:4; MB 14). Likewise, a woman who marries a member of a different ethnic community is considered to be moving into his home permanently, and she must adopt his customs. For instance, if the custom of her husband’s community is to eat kitniyot on Pesaḥ, she eats them too…

Peninei Halakhah, Women's Prayer 24:4:2

Kitniyot and the Definition of Bread

COMMENTARY

Kitniyot, such as rice and lentils, do not qualify as 'bread' in the Torah because they do not become leavened. The medieval Torah commentary Chizkuni by Rabbi Hezekiah ben Manoah explains the definition of 'bread' in Jewish dietary laws, particularly during Passover.

ולחם, “and the bread etc;” five species of grain when baked, qualify for the description “bread,” they are the ones that are liable to become chametz, leavened, if their dough are allowed to rise. “Baked dough” made from kitniyot, legumes, such as rice, maize, lentils, etc., the dough of which does not become leavened, does not qualify for the definition “bread” in the Torah. (Sifra)

Chizkuni, Leviticus 23:14:1

Grains Allowed on Passover

MIDRASH

Only the five varieties of grain can become chametz or matzah, explicitly excluding kitniyot like rice and millet. The Sifrei Bamidbar, a third-century halakhic midrash, clarifies the grains permissible for matzah and those that cannot become chametz.

(Bamidbar 28:16) "And in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, it is Pesach to the L-rd": Scripture (here) makes it mandatory (and not optional.) (Ibid. 28:17) "for seven days matzoth shall be eaten": I might think that any matzoth (may be eaten [e.g., even those made of rice]). It is, therefore, written (Devarim 16:3) "You shall not eat chametz with it. Seven days shall you eat matzoth with it." Only that which can be matzah (unleavened) or chametz (leavened) (is forbidden in the leavened state). These are the five varieties: wheat, barley, spelt, rye, or oats…

Sifrei Bamidbar 146:1

This ribbed jar with broad bottom is the local storage jar of Roman Period Israel. It was used for storing wine, oil, grains, fruits, and even perfume, as is known from an inscription on a 1st century B.C.E. jar.

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