What's All The Fuss?

Every year, for a month or so before Pesach (Passover), you can find Jews in a flurry of activity. Houses are turned upside down, people eat outdoors, some people go so far as to scrub their walls, and even build separate "Pesach kitchens" to ensure that no chametz will surface during the 7 days of Pesach, or 8 in the Diaspora.

Just Say No!

What's all the fuss? Why the witch hunt? What's the big deal about a piece of danish or a handful of croutons? You can find cookies and even hamburger buns made kosher-for-Pesach, so what's the definition of chametz anyway?

Chametz, sometimes incorrectly translated as leavening, is any one of 5 grains (wheat, barley, oats, rye, and spelt) in any form, after it has come in contact with water for longer than 18 minutes and had a chance to ferment. Fermentation leads to the formation of yeast bacteria, which in flour leads to rising. Since it is very difficult to be certain that a given bit of grain has not become damp at all, all 5 grains (and their derivatives) are restricted during the holiday, except when they have been strictly prepared for Pesach. Usually this is wheat that has been carefully guarded since its harvest, until it was baked into matzas (which may be further processed into matza meal).

Ashkenazic Jews have the strong custom to not eat kitniyot either on Pesach. These are legumes or other grains that resemble the 5 prohibited grains and can rise with the addition of water or any other liquid, or which can be made into a similar flour, including: corn, rice, peas, soybeans, buckwheat, peanuts and chick peas. Ashkenazim remove all kitniyot products from the kitchen and any pots or dishes that have been used with the kitniyot (which are usually the same the chametz ones). However, kitniyot are not chametz, and the restriction upon ownership does not apply at all. It does not need to be sold, simply put out of the way for the week.

What is the Prohibition Exactly?

The Israelites were commanded by G-d: "[For] seven days there shall be no leaven found in your houses . . . You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall you eat unleavened bread." (Exodus 12:19-20)

There are three restrictions on chametz -- don't eat it, don't own it, and don't derive benefit from it. In other words, don't have chametz in your possession, or even gain from it in any way.

Interestingly, chametz is defined differently depending on which Issur (prohibition), one is talking about. When it comes to eating, even chametz unseen by the naked eye, such as traces absorbed in a pot while cooking, is forbidden. When it comes to "ownership" of chametz - the chametz has to be either bigger Bagels!than a "kezayit" (literally, an olive -- but about the size of an egg), or if smaller, has to be something a dog would eat. So that rules out the baked-on gunk on the back of the stove, the dirty stuff on your shoes, or the wallpaper paste in the garage.

All Pesach preparations stem from these two prohibitions on chametz.

Some Practical Considerations

When cleaning, the idea is to remove anything you would or even could eat (like pretzels, or cookie crumbs left under the radiator, in a child's pocket, or under the couch cushions, OR pieces of chametz larger than a kezayit (see above) that you would not eat. People generally look through their homes carefully, inspecting all places where chametz could have gotten during the course of the year. Generally, if one finds something unedible, but smaller than a kezayis, he removes that too, but it is important to know what you are looking for.

The Spiritual Dimension of Chametz

Chametz is what makes bread rise -- it is associated with pride and aggressiveness, and indulgence. On a deeper level, it is compared to the yetzer hara - the evil inclination. This concept is often misconstrued. Rather than an evil or demonic force, the yetzer hara is also the vehicle for much of man's achievements. Yeast is useful: It makes bread more than just flour and water. It is a highly creative force, when used in proportion. But just as healthy self-esteem can turn into arrogance, bread that becomes too yeasty is inedible.

On Pesach, our embryonic national identity was formed. Just as the smallest errors in the cellular division of a fetus can yield huge birth defects, the formation of Israel at the embryonic stage had to be perfect. There was no room for an impurity like false pride. The Yetzer Hara - the Chametz, had to go.


NOTE: The laws of Pesach are quite complex and the seriousness with which the Torah emphasizes the prohibition of chametz on Pesach makes people extremely scrupulous in its removal. This article is intended to show the minimum requirements. One can be much more thorough in their chametz-removal procedure, and still be within the legitimate boundaries of Jewish law and custom. If we don't mention something which you thought was essential, please check with a rabbi before discontinuing the practice.

So there are two aspects of preparing for Pesach - kashering the kitchen, so that your food is chametz free, and getting all of the chametz out of the house (this is usually the bigger of the two jobs!)