Do you eat rice during Passover?

[Anonymous]

Just curious. I always have considered it "Kosher for Passover" but today a colleague expressed shock -- shock! -- at seeing me partake.

[Anonymous]

I don't personally, but I'm .5 Sephardic and Sephardim eat rice during Passover. Just tell that person that you are part Sephardim.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I do. But I'm not Jewish. Does that matter?

But seriously, what could POSSIBLY be un-Kosher about rice? It's a plant, pure and simple. Aren't all the restrictions on animal-based foods, and of course, yeast?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I do. But I'm not Jewish. Does that matter?

But seriously, what could POSSIBLY be un-Kosher about rice? It's a plant, pure and simple. Aren't all the restrictions on animal-based foods, and of course, yeast?

Technically, there's Kosher, and "Kosher for Passover" -- which includes all sources of grain and leavening, including not just bread and yeast, but potatoes and some people apparently believe, rice. There's a split on rice between Jewish groups. I'm sure someone else will chime in with the Talmudic explanation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I do. But I'm not Jewish. Does that matter?

But seriously, what could POSSIBLY be un-Kosher about rice? It's a plant, pure and simple. Aren't all the restrictions on animal-based foods, and of course, yeast?

No, bc I am ashkenazic, but I wish I did. I find it to be an unecessary restriction, bc of its source.

Rice is not "un-kosher" in the normal sense of the word. However, rules regarding Passover are completely and totally different from the normal kosher rules. In addition to the grains and yeast that are specifically, prohibited by torah law, there is a group of foods called "kitniyot" that are also prohibited. Sometimes referred to generically as "legumes," this includes rice, corn, soy beans, string beans, peas, lentils, mustard, sesame seeds and poppy seeds. Even though kitniyot cannot technically become chametz, Ashkenazi Jews do not eat them on Passover. Back in the olden days", products of kitniyot appear like chametz products. For example, it can be hard to distinguish between rice flour (kitniyot) and wheat flour (chametz). Therefore, to prevent confusion, all kitniyot were prohibited.

Rabbi Yosef Karo, 16th century, notes that since regular grains may become mixed together with kitniyot (apparently due to changes in crop cycles), one may inadvertently come to eat actual chametz.

In Jewish law, there is one important distinction between chametz and kitniyot. During Passover, it is forbidden to even have chametz in one's possession (hence the custom of "selling chametz"). On the other hand, it is permitted to own kitniyot during Passover and even to use it -- not for eating -- but for things like baby powder which contains cornstarch. Similarly, someone who is sick is allowed to take medicine containing kitniyot.

Interestingly, the Sefardi Jewish community never adopted the prohibition against kitniyot. This creates the strange situation, for example, where a Sefardi family could be eating rice on Passover -- whereas their Ashkenazi neighbors will not!

[Anonymous]

16:26 thanks for the explanation. That was fascinating.

[Anonymous]

PP here -

I consider it an unnecessary restriction bc the rule is premised on an inability to distinguish one from another and not an actual prohibition against the item itself. In current times when factories and such are more careful to mark and separate items, I find it unecessery.

There is a group that agrees with me - http://kitniyot.blogspot.com/ Now, if only we could find a mainstream American Orthodox rabbi to get on board...

[Anonymous]

Potatoes are kosher for Passover. (Thank G-d, 'cause I am a total carb addict, Passover week is so hard on me!).

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the explanation! I always wondered why rice was prohibited and was always too lazy to research it myself. My immediate family (parents, grandparents, great-grandparents) are ashkenazi, but my father's family is originally from Morocco, lo about 500 years ago, so I do sometimes use my sephardic roots to my advantage at passover. But my husband is 100% ashkenazi and won't eat rice or any other kitniyot so I don't want to make it harder for him. I save my sushi for lunchtime.

If you're reading this thread, you might also be interested in an article that was on the NYTimes website earlier this week talking about whether quinoa is kosher for passover. Apparently orthodox jews have been eating it for decades, thinking it was, and now some are saying that in fact it's not. I've been eating it with no qualms, though.

[Anonymous]

I'm Ashkenazi and grew up without eating rice, beans and corn (although my Mom didn't care if I had a soda, which has corn syrup, because she thought it wasn't important to that extent given our level of observance generally). As an adult I read up on it and, finding the reasons for not eating rice, I decided to eat it. It's not a religious observance, but a cultural one. I decided to just pretend I'm Sephardic during the Passover holiday!

[Anonymous]

I'm not Jewish, but thought I'd give a different perspective. I have a daughter with celiac, so she can never eat products with wheat. Wheat can be hidden in many places, and there are significant problems with cross-contamination.

There are sensitive celiacs who find themselves sick sometimes, and they cannot trace the cause. It is due to cross-contamination.

The U.S. unofficial standard for gluten-free is 20 ppm (parts per million) of gluten in an item. There was a study done last year of flours that should be naturally gluten-free - soybean flour, etc - and some had as much as 200ppm of gluten. This is just due to crops grown close together, milling, etc.

Rabbi Karo was way ahead of his time! And yes, if you are hard-core avoiding wheat, you would need to avoid other flours as well.

As an fyi, many sensitive celiacs will only eat products that are certified gluten-free (batch-testing at the factory) and only eat flours from companies known to be very careful with testing.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I do, but not at the seder table because I don't cook sephardic foods on Passover (not a prohibition, just a tradition).

I figure that I don't listen to the rabbis on a whole host of things, and I don't even get it together to kasher the kitchen for pesach. I can accept the kitniyot.

[Anonymous]

I don't, because we are Ashkenazi. The kitniyot issue is such a pain that I pretty much avoid all grains and grain products at Passover, except matzoh. Basically live on sweet potatoes, almonds, and home-made soup. And Manischewitz maccaroons, an important Pesach food group!

Growing up, however, my mom - who came from a less observant background than my dad - didn't realize that peanuts were a legume and thus prohibited. So our lunch sandwiches were peanut butter and kosher for passover jam on matzoh! It was pretty nasty, made worse by being squished in a backpack all day until lunchtime. Somehow my dad never really inquired what we ate for lunch, although he strictly perused breakfast and dinner ..........

[Anonymous]

Yes, bc we're Sefardi

16:26 is right on the money with her explanation.

[Anonymous]

Yes, it was a good explanation.