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In general, there are two fundamental approaches to kashrut on Pesaฤฅ. According to most poskim, the laws of ฤฅametz on Pesaฤฅ are no different than the laws of all other forbidden foods, with one exception: all other forbidden foods are batel be-shishim (rendered insignificant when constituting less than one sixtieth of the volume of a mixture), whereas ฤฅametz is not. However, all other laws of mixtures apply to ฤฅametz on Pesaฤฅ. Therefore, when there is no halakhic reason to suspect that a food mixture has absorbed the taste of ฤฅametz, it is kosher for Pesaฤฅ. Likewise, where an individual posek is stringent and the great majority of poskim are lenient, halakha follows the lenient opinion.
However, Ashkenazic Jews are customarily very strict about ฤฅametz, often showing concern for a stringent opinion even against the lenient majority and practicing caution where general halakhic principles indicate no reason to do so. Nevertheless, Ashkenazic custom also places a limit to its stringencies, and poskim are careful not to pile restrictions upon existing restrictions. The general tendency, though, is to show concern for every uncertainty. The basis for this approach is the Sagesโ ruling that even a drop of ฤฅametz is forbidden; thus, if a mere crumb of ฤฅametz renders its entire mixture forbidden, so too individual halakhic opinions should be taken into account.
This explains the consistent difference between the rulings of Shulฤฅan Arukh, which follow general halakhic principles, and those of Rema, which account, le-khatฤฅila, for the stringent opinions. Nonetheless, in cases of pressing need Rema adopts the lenient approach, since halakha fundamentally accords with most poskim. 3
In general, Sephardim follow Shulฤฅan Arukh and Ashkenazim follow Rema. However, some Sephardic poskim tend to be stringent, and their rulings are accepted in some Sephardic communities. 4
4.Principles of Kosher Supervision on Pesaฤฅ
There is a fundamental question regarding the laws of kashrut on Pesaฤฅ: what is the status of foods that are not normally made with ฤฅametz all year round? Are they kosher for Pesaฤฅ as they are, without any special supervision, or must we consider the possibility that they were somehow mixed with ฤฅametz and should not be eaten on Pesaฤฅ?
According to Shulฤฅan Arukh, as long as there is no real concern that some ฤฅametz fell into this food or that it has absorbed the taste of ฤฅametz by being cooked in a pot in which ฤฅametz was cooked recently, there is no need to suspect that the food contains ฤฅametz.
However, Rema writes that Ashkenazic custom is preferably to avoid eating specific products without special supervision for Pesaฤฅ. This is because ฤฅametz is used throughout the year, and we are not generally cautious about it, so we suspect that some of it may have fallen unnoticed into these particular foods. We are also concerned that the foods may have been unwittingly cooked in ฤฅametz pots.
In practice, all kashrut organizations today tend to follow the stringent ruling of Rema and do not certify foods for Pesaฤฅ unless due caution to avoid ฤฅametz was exercised during the foodโs preparation. Perhaps this is the way one must act today even according to Shulฤฅan Arukh, because all industrially produced foods contain a variety of ingredients, and there is concern that one of them is not kosher for Pesaฤฅ. Therefore, during Pesaฤฅ, one must be careful not to eat any factory food products that are not certified kosher for Pesaฤฅ.
Where the facts of a case are not in doubt, there are still often practical differences between the rulings of Shulฤฅan Arukh and Rema. Although fundamentally the law accords with Shulฤฅan Arukh, the tendency today is to be stringent so that food will be kosher for all communities. This is the appropriate practice when it is not overly difficult to be stringent. However, when stringency causes significant loss, there is room to support those who follow Shulฤฅan Arukh. 5
5.Milk from an Animal That Ate ฤคametz
One issue that the foremost Aฤฅaronim dealt with is the status of milk which came from a cow that ate ฤฅametz. Clearly the milk itself does not contain ฤฅametz, for it was digested and completely transformed to the point that it is no longer considered ฤฅametz at all. However, the cow was able to produce milk by virtue of the ฤฅametz, and since it is forbidden to derive benefit from ฤฅametz, perhaps it is forbidden to benefit from milk produced by the virtue of ฤฅametz.
The poskim agree that milk obtained from a cow before the onset of the prohibition of ฤฅametz is kosher for Pesaฤฅ, because one is allowed to derive benefit from ฤฅametz before Pesaฤฅ. Just as it is permissible to sell ฤฅametz before Pesaฤฅ and use the money to buy food for Pesaฤฅ, so too it is permissible to feed a cow ฤฅametz before Pesaฤฅ in order to produce milk that will be consumed on Pesaฤฅ.
The disagreement concerns milk from a gentileโs cow that ate ฤฅametz after the onset of the prohibition. Some poskim take a lenient stance, contending that since the ฤฅametz prohibition does not apply to the animal of a gentile, its milk is not considered produced in a forbidden manner. Furthermore, ฤฅametz alone does not cause milk to be produced. Rather, it must be combined with other foods and processed by the animalโs body. Since the ฤฅametz is only one component, it is not prohibited. On the other hand, some poskim rule stringently that as long as ฤฅametz is a factor causing the production of the milk, the milk is forbidden. Others say that if twenty-four hours have passed since the cow ate ฤฅametz, the milk is kosher.
If the animal owned by a Jew was fed ฤฅametz in violation of halakha, one may not drink its milk, firstly because it is forbidden for the animalโs owner to derive benefit from ฤฅametz, and secondly because one may not assist those who violate the Torah. 6 The same applies to eggs and meat.
During Pesaฤฅ, Tnuva, a major Israeli dairy producer (and perhaps others) only accepts milk from dairy farms that have been made kosher for Pesaฤฅ and whose cows are not fed ฤฅametz. In this case, it is unnecessary to be scrupulous and buy milk products before Pesaฤฅ, because even dairy products manufactured on Pesaฤฅ are completely kosher for the duration of the holiday. 7
6.Meat and Eggs
The status of beef and chicken in this regard is the same as that of milk. If the animal was slaughtered before Pesaฤฅ, there is no halakhic problem, even if it had eaten ฤฅametz. However, since the stomach may contain undigested leavened barley grains, its contents must be thrown out. If a gentileโs animal was fed ฤฅametz and slaughtered during Pesaฤฅ, some poskim forbid consuming its meat, while others are lenient. It is proper to be stringent and not buy the meat of a Jewโs animal that was fed ฤฅametz on Pesaฤฅ.
In actuality, most meat is sold in packages, which thus must be labeled kosher for Pesaฤฅ. Even if the animal was slaughtered before Pesaฤฅ, when there is no problem if it was fed ฤฅametz, supervision is nevertheless required to ensure that no ฤฅametz fell into the meat between the slaughtering and the packaging.
The same applies to eggs: as long as the eggs were bought before Pesaฤฅ, they are entirely kosher for Pesaฤฅ; that the hens were fed ฤฅametz makes no difference because it was not prohibited when eaten. The halakhic status of an egg that comes from a hen that ate ฤฅametz on Pesaฤฅ depends who the owner is. If the hen belongs to a gentile, the poskim disagree about the permissibility of the eggs. If the hen belongs to a Jew, even though some poskim are lenient, it is proper to be stringent and refrain from buying such eggs. In practice, there is no supervision on eggs laid during Pesaฤฅ, so it is best to buy eggs laid before Pesaฤฅ. 8
Another problem that has arisen pertains to the markings stamped on each egg. There was some concern that these markings contain ฤฅametz and that a drop of it might fall into Pesaฤฅ food. However, I heard from Tnuvaโs R. Ze'ev Weitman that all eggs brought to market via Israelโs Egg Production Council (which does not include the black market) are marked before Pesaฤฅ with a stamp that contains no ฤฅametz (the relevant mark is a series of stars).
^ 3.. Here is brief overview of the major disputes between SA and Rema: 1) In 447:4, regarding the dispute among the Rishonim about ฤฅozer ve-neโor (see above 7:4), SA rules that the ฤฅametz does not "reawaken," taking the lenient approach in the case of a rabbinic law, whereas Rema rules strictly that ฤฅametz in a dry mixture "reawakens," though not in a fluid mixture. 2) In 447:5, regarding a food that was not guarded for Pesaฤฅ but there is no indication that it may have become forbidden for Pesaฤฅ: according to SA it is kosher, and according to Rema it is not. 3) In 447:10, regarding ฤฅametz that is noten taโam li-fgam: according to SA and most poskim, it is kosher on Pesaฤฅ (especially since the uncertainty relates to a rabbinic law), and according to Rema it is prohibited. 4) In 451:6, regarding the proper method for koshering utensils: according to SA, we determine the method based on the main use of the utensil, and according to Rema we determine the method based on the most severe usage. 5) In 451:11, regarding koshering a frying pan: according to SA, it may be koshered in boiling water (hagala), and according to Rema, it is koshered in fire (light libun). 6) In 451:16 and 17, regarding koshering ฤฅametz pounding and kneading utensils: according to SA, they are koshered via hagala, and according to Rema, they are koshered via light libun. 7) In 453:1, the well-known custom of kitniyot. 8) In 462:1, regarding egg matza: according to SA, it is kosher, and according to Rema, we are concerned that perhaps a drop of water mixed in with the fruit juice, causing it to become ฤฅametz. Rema states in 462:4 that we are only lenient in extreme cases, for sick people. 9) In 467:9, regarding whole, uncracked kernels of wheat or barley that are found in a cooked dish: according to SA, the dish is permissible, and according to Rema, it is prohibited. 10) In 467:10 and 447:1, regarding a cracked kernel of wheat that is found in a cooked dish: according to SA, one may sell the dish to a gentile, excluding the value of the wheat kernel, and according to Rema, he must burn the entire dish. 11) The custom of the ฤคasidim is to prohibit gebrokts.
^ 4.. Some Sephardic poskim are stringent like Rema, as Kaf Ha-ฤฅayim states in 447:86, 88, and 119. Also, Zekhor Le-Avraham states at the beginning of the laws of Pesaฤฅ that the Sephardim have the practice to be stringent like Rema "to the extent that when it comes to Pesaฤฅ, we are Ashkenazim." This is echoed by additional Sephardic poskim. On the other hand, in extenuating circumstances even Rema rules to be lenient in accordance with SA (in most cases).
^ 5.. The issue of ฤฅozer ve-neโor lies at the heart of this question. Those who are stringent are concerned that a crumb of ฤฅametz fell into a food before Pesaฤฅ, and that when Pesaฤฅ begins ฤฅametz "reawakens" and causes the entire mixture to become forbidden (Rema 447:4 based on several Ashkenazic Rishonim, and Radbaz 1:487). However, according to the opinion that ฤฅametz is not ฤฅozer ve-neโor, even if a crumb had fallen into the mixture, it would have been batel before Pesaฤฅ and does not reawaken on Pesaฤฅ. Moreover, Pri ฤคadash states that even according to the opinion that ฤฅametz is ฤฅozer ve-neโor there is room to be lenient in this case, since there is no reason to suspect that a crumb of ฤฅametz fell into the mixture. Furthermore, all agree that the prohibition of eating a food into which a drop of ฤฅametz fell is rabbinic, and according to Sheโiltot, even ฤฅametz is batel be-shishim.
There is another concern that one cooked the food in ฤฅametz utensils, and the food absorbed some of the ฤฅametz taste from the utensils. However, those who are lenient hold that there is no reason to suspect this, since it is assumed that most utensils have not been used within twenty-four hours and would then not influence the taste of the dish in a positive way (and would not make the dish prohibited). Furthermore, even if the utensils had been used within twenty-four hours of cooking the dish, ฤฅametz before Pesaฤฅ is permissible, thus the cooked dish is a "nat bar nat" (the pot absorbed the taste of the ฤฅametz and in turn, passed the taste on to the cooked dish) of permissible food, which is permitted; and see Yeฤฅaveh Daโat 1, 11 and in the notes. This fundamental dispute is dependent on other issues, including ones that involve sharp foods (davar ฤฅarif) and their interaction with absorbed tastes; and see MB 447:5.
^ 6.. A cowโs milk is the product of two factors: the cowโs body and the food it eats. If the cow ate ฤฅametz, the status of the milk is subject to the tannaitic dispute (AZ 48b) about something that is produced by multiple factors ("zeh ve-zeh gorem"). One disputant forbids and the other permits. SA YD 142:11 states that something that is produced by a combination of two factors is permissible. Accordingly, the milk of a cow that ate ฤฅametz is permissible.
However, MA 445:5 (as well as Taz) states that since we are stringent about ฤฅametz, maintaining that even a drop renders a mixture forbidden, it follows that something produced by a combination of two factors is forbidden if one of them is ฤฅametz. Most poskim, including SA, Shakh, and Gra, maintain even in the case of ฤฅametz "zeh ve-zeh gorem" is permitted. SAH (445:10 and Kuntrus Aฤฅaron) concludes that the consensus of most poskim is to be lenient, and one may certainly rely on this consensus in a situation of significant loss or an extenuating circumstance. This is also the view recorded in BHL 445:2.
Some, however, argue that regardless of oneโs position on zeh ve-zeh gorem, milk from a gentileโs cow that ate ฤฅametz is permitted. As explained in Beit Ephraim ยง35 (cited in Shaโarei Teshuva at the end of ยง448), since ฤฅametz is permissible for a gentile on Pesaฤฅ, we do not view the milk from his cow as having been produced by something from which one is forbidden to benefit. Nishmat Adam ยง9 permits on different grounds: MAโs stringency only applies when the ฤฅametz is intact, unlike in the case of the milk. Responsa Mahari Aszod ยง127 and Responsa Maharam Schick ยงยง212 and 222 echo the same idea and state that the milk of the gentileโs animal that ate ฤฅametz is kosher on Pesaฤฅ. Igrot Moshe Oฤค 1:147 states at length that even if the gentileโs cow ate only ฤฅametz, its milk is permissible even according to the strict opinions.
On the other hand, Pri Megadim (in Eshel Avraham on ยง448) is concerned about causing benefit that derives from ฤฅametz. Thus, there is still uncertainty if less than twenty-four hours passed between when the cow ate ฤฅametz and the milking (if more than twenty-four hours passed, the milk is permissible). Yeshuโot Yaakov also states that one should preferably use milk that was extracted from the cow more than twenty-four hours after the cow ate ฤฅametz, but if less than twenty-four hours passed, the milk is still permissible as long as the cow ate permissible foods in addition to the ฤฅametz (because of zeh ve-zeh gorem; see MB 448:33). Some authorities ruled stringently: Kitzur SA 117:13 cites both opinions and concludes: "One who guards his soul should be strict, and especially in places where the prevalent custom is to be stringent, God forbid one should be lenient." Arugot Ha-bosem ยง138 states that even according to those who permit the milk, a righteous person ("baโal nefesh") should refrain from drinking it, since it has negative spiritual effects. Ben Ish ฤคai (Year One, Tzav 42) states that one should not drink milk from a gentileโs cow out of concern that the gentile fed it ฤฅametz. R. ฤคayim Palachi writes similarly in Ru'aฤฅ ฤคayim 448:1.
If the cow ate ฤฅametz before the ฤฅametz became prohibited and was milked after the ฤฅametz became prohibited, the vast majority of poskim maintain that the milk is kosher for Pesaฤฅ. Sdei ฤคemed mentions the opinion of Rinun Yitzฤฅak forbidding the milk of a cow that ate ฤฅametz before Pesaฤฅ and was milked after the ฤฅametz became forbidden, and states that this goes too far, since all other poskim say that this milk would be permissible. Nonetheless, because of this opinion some act stringently and only purchase dairy products before Pesaฤฅ. Sdei ฤคemed expands this topic in Maโarekhet ฤคametz U-matza 2:4, and see Kaf Ha-ฤฅayim 448:113 as well.
^ 7.. According to Nishmat Adam and Igrot Moshe Oฤค 1:147, if a Jew feeds his animal ฤฅametz on Pesaฤฅ, the animalโs milk is kosher for Pesaฤฅ. Nonetheless, many others are stringent, not only because of zeh ve-zeh gorem, but because the Jew assists in the violation of a prohibition ("mesayeiโa"). In fact, I heard from R. Weitman, the rabbi of Tnuva, that all dairy products produced on Pesaฤฅ are made from the milk of cows that did not eat ฤฅametz, so that the milk will be acceptable to everyone and can be bought on Pesaฤฅ. Another potential problem was that straw and possibly some grain might stick to the cowsโ bodies as they wallow in mud, and these grains might accidentally get mixed into the milk. If the milk was produced before Pesaฤฅ, the taste of the grain is batel be-shishim even if it found its way into the milk, and since this is a liquid mixture even Rema (447:4) would agree that the taste of the ฤฅametz is not ฤฅozer ve-neโor. If the grain fell into the milk on Pesaฤฅ, however, it is not batel. Although in the present case it is uncertain that any grain fell in, it would nevertheless be commendable to buy dairy products before Pesaฤฅ. However, I heard from R. Weitman that Tnuva recently introduced the practice of filtering all the milk very thoroughly right after the milking, so that no grain that falls in would have enough time to flavor the milk. Thus, one may purchase dairy products on Pesaฤฅ even according to the strictest opinions.
^ 8.. Nevertheless, those who are lenient and purchase eggs on Pesaฤฅ have committed no transgression, even if the eggs are not certified kosher for Pesaฤฅ. As noted, even though a Jew owns the chickens and fed them ฤฅametz, there are lenient authorities. Furthermore, most of the food chickens consume on Pesaฤฅ is not ฤฅametz, so even according to the stringent opinions it is unclear that these eggs are forbidden. Thus, there are two uncertainties ("sfek sfeika") about a rabbinic prohibition.
Rabbi Eliezer Melamed
Rosh Yeshiva of Har Bracha and rabbi of the settlement.
Peninei Halakha 18. Torah Verses in the Prayers and in the Berakha of She-asa Li Kol Tzorki
Chapter 10: The Laws of Tisha Be-Av
Rabbis in Midrash
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