23 Mar GETTING READY FOR PESACH 2021 WITH R’ ELEFANT FROM THE OU
What is the status of baby formula on Pesach?
Baby formula on Pesach is a very difficult question because almost all formula is kitnios and we Ashkenaz Jews don’t eat kitnios on Pesach. However, referring back to the OU directory, we have a very long and extensive list of formulas that we’ve investigated that are kosher for year round (not Pesach) and only have kitnios ingredients. If, Boruch Hashem, you have an infant in the house and you need formula, you should look at that list. There are a lot of popular formulas like Enfamil, Isomil… that are only kitnios. My personal recommendation is not to use your sink in the kitchen to wash out the bottle or prepare the formula, but rather to use the sink in the bathroom.
Can you use the horseradish you would use for chrain on your gefilte fish as marror?
You shouldn’t use that for marror because it has other ingredients. Horseradish is one of the types of marror listed in the gemara that is kosher for the use of mitzvas marror, but it has to be pure horseradish. All of the horseradish you buy in the store has other ingredients in them and is not pure marror. Therefore it should not be used for mitzvas marror at the Seder.
Is there a problem with putting chrain on your gefilte fish afterwards?
No, there’s no problem.
What kind of food can we use on Pesach for our pets?
Animal food on Pesach is a very big problem! There are two issues; a Pesach issue and an all-year-round issue. The Pesach issue is that many of these pet foods have chometz. Even though you’re not eating it, the halacha is you can’t have any ownership or benefit from chametz. Therefore if you own any pet food for your animal that’s chametz, you have a very serious problem. You have to find a way to come up with pet food that’s kosher. The pet can eat kitnios; they can have corn or soy based food, but you can’t serve them chometz.
There’s another issue that people don’t think about and it’s not an issue that’s limited to Pesach. There are many pet foods that are Basar B’Chalav; they contain a mixture of meat and dairy. The halacha is you’re not allowed to benefit from Basar B’Chalav, so you’re not allowed to serve your pet food that is Basar B’Chalav. A number of years ago, we began certifying kosher for Pesach dog food which is both kosher for Pesach and not Basar B’Chalav. It’s not that your pet is not allowed to eat Basar B’Chalav, rather it’s that you’re not allowed to benefit from Basar B’Chalav.
What issues do we need to be aware of for our Post-Pesach supermarket shopping?
There are huge issues with this! I was supposed to be speaking about this in many venues this year but I think, unfortunately, all of them have already been cancelled. The issue concerns chometz she’avar alav haPesach, which means we may not use chometz that was owned by a Jew over Pesach. Many of the supermarket chains and many of the distributors of food are Jewish and don’t sell their chametz. Even if they sell their chametz, there are still two issues. One issue is that all of us sell our chametz through our Rabbis, and of course keep the chametz locked away throughout Pesach. If someone goes to his Rabbi, sells his chametz and then opens up his business and sells that chametz, it’s as if it wasn’t sold. That’s the opinion of most Rabbonim, though Rav Moshe Feinstein was lenient with that question. Even according to Rav Moshe Feinstein, that only applies to chametz that the person owned when he went to the Rabbi. So if someone gets chametz deliveries on Yom Tov of that he didn’t sell before Pesach, what is the status of that chametz after Pesach? There are Rabbis that, because of this serious issue, sell the entire company, so now the distributors, supermarkets, or business are not owned by a Jew over Pesach. Following the opinion of Rav Soloveitchik, The OU doesn’t subscribe to that opinion. We don’t consider it a serious sale if the person “sells” his business and then comes and works there like any day of the year. So we at the OU have never accepted that approach, but other supervisions do rely on that. You need to know that if you’re going to rely on that type of sale that the Rabbi who sold it did it in a halachically safe manner.
May one make kiddush on grape juice all year round and then specifically use it for the Arba Kosos?
Certainly all year round. The Shulchan Aruch says it’s better to use wine, but it’s less of an issue than on Pesach. On Pesach, there are two reasons we make kiddush; one is like how we make kiddush every Friday night and every Yom Tov. If you use grape juice every Friday night and Yom Tov then Pesach should be no different. The other reason we drink four cups of wine is to show we’re free; we’re kings, we’re princes. Typically the way you show that is with wine. If somebody is able to drink wine, he or she should drink wine. There are many wonderful wines available that have very low alcohol, so even if a person has a problem drinking wine, he or she may be able to drink a low alcohol wine. If you can’t drink that wine, the best thing is to have grape juice called “Must.” Must is pure grape juice; they squeeze the grapes and you drink that beverage. If you would leave that Must out for long enough, it would ferment and turn to wine and therefore, the halacha is quite clear that it could also be used for the Arba Kosos. If that is something that is unavailable to you for whatever reason, most poskim say you can use the grape juice that you buy in the store.
Is it better to mix wine with grape juice than to not have any wine at all? It’s always better to mix the two if you can’t drink pure wine. As much wine as you can put into the grape juice would be great!
Can an Ashkenaz person eat in a Sephardic house (OR VICE VERSA) on Pesach? vice versa?
This question comes with two different concepts that you have to try to juggle. On the one hand, Pesach in particular is a yom tov of minhagim and one should always follow their minhagim. Of course, all Ashkenazi Jews don’t eat kitniot on Pesach and that’s a minhag they should follow under all circumstances. The other important concept is Sholom Bayis, and Pesach is also about shalom and living with your family on great terms. Saying that you’re not going to eat in a specific person’s house because they eat kitnios is not the right way to go. Therefore, what I recommend is that if you’re invited to a home of family, (I’m not talking about friends because you don’t have to go to friends on Pesach) and they have different minhagim than you, then go but don’t eat from the food that you don’t eat. It’s preferable that they should have, for example, a separate pot for rice that’s used exclusively for the rice. If that’s impossible, then as long as you don’t eat from the foods that you don’t eat, then even if they use the same pots for those foods it’s okay.