02 Mar HALACHICALLY SPEAKING: 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 fields 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 flour, and an unlearned person will think that it is wheat flour and may come to use regular wheat flour 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, Emulsifiers, 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, Sunflower 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 flour which can be confused with grain flour. However, this opinion is not accepted today. Horav Moshe Feinstein zt”l says that we only define 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 filled 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 confirmed 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 conflict 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 significant 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 certified 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 gefilte fish. Other kitniyos sh’nishtana ingredients are malto dextrin, NutraSweet, polysorbates, sodium citrate and xanthan gum. Enzymes fermented from kitniyos are also kitniyos sh’nishtana.