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You're listening to Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe of TORCH in Houston, Texas. This is the Everyday Judaism Podcast.
Good morning everybody. Welcome back to the Everyday Judaism Podcast. Today we are going to study Simmon 117, Chapter 117 in the abridged Code of Jewish Law in the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch. And today we are going to learn a collection of laws relating to Pesach. As we know, the Halacha tells us that 30 days before the holiday you shall begin studying the laws of the holiday.
And since we are within those 30 days of Pesach, we are going to learn some of the chapters this week and in the coming weeks preparing us for the laws of Pesach. So we're going to learn some collection of laws, that's what it's called. Kitz HaShach Dinu MeLukotim LePesach So one of the prominent halachas among the laws of prohibited foods is the principle of Bitzl, which means nullification. This law dictates that although it is initially prohibited to mix a prohibited item with a permitted item,
if the prohibited item did become mixed into the permitted food, the prohibited food may become nullified if it was mixed into a certain amount of permitted food, a 1 to 60 ratio. So Batl B'Shishim is a concept that most of us are familiar with, and the mixture is permitted to be eaten. So if you have a drop of milk that falls into your chicken soup, since it is a complete mixture immediately, it's just a drop. So it's considered that it is Bitzl, it is already nullified,
and therefore it does not render your entire soup not kosher. There's qualifications to this which we will see. The halacha applies with a number of significant differences to the laws of Hametz on Pesach as well. And is the subject of extensive discussion in Shulchan Aruch and its commentaries. Kitzer opens the simmon with a brief summary of the halachos of Bitzl as they pertain to the prohibition of eating Hametz on Pesach. So imagine the following. Imagine you have a fully Pesach house, a fully Pesach dish,
a fully Pesach salad, and then something which is not kosher for Passover falls into it. You put in an ingredient that wasn't kosher for Passover. What do you do now? Does that same rule of 1 in 60 ratio Hametz to non-Hametz to Passover also qualify there? The halacha now says, If a mixture of Hametz and non-Hametz was found on Erev Pesach, before Pesach, until nightfall, it is subject to the same halacha as a mixture containing
other prohibited foods, namely that one part of the prohibited food is nullified, that one part is nullified in the 60 parts of permissible food. Therefore, if a kernel of grain was found during the time that you were cooking a chicken, a fowl, or in a cooked dish, the kernel can be discarded, and the rest is permitted to be eaten on Pesach. However, if it was found during Pesach, then Hametz, even in the minutest amount, prohibits any mixture in which it is found,
from benefit as well. So it's not enough to just take it and throw it out. The whole thing is not good. You can't sell that chicken to a non-Jew either, even though for him it doesn't make a difference. It's a delicious rotisserie chicken, but you can't either have Hanah from it, or you can't derive any pleasure from it. Thus, in any situation where in any situation where that a kernel of one of the five types of grain is found,
which we mentioned previously is wheat, barley, spelt, rye, and oats, that can become Hametz, or a minute amount of Hametz is found in a dish on Pesach, a question must be asked to your local bona fide halachic authority. Okay, that's halacha number one. One is not to use this water unless it is a very pressing need. There's nothing else, no other water. You don't have any other water well. So now what are you going to do? This is the only water you have.
So then you can use it. What's if you find a piece of bread in the water? So now the whole water is Hametz, right? Even if there's no other water to use. And straining the water doesn't suffice. So if you just take out the piece of bread, and now you sift through all the water, everything that comes into your house, you're going to sift through the water, make sure that there's no Hametz in that water, it doesn't help. Okay?
The whole water has become Hametz, and therefore it cannot be used on Pesach. So we see that the laws regarding Pesach go from strict to extremely strict. There are people who only have water on Pesach that was prepared before Pesach in barrels. You think it's like back in the early 1900s, 1800s, where people would bring the water from the river, and they would have it outside, and there are people who do that for Pesach still. It's not our custom,
but there are people I know that do that. After the feathers of fowl are plucked, the bird is singed momentarily in fire in order to remove the stubs that remain. This if addresses a precaution that should be taken with regard to fowl that will be eaten on Pesach. Okay? So you're buying chicken, when you go to the store, and they say that it's chicken, that it's kosher for Passover, that means the following has been adhered to.
It is customary not to singe plucked fowl with burning straw that is attached to the ears of grain. Perhaps they contain a kernel of hummus that will impart flavor to the fowl, because if you use that little stalk or straw of that flower, there could be a little bit of the flour that will go into the chicken, and now it'll add flavor to it. That perhaps they contain a kernel of hummus that will impart flavor to the fowl. Therefore, we singe only with grass
or cut off the ears of grain from the straw. After the fact, if someone did it, it is okay, it is permitted to use it. However, one must take caution. To remove the crop from the fowl code them shemahav v'noso before one singes it. The crop which contains undigested food may contain hummus. The Mishnah Beruah does not specifically require one to do this, but does recommend cutting open the bird and checking it well for any grain,
because you don't know what may have been consumed by this bird prior to it being slaughtered. Halacha number four. Kol mine kitniyos asurim. All types of kitniyos. The laws of kitniyos are very, very interesting. This is one of the stringencies that the Ashkenazic community abides by. And the basis of this prohibition, the custom to prohibit kitniyos is based on the concern that at times kernels of the five types of grain get mixed into these grains. Additionally, kernels of rice
and other kitniyos are sometimes ground into flour and bread is baked from the flour. Since some people may confuse this flour with other flour and may come to permit bread baked from flour of the five types of grain that are chametz, the sages were stringent with grain of kitniyos in all forms. One should be aware that although the restriction of kitniyos is referred to as a custom, nevertheless, in the communities where this restriction is followed, it has been accepted
with the stringencies of a law and besides certain extenuating circumstances noted below, one is obligated to adhere to these restrictions as he would with any other halacha. So we say, yeah, it's a custom. It's true, it is a custom, but it's a custom that's become law because it's so widely accepted by the Jewish people. Now, the Sephardic community does not abide by this because they never accepted it upon themselves. They lived in a different part of the world and therefore,
it was never part of their custom and they never accepted this stringency upon themselves. So, culminate kitniyos, all types of kitniyos are prohibited. Kitniyos is generally translated as legumes. Actually, the term kitniyos refers to plants other than trees and the five species of grain that produce edible seeds. There is much discussion among the later halachic authorities regarding the extent of this prohibition. Okay, one more thing here is the custom of not eating kitniyos is followed by Ashkenazic Jews,
but not followed or followed to a lesser extent by many Sephardic communities. An Ashkenazic woman who marries a Sephardic man or vice versa assumes her husband's customs. V'chein kol perus yivayshim asurim. So too, all types of dried fruit are prohibited. It was the practice in some places to sprinkle flour on fruits while they were drying or to prepare dried fruit in the same oven as bread. Therefore, the custom in certain countries was not to use any dried fruit
unless it was known that they were prepared in a manner that assured that there was no concern for hamatz. Okay, so this is an important thing, which is why today we have a really easy life in observing Pesach because we just make sure that everything is certified kosher for Passover and it makes life considerably easier. But we don't just want easy, we want to understand what's going on, which is why we're learning these halachas.
He says also those dried fruits use caution. אלא אם כן, נודע שנסייבשו בהכשר, unless it is known that they were dried in a kosher for Passover manner in poles in the sun, על גבי קנם, או בטן או שרוך של השם פסח, or in an oven that was kosher for Pesach use, אפילו תאין מיבי שמצימוקים, even dried figs and raisins, בנגדון ומקטנים, whether they're large or small or assumed or prohibited, וכן קליפוס, פמרנצן,
which is dried orange rinds, ומכל מקום, nevertheless, המשקש עושים מן הצימוקים, drinks that are made from raisins, נוהגן התה לשתושו, we are lenient and we do drink from it on Pesach. נוהגן שלוליתן לסוך הטב של נגלך וזפרן, it is customary not to spice dishes with cloves and saffron, מפני שיש בהם חשש חימוץ, because we are concerned that they may contain hummus, ואפילו זפרן הגדול בנימשנו בגינוס, even saffron that grows in our country in the gardens
where there is no concern for hummus, אסור משום לא פלוג, is prohibited since when establishing the custom, the sages did not differentiate between one type of saffron and another type of saffron, and therefore, it's an ingredient that should not be used on Pesach. ושאר בשמים other spices, שיש פה חשש חימוץ, about which there is no concern, שאין בו חשש חימוץ, that there is no concern that they may contain חמץ וכן המלח, as well as salt,
קודם שנוסע נוסע לטב של צריכה לוודקו, before spicing your food should inspect and check it, ואם אין איזה גרינטורה to ensure that there is no kernel of the five types of grain in it, מעורבו, mixed into it. So, you know, sometimes you can find you're going through any one of the grains, and you'll look, and you'll see, like if you check through your rice, you may find a kernel of a different grain there. What's it doing there?
You ever find a corn in there? They may mix through, they're used in, I think also what used to happen, which is where the custom began, is that they used to have big factories that would have different mills that were used. They would have a mill for wheat, they would have a mill for all the different types of grains that they would make, you know, either the flour or whatever it was that they were preparing.
And they can get mixed between shifts or barrels, and that was the concern. That's why corn and all types of legumes are not used on Pesach. So again, this is something that we, today in our generation, we're lucky that we have kosher for Passover so readily available in our supermarkets. Halacha number six. Halachically, matzah made from dough kneaded with any beverage that is not a derivative of water, referred to in the kitzer as fruit juices,
may be eaten on Pesach provided that no water has been introduced into the mixture. Nevertheless, Ashkenazic custom is to prohibit eating matzahs kneaded with fruit juice. B'Shah Satchak, in a situation of pressing need, k'gon, for example, l'tzor hachol ha'ozokhein, if there's an ill or elderly person, mutaron le'afos matzahs imei beytzim. One is permitted to bake matzahs kneaded with liquid of eggs, like egg matzah. O'sha'ar minei peres, or other fruit juices,
k'gon, chalav, or ya'in, such as milk or wine, v'kadome, and the like, rather than water. V'hi nikreis matzah ashira, and this is called matzah ashira. Ashira is like a rich matzah. U'buvach yizaru, this is permitted only provided that care is taken to ensure sh'lo yis'ariv behem afilu ma'atmayim, that even a small amount of water should not be derived, should not be mixed into it. Avol b'shtei le'los arishonos, however, during the first two nights
of Pesach, when we have a mitzvah to eat matzah, one must eat actual matzah kneaded with water, tz'yichan le'chol matzah mamesh, v'ein yotzin b'matzah ashira, and fulfilling the mitzvah with rich matzah is not possible. One should not fulfill it that way. V'shalo l'tzorok gado, moreover, if there is no great need, aso le'fos matzah ashira, then one should not even bake the matzah in that form. Afilu kot haPesach, even before Pesach, le'shein Pesach,
or even for the purpose of Pesach. Halacha number seven. Ha'nos in tevuah o'mur son lefnei ofos, one who places grain or bran in front of fowl at the time when chametz is prohibited, yizor le'sitom b'mokom yovish, he should be careful to put it in a dry place, shelo yizchal ch'lu, shelo yislach l'chu, so that they should not become wet and become chametz. Ava le'behemah, but for livestock other than poultry, however, o'soliten murson,
it is prohibited to place bran, shelo yislach l'chu minarok, since it will become wet from their saliva and become chametz. Ve'gam im nosin le'hem tevuah, and moreover, if he gives the livestock whole grain, yizor lo'seis le'hem me'atmadi, he should give them a little bit at a time. Shelo yash'iru meluch lachim, so that no wet kernels remain and become chametz. Ve'im hish'iru yevare miyad, and if they left over grain, he should immediately destroy the left over grain,
because it's pure chametz. What people do for dogs and for pets, other pets, is that they do have actually kosher for Passover dog food, animal food. So again, look into that. I'm not an animal owner, so I don't really know the details of this. I've never come into direct contact with this question, but I know that they do make, certain brands make animal food that does not contain grain in it, and there's no concern of it being chametz.
Okay. The Seif and the Tfao discuss the extent of the prohibition of deriving benefit from chametz on Pesach. So you're not allowed to eat chametz, but are you allowed to benefit from chametz? Okay, let's see what that is. Be'erav Pesach, on Erev Pesach, Mish'osha chametz ne'aser ba'ano, from the time when chametz becomes prohibited for benefit, so if you look on our magnificent torch calendar, you will see that there is a time finishing to eat chametz by 11.14 a.m.,
and it's the 1st of April, and then you have to burn chametz by 12.07, and burn means it's out of your possession. It's done. You're done with it, and it's no longer yours. Okay, so there's a time by which it needs to be. It's by the 7th hour. We do it by the 5th hour, but by the 7th hour, you need to rid yourself of all chametz. So he says, from the time when chametz becomes prohibited for benefit,
and so too throughout all the days of Pesach, one cannot derive benefit from chametz, even from chametz of an idolater. Therefore, it is prohibited for a Jew to transport or to guard chametz or shalakum, the chametz of an idolater, an idolater referring to someone who's a non-Jew, and certainly prohibited liknos chametz v'shalakum to purchase chametz for an idolater, even with their money. So if someone, if your co-worker tells you, a non-Jewish co-worker
tells you, you know, can you go pick up a sandwich for me, and it's chametz, and they give you the money, you can't go to the store and buy it for them. If they tell you, can you watch my bottle of scotch for me? I'm going out of town, and I'm afraid someone's going to steal it. Can I put it in your house? You can't do that either on Pesach. One may not receive wages from work performed
with an article that is prohibited for benefit, forbidden for benefit, nor receive rent for an item such, used with such articles, even though he is receiving no direct benefit from the prohibited item. Kitzer explains how this law applies to chametz. Similarly, it is prohibited to rent out at the time, meaning from the beginning of the sixth hour of Erev Pesach, to an idolater, an animal that will transport chametz for him, chametz, or a room
in which to keep chametz, because one cannot profit from an item which is prohibited to benefit from. It's forbidden to benefit from chametz during the days of Pesach, so you can't profit from that either because it's chametz. But it is permissible to rent him an animal for the entire week of Pesach, besides for Shabbos and Yom Tov, when the purpose is not specified. That is, when the non-Jew does not explicitly state
that he needs it in order to transport chametz. He's saying, I just want to rent your truck. Do you mind if I rent your truck for eight days? You're going to be out of work for Pesach, let me just rent your truck. Now, you don't need to know what he's using it for. If you know that he's using it for chametz, transportation, then it's problematic. In such a case, even though he knows even though the idolater will,
you know that the idolater will transport chametz on it, it is not an issue. Since, even if he does not transport anything on it, he still is paying rent for the truck. His entire fee, he'll pay the full fee. Therefore, the Jew is not profiting from the transport of chametz, he's profiting from the rental. Okay, so there's a distinction here. I'm not benefiting, the Jew is not benefiting from the chametz, per se. Similarly,
it is permissible to rent a room to a non-Jew who will live there during Pesach. Even if you know that he's going to eat non-kosher, Passover food, chametz food, in that room. Nevertheless, it is permitted. Since the Jew is not charging him for the chametz, it is permissible to rent a room to a non-Jew who will live there during Pesach. Since the Jew is not charging him a fee for bringing
in chametz, you're just charging him rent, you're not charging him for what he brings into it. Even if he does not bring chametz in there, he's paying full rent, he's not getting any discounts, right? Okay. Due to the prohibition, due to the prohibition of benefiting from chametz, one may not even have chametz fed to one's animals. This if addresses whether one may give over his animal to a non-Jew who will feed it
on Pesach. So can you give your animal away for the holiday to a non-Jew and let them feed the animal whatever they want to feed the animal? Perhaps something which isn't kosher for Pesach. Also, it is prohibited to give over even if you say, you know what, I'm not going to do it just for Pesach. I'm going to give it over a week before Pesach, two weeks before Pesach. That way, it's included
Pesach also. So you're not allowed to even if it's for a longer period. Since you know that he will feed it chametz on Pesach, you cannot do that. For it is prohibited to benefit even from chametz of a non-Jew on Pesach if he does not know that the non-Jew will feed the animal chametz, this is permitted. For the law regarding selling one's animal to a non-Jew for the duration of Pesach, we can see this
in chapter 114, in Simmons 114. Also, over here, he says, the Mishnubruh says that those who give over their animals to non-Jews a long time before Pesach with the agreement that the non-Jew is to supply his own feed and does not expressly stipulate to the non-Jew to feed them chametz, may allow their animals to remain with the non-Jews if Pesach falls during this period, even if he is aware that the idolater
will feed them chametz. It means it wasn't expressly mentioned, it was just like here, you want to rent the animal for six months, no problem. So, whatever they feed is there, it means it's not, you're not doing it with that intention. I don't know why people would do that, people would borrow an animal. Okay, halacha number 11, si'if 11, mutar lo mar l'mishar so akum, it is permissible for one to tell their
non-Jewish attendant, afilu b'shasha chametz oso ba'ano, even at the time when chametz is prohibited from benefit, which is after that sixth hour, hel chamos, take this money, u'kne lecha mezonos ve'och ve'echol, buy food for yourself and eat. Af al pishu yudesh ye'kne chametz, sorry, it is permissible, I said prohibited, it is permissible to tell your non-Jew to go take money and to buy themselves food to eat, lunch, right,
they take a lunch break here, here's your lunch and go buy yourself some food to eat. Af al pishu yudesh ye'kne chametz, even if he knows that he'll buy chametz, u'b'shasha t'chak, in a pressing situation, mutar lo gam ken lo mar lo, ken lo mar lo, tse ve'echol etzel akum, he can tell his attendant, go out and eat at the home or business of an idolater, ve'ani efaloch, and I will repay you.
O lo mar la'akum acher, ten le'misharsol echol, or he can tell one of his non-Jewish friends, can you feed my attendant, my housekeeper, ve'ani eshalamoch, and I will pay you. Av al osor la'hakdim lo esamos, b'shvil ma'ashi ten le'misharsol, but it is prohibited to advance funds to a second non-Jew to pay for what he will give his attendant. Halacha yudbeis, similarly, ve'chein, mi shehu tzarekh la'akhil le'tino chametz, one who must feed an infant chametz,
ye'so'eyu el ha'akum, should carry him to a non-Jew, ve'achileu ha'akum chametz, and the non-Jew should feed him the chametz. Again, this is probably for a medical need, someone who's in a, you know, a child who's, has some type of need for a certain type of health condition that they must eat something that is chametz. Ve'yifra la'a yisra'al ha'akach, and the Jew should pay for their services afterward. Av al yisra'al la'a yachileu chametz, but a Jew himself
should not feed another Jew chametz. Ve'im'atino k'masukan, and if the infant's life is in danger, b'shita da'akomotu, then it is obvious that everyone, anyone, is permitted and obligated to feed them. And finally, halacha number 13, l'shtos ha'cholav, with regarding drinking milk on Pesach, me'behei masakum, when the milk was from an animal that belongs to a non-Jew, ha'ocheles chametz ve'Pesach, and that milk, that animal, that cow, is eating chametz on Pesach.
Ye'shosrem, there are those who prohibit benefiting from that milk and enjoying that milk on Pesach. Ve'shom ha'naf sheyach mir, and one who is God-fearing should conduct himself stringently, b'frat b'makam sh'nago lezero, and especially in a place where the custom is to forbid it, chalila lahatir, heaven forbid for one to permit it. So the custom today is, is that we buy all of the milk that we will need for the entire Pesach before Pesach,
and also there is special kosher for Passover milk that you can find in all of the local kosher groceries and supermarkets. You will see a KFP, kosher for Passover, or a OUP, which is for Passover as well, things like that. You will be able to see its identification that is kosher for Passover. And then in that case you can purchase it on Pesach as well. All right, my dear friends, this concludes Semen 117,
and now we will begin Ask Away number 36, my dear friends. I look forward to hearing your questions.
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