22 Mar KITNIYOS

We are all familiar
with the custom
of kitniyos on
Pesach, but who
does it apply to,
what is included
in the custom, and
what about derivatives or extracts
from kitniyos?
The Custom
The custom to refrain from eating kitniyos emerged after the
time of the Gemorah, at about the time of
the Maharil (approx 1427) and has become
the accepted custom among Ashkenazik
circles. Kitniyos includes rice, buckwheat,
millet, beans, lentils, peas, and mustard.
Although refraining from eating kitniyos is
a chumra, which is not required according
to the letter of the law, an Ashkenazi Jew
should not be lenient with regard to eating
kitniyos.
The Aruch Ha’shulchan says “being lenient
in this is testimony that he has no fear of
Hashem or fear of sin, and he is not an
expert in the ways of Torah.” In addition
he says “this custom is followed by all of
Germany, France, Russia, Poland, and all
of their descendants, and a snake should
bite the one who deviates from it.”
The custom among the Sefardim is that
kitniyos may be eaten. Although some poskim say that even Sefardim should not eat
rice, the minhag of most Sefardim is to eat
rice on Pesach.
Reasons
Some say the reason to refrain from eating
kitniyos is because it grows in felds adjacent to where chometz is grown, and some
chometz may have been mixed into the kitniyos. In addition, many times one grinds
kitniyos into a powder which resembles
four, and an unlearned person will think
that it is wheat four and may come to use
regular wheat four on Yom Tov. Furthermore, according to the stringent opinion
even if the kitniyos are whole it may not
be eaten because of a lo plug. Rabbeinu
M’noach writes that when one eats kitniyos one does not have true simchas Yom
Tov.
From When?
According to some poskim, the custom is
that those who refrain from eating kitniyos
do so from Erev Pesach at the time when
chometz is forbidden.
Which Additional Items are Included
Aside from items listed above, additional
kitniyos items are: Bean sprouts, Black eye
peas, Canola Oil (see below), Caraway,
Chickpeas Corn, Corn Syrup (see below),
Cumin, Dextrose, Emulsifers, Fennel,
Fenugreek, Flax Seeds, Green beans, Guar
Gum, Kimmel, Lechitin, Lentils, Licorice, Lucerne, Lupine, Millet, Mustard,
Popcorn, Poppy Seeds, Saffron, Sesame
Seeds, Snow Peas, Soy Oil, Soy beans,
Soy, Starch, Stabilizers, String beans, Sunfower Seeds, and Tofu.
However, coffee, tea, garlic, and radishes,
are not included in the chumra of kitniyos.
Spices are not included in the chumra of
kitniyos. Nonetheless, one should check
them and other permitted foods to make
sure that no chometz grains were mixed in.
Potatoes
There are some poskim who include potatoes in the minhag to refrain from eating
kitniyos on Pesach, since they too, can be
ground into four which can be confused
with grain four. However, this opinion is
not accepted today. Horav Moshe Feinstein
zt”l says that we only defne something as
kitniyos if there is an established custom to
regard it as such. Since the custom of kitniyos dates back to the times of the Maharil, and potatoes did not reach the shores
of Europe until the 16th century, they were
never included in the chumra. Also, since
there is a great need for potatoes on Pesach
this kept them from being prohibited.
Peanuts
Horav Moshe Feinstein zt”l says one who
has the custom to refrain from eating peanuts should adhere to his custom. However,
one who does not have such a custom does
not have to refrain from eating peanuts.
According to the lenient opinion, peanuts
and peanut oil are permitted on Pesach and
are not included in kitniyos because any
food which was not around at the time of
the chumra is not forbidden (see potatoes
above).
Paper Towels
One may place food directly on paper
towels, and need not be concerned about
starch. There is no chumra, issur, or minhag to prevent a drop of kitniyos from falling into food. Indeed, the Shulchan Aruch
permits the use of a lamp flled with oil
from kitniyos even though it is certain that
some of the kitniyos will be sprayed onto
food. In the case of the paper towels, there
is no certainty at all of any leaching onto
the food. Since no one has ever confrmed
the leaching of even a molecule of starch
from the paper towel into the food.
Kitniyos Derivatives
Many times a company will make oil from
kitniyos. There is a discussion in the poskim if oil made from kitniyos to be used in
food has the same status as the grain itself
and an Ashkenazi would not be able to use
it on Pesach, or is it not considered from
kitniyos and permitted.
This is very common with soybean (vegetable oil) and corn oil. The opinion of
Horav Kook zt”l and others was to be lenient. They reasoned that this is not in confict with the above mentioned Rama since
the Rama was stringent if the kitniyos was
not carefully inspected for other grains.
However, the custom is to be stringent.
Therefore, the custom is not to use soybean
or vegetable oil. Some say that canola oil,
which is actually “rapeseed oil,” belonging
to the mustard and cabbage family, should
not be used on Pesach. The reason is that
it was around at the time when the issue
of kitniyos was accepted upon those who
follow the custom to be stringent. Oil from
olives, palm, coconut, and walnuts are not
subject to the chumra of kitniyos.
Cottonseed oil is extracted from the seeds
of the cotton plant after the lint has been
removed. The Minchas Yitzchok is unsure
whether to permit its usage for Pesach.
Horav Shlomo Zalman Aurbach zt”l says
the custom is to refrain from using this oil
on Pesach. The Tzelhmer Rav zt”l was lenient. The custom in Eretz Yisroel is to be
stringent and avoid using cottonseed oil,
but in America cottonseed oil is permitted, following the custom of Horav Moshe
Feinstein zt”l, Horav Yaakov Kamenetsky
zt”l, and all the Rabbonim who came from
Europe.
An example of kitniyos derivatives is
cornstarch and corn syrup (including high
fructose corn syrup). Corn starch comes
from the starchy part of the corn, and corn
syrup is made by addding enzymes to the
corn starch to turn it into a syrup mixture
of glucose, dextrose, and maltose. Another
example of a kitniyos derivative is lecithin
which is made from soybeans. Most halachic authorities agree that corn syrup has
the same status as corn and is subject to the
halachos of kitniyos. Most major Kashrus
organizations do not certify products for
Pesach made from kitniyos derivatives.
Kitniyos Sh’nishtana
“Musk” is a byproduct of blood that is
obtained from a gland in the stomach of
a deer. According to the Mishnah Berurah
and others Musk is considered a new entity since its form changed from the original blood. The custom is to permit the use
of kitniyos sh’nishtana which means that
the kitniyos has undergone a signifcant
change in taste. Those who are stringent
because they think it is a chumra to do so
are not correct.
Corn syrup which is changed into sorbitol
or dextrose is not considered to have undergone a change (nishtana) and therefore
is subject to the halachos of kitniyos. However, if the corn syrup is turned into ascorbic acid, it is considered changed and is not
subject to the halachos of kitniyos. Citric
acid is also produced from kitniyos, but is
certifed for Pesach use (see below).
Kitniyos sh’nishtana plays an important
role in certifying diet soda since it is made
from aspartame which is a sweet enzyme
that grows on a derivative of kitniyos. The
custom of the KOF-K and OU is to be lenient and certify such products. Others are
not convinced that this should be done, and
the custom of Rabbi Landau Shlita in Eretz
Yisroel is not to certify diet soda for Pesach
that uses aspartame.
Sodium Erythorbate is kitniyos sh’nishtana
which is used in Pesachdika frankfurters. A
different kitniyos sh’nishtana goes into frozen geflte fsh. Other kitniyos sh’nishtana
ingredients are malto dextrin, NutraSweet,
polysorbates, sodium citrate and xanthan
gum. Enzymes fermented from kitniyos
are also kitniyos sh’nishtana.
Quinoa (“keen-wa”)
Quinoa is a sesame sized kernel from the
beet family and does not resemble any of
the grains which are chometz or kitniyos.
Although some say it may be used for
Pesach, the custom is that quinoa is not
used for Pesach since it is used in the same
way as wheat.
Benefit
Even according to the stringent opinion,
kitniyos is not chometz, and one is allowed
to have beneft from kitniyos, which is not
allowed by chometz. Based on this, one
is permitted to feed his animal a product
which is kitniyos. One is also allowed to
keep kitniyos in one’s house during Pesach
if it has a hechsher (for Pesach use) without
selling it to a goy. One should write on the
product that it is kitniyos.
Children
One is permitted to feed kitniyos to children, including baby formula that contains
kitniyos. One may give kitniyos to his children as long as there is a need for it, and
there is no maximum age. Some say it is
proper to keep separate dishes for kitniyos
food and wash the dishes in a separate sink.
Others hold there is no reason for this to be
done and one may use the same utensils.
Sick r”l – Pressing Situation
One who is sick r”l (even if he is not in
danger) may eat kitniyos on Pesach. Based
on this, one who is sick would be able to
take a pill which has kitniyos. According
to some poskim when one is in a pressing
situation, one can eat kitniyos.
Other Halachos Regarding Kitniyos
Some say in Eretz Yisroel the custom was
to permit the eating of kitniyos. This is not
true today. A person who lives in Chutz
L’aretz who fnds himself in a place where
the custom is to eat kitniyos must not eat
there.
One who depends on his father for support
must follow his father’s custom in regard
to kitniyos.
A woman from a Sefardi background, who
ate kitniyos all her life, may not do so if
she marries an Ashkenazi. However, if the
husband agrees, she may follow her old
custom. If an Ashkenazi woman gets married to a Sefardi then she may eat kitniyos,
and there is no need to be matir neder beforehand.
If an Ashkenazi Jew fnds himself in a
Sefardi’s home on Pesach, he may eat the
food that was cooked in pots that cooked
kitniyos. Others say one can be lenient
only if the pot is an eino ben-yomo.
Bitel
Kitniyos is butel b’rov if it was mixed into
a food.
Muktzah
Kitniyos is not muktzah for an Ashkenazi
person, since one is able to give it to a Sefardi. In addition it can be given to a child
who is need of it.