Pesach in the Ghetto - Mima'amakim 1:17

Rav Oshry was asked two questions before Pesach concerning coping with the lack of food while at the same time trying to keep the various eating restrictions that come with the holiday.

The first question was whether people would be allowed to eat kitniyot if they became available, despite the general custom not to eat them. Rav Oshry ruled, based on the Chatam Sofer, that in a שעת הדחק one would be allowed to consume kitniyot, provided that he washed them to ensure that there was no grain mixed in with them.

The second question was more complex. Some of the Jews who worked in the forced labor camps had found potato skins and wanted to mix them with some flour in order to produce matzah. Since fruit juices mixed with flour do not produce chametz, this theoretically could have worked. However, since the skins were dirty they wanted to first clean them, and they were concerned that by introducing water into the mix that would actually reverse the situation, whereby the water and flour would mix and the juices of the potato skins would serve to speed up the fermentation process and thus the mix would definitely become chametz. Rav Oshry advised, based on the ruling of Rav Avraham Dovbear Kahana Shapiro, that they wipe the skins clean with a cloth and then bake matzot from them, thus avoiding the introduction of water.

מי כעמך ישראל גוי אחד בארץ

לז"נ קדושי עמך ישראל שמסרו נפשם על קדושם השם

Kitniyot Oil on Pesach - B'Mareh HaBazak 3

A questioner in Montevideo, Uruguay asked when it would be permissible to make use of kitniyot oils on Pesach, assuming that the kitniyot themselves are not present in their natural form in the oil?

The response from Kollel Eretz Chemdah was that while Ramo forbids kitniyot oil on Pesach, it is possible to permit such oils if the kitniyot did not come into contact with water during the processing. Even if water was involved, there would be room to be permissive if the kitniyot themselves were separated out (and thus alleviating the fear that grains that could become chametz were mixed in). This is based on the logic that we are allowed to eat wheat and other grains on Pesach so long as we make sure that they do not become chametz, and thus we certainly should be no stricter with kitniyot - as long as we can ensure that they have no concern of chametz there should be room to be permissive (Rav Kook used this exact logic in permitting sesame oil that was carefully prepared). Finally, they note that there is even more room to be permissive with soy oil. (Click on the "kitniyot" tab on the side to see other teshuvot on this topic.)

Inviting Non-Jews to the Seder - B'Mareh HaBazak 3

The community in Trieste, Italy asked Kollel Eretz Chemdah about a particular issue with their community seder. They realized that a noticeable number of attendees were intermarried, and the question arose as to whether the non-Jewish spouses could be served food at such a seder, since the Shulchan Aruch rules that other than servants, non-Jews may not be invited to non-Shabbat meals on Yom Tov since one might prepare extra food for them and the allowance for cooking on Yom Tov is only to cook for Jews for that day.

The teshuva begins by noting that inviting the non-Jewish spouses could be seen as given a seal of approval to the intermarriage, and such considerations should be kept in mind.

In terms of the issue at hand, there are several ways in which a non-Jew could be allowed to partake of a meal with a Jew on Yom Tov:

1)If the Jew who was cooking did not take the non-Jew into consideration or did not know that he was coming at the time of the cooking.

2) If the cooks in the kitchen are non-Jews and the Jew in the kitchen is simply overseeing the cooking so as to avoid a problem of בישול עכו"ם.

3)If the food is prepared in advance and is merely being warmed up on Yom Tov, and thus no cooking is taking place.

Beyond those issues, the non-Jews at the seder are allowed to be served and can be treated as any other guests once they are there, although they should not be given the matzah that is used for the mitzvah, out of respect for the mitzvah.

Shortening the Seder - B'Mareh HaBazak 3

The community in Quito, Ecuador asked the Rabbis of Kollel Eretz Chemdah if they were allowed to shorten any part of the seder for the benefit of members of their community who were not familiar with Hebrew (the seder in question was to be a communal one).

The response was that the first thing to be shortened should be parts of נרצה (such as only singing the final summary paragraphs of אחד מי יודע and חד גדיא). In terms of מגיד, the advice was not to remove anything, although various parts could be recited in the local language in order to increase their interest. However, any brachot or parts of Hallel should remain in Hebrew, and any particular noteworthy segments of the seder [ed. - perhaps מה נשתנה] should be left in Hebrew so as to preserve the traditional flavor of the seder.

In terms of translating parts of the seder, in a footnote the repondents discuss three reasons why we are generally opposed to reciting davening in translation and why those reasons do not apply when it comes to the seder:

1) It is often difficult to translate davening in a way that accurately preserves the true meaning and intention of the prayer. However, by the seder we are not as concerned with the specific words as we are with telling the story. As such, discussing the story in a familiar language could actually be an improvement over reciting the written text.

2) The are various סגולות connected to the words of davening - again, this does not apply to מגיד, which is composed of various statements of חז"ל which were not originally written for the purpose of being combined into the seder.

3) The resistance to davening in a language other than Hebrew is partially rooted in a fear of emboldening reformist elements. When it comes to the seder, that fear is not so salient, as people have always read or discussed the Haggada in their own language.

Selling Egg Matzah - Yechaveh Daat 1:10

Rav Yosef deals with the issue of whether a Sephardi, who has no issue with egg matzah, is allowed to sell such matzot to an Ashkenazi. He begins by reviewing the basics of the egg matzah issue, including whether or not adding fruit juice to the mix speeds up the chametz process or permanently impedes it. He then presents the fact that Sephardim are lenient on this issue while Ashkenazim are strict, although they will allow the ill and elderly to eat such matzot. In terms of selling, Rav Yosef writes that a Sephardi who is selling egg matzot must inform an Ashkenazi that that is what they are, since one is not allowed to mislead someone about something that that person is strict. However, Rav Yosef does limit the merchant's responsibility in this case insofar as he notes that if it is clearly posted in the store that these are egg matzot, then one does not have to stop the Ashkenazi from buying it, as he can assume that he is buying it for permitted purposes.

Kitniyot - Liquid Derivatives - Marcheshet #3

In this long teshuva, Rav Henoch Agus delves into the issue of whether or not oils made from kitniyot are permitted on Pesach. He begins by trying to identify a certain seed that had come before him, and he concludes that it is certainly a specie that falls under the rubric of kitniyot and thus may not be eaten on Pesach (I am skipping over a very well-informed tour through Seder Zeraim). His conclusion on that point is that all seeds are considered to be mini de-midgan, which roughly means that they are harvested like grain, and thus are considered kitniyot. He then moves to discuss whether one can make oil from kitniyot for eating purposes. There is no question that since kitniyot are only assur b'achila that one could use such oil for other purposes, such as lighting them. However, is it possible that such oils could even be eaten? Rav Agus works out several reasons why the answer should be yes, assuming that certain conditions are met. His first move is a simple act of logic. He writes that if one had a grain before Pesach and then ground it up into flour and made sure that the non-chametz portion was at least 60 times as much as any potential chametz, then it would be considered lach b'lach (a liquid mixed into a liquid - flour is considered a liquid in this case) and would be permitted even once Pesach began. How much more so should the same be the case with oils of kitniyot, which are both actual liquid and are not even chametz! For Rav Agus, this would satisfy the first reason why kitniyot are permitted, namely the fear of getting them mixed up with chametz. With regard to the concern of getting ktniyot confused with chametz, Rav Agus writes that they should be no stricter than actual grain, and if those can be used as long as which are careful to prevent them from becoming chametz, then certainly kitniyot can be used as well if we are this careful. As a way to provide some more cover, Rav Agus suggests scalding the kitniyot in steaming hot water, which would prevent them from being able to ferment. Even if one were to be worried that a person would think that this could work with potential chametz as well, Rav Agus says that since we are taking some many precautions, a person will remember that he is dealing with kitniyot and will not make the confusion with actual chametz. In the second part of this teshuva, Rav Agus deals with the issue that oils from various seeds could be considered to be zei'ah b'alma, mere "sweat", which according to Pesachim 24b is not assur d'oraita for Orlah purposes, and thus certainly should not be forbidden for kitniyot purposes, given that kitniyot is a minhag. He engages in a length discussion on this point, and discusses as well the issue of using derivatives from foods that one has forbidden to himself via a neder (oath). At the end, he concludes that it should be possible to use liquid derivatives of kitniyot, so long as one has taken all necessary precautions. [Editors note - To the best of my knowledge, we do not normatively permit such liquid derivatives of kitniyot, although this does provide some room for leniency in difficult situations. As always, a competent posek should be consulted.]

Kitniyot - Ashkenazic perspective - Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 3:63

In this teshuva from 1966, Rav Moshe deals specifically with whether or not peanuts fall under the rubric of kitniyot. In answering the question, he attempts to define the parameters of the prohibition. He cites the various rationales offered by earlier commentators and decisors, including the ideas that kitniyot can also be made into flour like grain, that they are planted in the fields in a manner similar to grain, and that perhaps some grain was mixed in with the kitniyot (and would result in chametz without the person realizing it). While Rav Moshe favors the latter reasons, he says that since the decree of kitniyot was not made with a full Rabbinic council, therefore the decree is limited to the species that were originally included in it. As such, he feels that the decree of kitniyot should remain a limited one, and peanuts should not fall under it. However, he does note that there are those who do include it as kitniyot and they should stick to their view. [My note - this view of kitniyot seems to run counter to the view currently held by some that kitniyot can be expanded to include new species. It is also a maddening teshuva for a peanut lover to read, since Rav Moshe seems to allow peanuts on Pesach, and yet it is fairly accepted by now that they are kitniyot.]

Kitniyot - Sephardic perspective - Yechaveh Daat 1:9

Rav Yosef begins this yeshuva by discussing some of the history of the decree not to eat kitniyot on Pesach, noting that its reason is not because of chametz per se, but because since both chametz and kitniyot can be made into similar cooked dishes, we do not want people to confuse that which is permitted with that which is forbidden, and therefore they were forbidden as well. While even such Ashkenazic Rishonim as the Rosh rejected this practice as an unnecessary stringency (after all, the Gemara does talk about eating rice at the Seder), nevertheless by the time of the Beit Yosef, it had apparently become standard practice in the Ashkenazic world to not eat kitniyot on Pesach. Several centuries later, Rav Yaakov Emden cited his father the Chacham Tzvi (an Ashkenazi, despite his title) who bemoaned the institution, but was powerless to repeal it. An earlier Ashkenazic Acharon, the Maharshal, also felt that one should not be overly strict after the closing of the Talmud, but again he was powerless to undo this decree. Rav Yosef then deals with the specific question of whether or not Ashkenazim are allowed to give kitniyot to their children on Pesach. He concludes that since the prohibition is merely a protective minhag, and does not even rise to the level of midivrei sofrim, therefore it would be permissible to do so (while I would doubt that any Ashkenazim actually give their kids kitniyot on Pesach, this could be helpful in the case of medicines that might contain corn syrup or other kitniyot-based ingredients).