Kitniyot on Passover: Who Eats What—And Why (Including Rice)

- The Torah forbids chametz on Passover, and the only grains that can become leaven are the five classic grains only: wheat, barley, oats, rye, and spelt

- According to all halachic authorities, kitniyot cannot become leaven; they are not chametz at all and are permitted on Passover

- Foods considered kitniyot: chickpeas, beans, corn, peas, millet, fava beans, rice, caraway, sesame, black-eyed peas, and more..

- Still, some authorities prohibit eating kitniyot on Passover for several reasons:

1. If people cook kitniyot that resemble wheat, they may come to cook actual wheat

2. Since some kitniyot are milled into flour (like corn), there is a concern that amei ha'aretz might err and use wheat flour

3. In the past, kitniyot and wheat were stored in the same sacks, raising the concern that wheat kernels might remain in the bag

-The Sephardim: Do not adopt these stringencies. (Some Sephardim are strict.)

- The Ashkenazim: Do adopt these stringencies and therefore forbid eating kitniyot on Passover

- Ashkenazim who keep the custom to avoid kitniyot on Passover should not change their practice, even via hatara

Checking kitniyot for Passover

- Kitniyot are not chametz and are therefore permitted for Sephardim on Passover. Anyone who wishes to eat kitniyot on Passover should carefully sort and check them three times before the holiday. For example, a Sephardi who wants to eat rice on Passover should check the rice three times before Passover; today, since rice is often very clean, one thorough, careful check is sufficient

A Sephardi who avoided kitniyot on Passover and now wants to start eating them

- Some Sephardim have the custom to avoid kitniyot on Passover. A Sephardi who wants to change his custom and eat kitniyot on Passover:

-  If he knew he was merely being strict and that, in principle, kitniyot are permitted: he must perform hatara

-  If he thought the prohibition on kitniyot was binding law and not a stringency: he may eat kitniyot without hatara

- A Sephardi who was strict about kitniyot on Passover only because he followed his parents' household, and is now married and wants to eat kitniyot on Passover, may do so without any hatarat nedarim. Still, it is proper to be stringent and perform hatara with a halachic sage

- Families who moved to Israel and kept stringencies while abroad (for example, from Morocco) are not obligated to continue their ancestral custom; they may perform hatara and follow the practice of the Shulchan Aruch, since it is the \"mara d'atra\" (the halachic authority of the Land of Israel)

An Ashkenazi guest at a Sephardi home

- When an Ashkenazi is a guest of a Sephardi, the Sephardi should not serve him foods he customarily avoids, such as kitniyot

- However, the Ashkenazi may eat at the Sephardi's home using utensils in which kitniyot were cooked (since there is no inherent prohibition in kitniyot; the avoidance is a stringency)

An Ashkenazi woman married to a Sephardi, and vice versa

- An Ashkenazi woman married to a Sephardi may perform hatara for her custom and eat kitniyot with her husband; the same applies to other Ashkenazi stringencies

- If an Ashkenazi woman married to a Sephardi has not performed hatara for her custom and still refrains from kitniyot and rice, she may nevertheless cook dishes of kitniyot and rice for her husband

- A Sephardi woman married to an Ashkenazi should not cook kitniyot in her husband's home; however, when visiting her parents she may eat kitniyot with them

Cooking kitniyot

- Someone who refrains from eating kitniyot on Passover may cook kitniyot for others during Passover, even on Yom Tov itself

Selling kitniyot

- A Sephardi who is strict to avoid kitniyot on Passover, as well as Ashkenazim who are strict, may keep kitniyot at home during Passover; there is no need to sell them to a non-Jew

A convert: How to observe regarding kitniyot

- A ger tzedek who converted in Israel should follow the rulings of the Shulchan Aruch, even if his ancestors were Ashkenazim, and he may eat kitniyot on Passover

Those who wish to be strict should be strict for themselves

- Although some adopt various stringencies on Passover, the public should be taught the view of the Shulchan Aruch; and if they wish to be strict, they should do so in their own homes, for themselves alone