החמץ בפסח – שנת התשפ”ה

אמרו רבותינו בתוספתא (פסחים פ”ג): שואלין ודורשין בהלכות הפסח קודם הפסח שלושים יום. ועל פי זה נהגו רבני ישראל בכל הדורות, שבימים הללו, מפורים ועד פסח, מלמדים ברבים את הלכות הפסח, מאחר וכל אדם מישראל צריך להיות בקי בדינים רבים הנוגעים לפסח, בכשרות המאכלים והכלים, בסדר ליל פסח ועוד.

וענין ה”חימוץ” שאסרה התורה, הוא שבהתחבר קמח דגן עם המים, ושוהה כך זמן מתאים, משתנה ההרכב הפנימי של הקמח ומתחיל להחמיץ, ומרגע שהחמיץ, אסור אותו החמץ בפסח באכילה ובהנאה, וכן אסור ליהודי להחזיק ברשותו חמץ בימות הפסח.

אולם הדבר פשוט שמאחר ומצויים לעתים שיתערבו מיני דגן בקטניות, לכן יש להזהר לברור היטב את האורז וכיוצא בו, לבל יהיו מעורבים בו חטים או שעורים וכיוצא בזה ממיני דגן, כי מצוי לפעמים במקומות שמגדלים ומייצרים בהם את האורז, שמייצרים בקרבתו גם מיני דגן, וכן בבתי האריזה של האורז, אורזים גם כן שאר מיני דגן, והם מתערבים בתוך האורז ועלולים לאסור את כל התבשיל. ולכן נוהגים לברור את האורז לפסח בתשומת לב רבה ובכובד ראש, שלש פעמים, ובשעה שילדים קטנים אינם נמצאים בסביבתם של הבודקים.

אמנם ישנם כמה מיראי ה' הספרדים שנהגו להחמיר כמנהג האשכנזים שלא לאכול אורז בפסח. ובפרט נפוץ הדבר בקרב המערבים, יוצאי מרוקו ושאר מדינות צפון אפריקה. אולם אף הם אינם מחמירים בדרך כלל, אלא באורז, אבל בשאר קטניות נוהגים היתר. ויש שנהגו לאסור אכילת חומוס גם כן.

The Laws of Chametz and Kitniyot (Legumes) on Pesach- 5785

Our Sages taught (Tosefta, Pesachim Chapter 3): We begin inquiring about and expounding the laws of Pesach thirty days before Pesach. As such, rabbis throughout the Jewish nation use the days between Purim and Pesach to teach the vast laws of Pesach to their congregations, for there are many laws everyone must be proficient in, including, the Kashrut of foods, koshering the kitchen, and the Seder night.

The Essence of Leavening
The Torah (Shemot 13) tells us regarding the holiday of Pesach: “Matzot shall be eaten for seven days; neither leaven nor sourdough shall be seen in all of your borders.” The leaven that the Torah prohibits is produced by the combination of grain-flour and water remaining in this state for a long enough period of time; this causes the internal composition of the flour to leaven (rise). From the moment the mixture begins to leaven it is considered “Chametz” which is prohibited for consumption or benefit on Pesach and it is also prohibited for a Jew to retain Chametz in his property on Pesach.

Kitniyot
Rice and all other legumes, including peas and beans, are permitted on Pesach, for the prohibition of Chametz only applies to grains and legumes are not classified as “grains”. One must nevertheless take care to check the grains of rice well to make sure that no kernels of wheat or barley are mixed inside, for it is fairly common that in some places where rice is grown or packaged, other grains are also grown or packaged in close proximity as well and some kernels of these grains can easily become mixed into the rice and indeed make one’s entire dish prohibited for consumption (for even one tiny crumb of Chametz can prohibit a large pot of food). Thus, it is customary to check through rice three times before Pesach with all due concentration and seriousness, at a time when small children are not present to disrupt the individual checking.

The Custom of Ashkenazi Jewry and Some Sephardic Communities
Due to fear that kernels of various grains may have become mixed into the legumes, Ashkenazim customarily prohibit the consumption of legumes on Pesach. Indeed, the greatest Ashkenazi authorities enacted that it is completely prohibited to eat any legumes on Pesach. However, this prohibition was not accepted at all by most Sephardic and Middle Eastern communities. A Sephardic individual should not act stringently regarding this matter for several reasons.

However, there are several G-d-fearing Sephardic communities who are stringent and customarily abstain from eating rice on Pesach. This is especially common among Moroccan and other North African communities. However, even they are customarily stringent only with regards to rice, but they do eat other forms of legumes. Some customarily abstain from eating chick peas on Pesach as well.

The Issue This Year
This year, 5785, there is an additional halachic concern that arises since Erev Pesach coincides with Shabbat, a phenomenon which occurred twice in the past five years and will not occur again for twenty years (until the year 5805/2045). There are many laws regarding such an occurrence, and we shall discuss everything in due time, G-d-willing.

קריאת המגילה

כל אדם מישראל, בין אנשים ובין נשים, חייבים בקריאת המגילה ביום הפורים, וצריך לקרותה בלילה ולשוב ולקרותה ביום, שנאמר “אֱלֹקַי, אֶקְרָא יוֹמָם וְלֹא תַעֲנֶה וְלַיְלָה וְלֹא דֽוּמִיָּה לִי”. ופסוק זה נאמר בספר תהילים בפרק “למנצח על אילת השחר”, ואמרו בגמרא (יומא כט.) שאסתר נמשלה לאיילת השחר. ולכן מפרק זה אנו למדים לענין המגילה שנכתבה על ידי אסתר המלכה יחד עם מרדכי היהודי, והם שתקנו לנו לקרותה בימי הפורים.

צריך לדקדק היטב בקריאת המגילה, ובפרט יש להזהר בזה בזמן ששומעים את השליח ציבור קורא במגילה, שלא לאבד אף מילה אחת מן הקריאה במגילה, משום שלדעת רבים מהפוסקים, (ומהם הרשב”א והר”ן ועוד), אם חיסר תיבה (מילה) אחת מהמגילה לא יצא ידי חובתו.

ולאחר קריאת המגילה, גוללים את המגילה, ומברכים את ברכת “הרב את ריבנו” כפי שמודפס במגילות ובחומשים, (בסוף חומש שמות מודפסת בדרך כלל המגילה). אבל אדם הקורא את המגילה ביחיד, בלי ציבור, אינו מברך את הברכה שאחרי קריאת המגילה, כי לא תיקנו לברך את ברכת “הרב את ריבנו” אלא בציבור. ומכל מקום כתב מרן רבינו עובדיה יוסף זצ”ל (חזון עובדיה עמוד צא), שאין צורך דוקא בעשרה אנשים מישראל, אלא אפילו אם יש שם עשר נשים, גם כן רשאי לברך את ברכת “הרב את ריבנו”.

Every member of the Jewish nation is obligated to read the Megillah on the day of Purim. One must read it during the night and once again the next day, as the verse states, “My G-d, I call out to you during the day, and you do not answer; during the night I have no rest.” This verse is written in the chapter of Tehillim (Psalms) called “Lamnatze’ach al Ayelet Ha’Shachar” and the Gemara in Yoma (29a) refers to Queen Esther as the “Ayelet Ha’Shachar”. Therefore, we derive laws from this chapter regarding the Megillah which was co-authored by Mordechai and Queen Esther since they were the ones to institute the reading of the Megillah on the day of Purim.

Listening is Like Reading
However, since not everyone is an expert in Megillah reading along with the fact that not everyone owns a kosher Megillah written on parchment, we customarily fulfill our obligation of Megillah reading through the law of “one who hears is tantamount to one who recites.” This means that one who hears another person reading from a kosher Megillah fulfills one’s obligation and it is as though one has read the Megillah himself. Therefore, when the Chazzan reads from a kosher Megillah while having in mind to read on behalf of the congregation and the congregation has in mind to fulfill their own obligation as well by listening, it is considered as if they have actually read the Megillah on their own.

Speaking During Megillah Reading
During the time when the Megillah is being read, one may not interrupt by speaking at all until after the blessing at the conclusion of the Megillah reading has been recited. One who did indeed speak during Megillah reading while the Chazzan carries on with the reading of the Megillah does not fulfill his obligation and his status is like one who missed a portion of the Megillah reading, as will be explained later on.

One should listen carefully to the reading of the Megillah and one should exercise special care not to miss hearing even one word from the reading of the Megillah, for according to many Poskim (including the Rashba, Ran, and others), if one misses hearing even one word of the Megillah, one has not fulfilled one’s obligation.

One Who Misses a Portion of the Megillah Reading
However, if it happens that one missed hearing a few words of the Megillah because of noise and the like, one may read those words from within the Megillah one is holding, even if it is not a kosher Megillah; rather, even if it is a printed one, one should quickly read the words one missed until one reaches the place where the Chazzan is currently reading, at which point one should once again remain silent and listen to the Chazzan’s reading. (One will fulfill one’s obligation as long as one has heard most of the Megillah reading from the Chazzan and has only read a minority of it on his own from the printed Megillah in one’s hands).

One Who Arrives Late to the Synagogue
If one arrives late to the synagogue and realizes that the Chazzan has already recited the blessing preceding the reading of the Megillah, the great Rishon Le’Zion, Hagaon Rabbeinu Yitzchak Yosef Shlit”a, writes (in his Yalkut Yosef-Chapter 687) that it is preferable for one to go home and read the Megillah with its appropriate blessings as opposed to hearing the Megillah being read with the congregation but without its blessings. Certainly though, this ruling applies only when one is capable of reading the Megillah at home; however, if one cannot, one should merely hear the Megillah being read by the Chazzan. If the Chazzan is already several verses into the Megillah by the time one arrives at the synagogue, one should read these verses quickly to himself until one catches up to the place where the Chazzan is at which point, one should be silent and listen to the Chazzan. However, this is likewise contingent upon the fact that one hears most of the Megillah being read by the Chazzan, as we have explained above.

Firecrackers
Some customarily bang on tables and the like when the evil Haman’s name is mentioned during the reading of the Megillah as a form of obliterating the name of Amalek. In the past generation, this custom has been grossly exaggerated with all manners of loud noises, including setting off firecrackers and other things which can truly scare people. This causes several problems, including the fact that as a result, many people cannot listen to the Megillah reading properly. If the need arises, the Gabbai should announce that the congregation should only bang during the reading of the first and last “Haman,” at which point the Chazzan should pause for a few moments until the noise dies down and he should then proceed with the reading of the Megillah. Maran zt”l was very particular about this, even in his younger years, and there was banging in the synagogue only during the first and last “Haman” in order to prevent mass disturbance during the Megillah reading.