Before fulfilling the obligation of bedikat ḥameitz (see footnote 2), and to avoid the
prohibitions of not owning/seeing/finding ḥameitz during Pesaḥ, clean and remove ḥameitz
from areas within our domains in which it might likely be found. Special attention ought to be
given to areas in which dining, cooking, serving, and food storage occur. So, an office or vehicle
in which one frequently eats does require attention, while a clothing closet or bathroom
probably does not. Nor is one responsible for clearing ḥameitz from public spaces to which
one has access or for which one has responsibility.
It is customary (and easiest) to remove the utensils and dishes that are used during the year, replacing them with either new utensils or utensils used year to year only for Pesaḥ. This is clearly not possible for major appliances and may not even be possible for dishes and utensils. There is a process for kashering many, but not all, kitchen items, thus making them kosher for Pesaḥ: The general principle used in kashering is that the way the utensil absorbs food is the way it can be purged of that food, ke-vol’o kakh pol’to. This principle operates on the basis of the quality or intensity of how the items absorb food.
To kasher pots, silverware, and cooking utensils wholly of metal not used for baking,
thoroughly clean the item with soap and water, then, following a strict 24-hour waiting period during which they are not used, immerse the item in water that is at a rolling boil (hag‘alah). For pots and pans, clean handles thoroughly. If the handle can be removed, do so for an even more thorough cleaning. To effect hag‘alah, the item must be completely exposed to the boiling water. Pots and pans are either immersed in a larger pot of boiling water (may be done one section at a time) or filled with water brought to a rolling boil and then a heated stone is dropped into the pot such that the boiling water overflows to cover the sides of the pot. A safer alternative might be to let the water boil over the sides of the pot.
In the case of silverware, every part of each piece must be exposed to the boiling water. This can be done through hag‘alah (immersion) or iruy (pouring).6 Following this kashering process, the custom is to rinse each utensil in cold water.
Frying pans–all stainless steel or Teflon-coated–should be treated like other cooking pots when kashering for Passover. Wash extremely well, let sit for 24 hours, and then perform hag‘alah or libbun kal.
Metal bakeware used in a fire or in an oven must first be thoroughly scrubbed and cleaned and then must be subjected to either direct fire (with a blow torch) or an oven on self-cleaning mode, both variations of libbun gamur. This is a complicated and a potentially dangerous procedure and may result in discoloration or warping of the metal being purged. This may result in a reluctance to submit the vessel to the required temperature. Exercise caution when performing any kind of libbun.
A metal kitchen sink can be kashered by thoroughly cleaning and scrubbing the sink (especially the garbage catch), letting 24 hours pass during which only cold water is used, and then carefully pouring boiling water over all the surfaces of the sink starting with the bottom first and working up towards the top, including the lip.
According to most authorities, porcelain sinks cannot be kashered, but should be thoroughly cleaned. Then, dedicated Passover dish basins and dish racks must be used, one each for dairy and meat. For those for whom this isn’t possible or practical, a few rabbinic authorities rule that sinks made of porous materials like porcelain can be kashered by iruy, preferably three separate times, and that is sufficient.
Drinking glasses or glass dishes used only for cold foods are kashered by a simple rinsing. Some follow the custom of soaking them for 72 hours as for glass dishes.
Glass dishes used for eating and serving hot foods are treated differently in different
communities. A widely accepted practice within our communities is to treat glassware as non-porous and therefore requires them to undergo simply washing/rinsing the clean dishes. Some require the additional practice of soaking them for 72 hours, changing water every 24 hours. Some rule that glass dishes used for eating and serving hot dishes are to be treated like any metal dish, i.e., kashering is effected by cleaning and immersing in boiling water (hag‘alah). Others rule glassware is not kasherable and should be put away for the holiday.
Glass cookware is treated like a metal pot for kashering (see paragraph on metal, above). The issues regarding glass bakeware are more complex. Some authorities allow it to be kashered and others do not. In 1990, The CJLS passed a teshuvah on glass bakeware written by Rabbi Kassel Abelson that permits kashering of such bakeware.
Heavy duty plastics including dishes, cutlery or serving items, and containers–providing they can withstand very hot water and do not permanently stain–may be kashered by hag‘alah. If there is some doubt as to whether particular items can be kashered, consult your rabbi.
Ceramic dishes (earthenware, stoneware, china, pottery, etc.) that are used for hot foods cannot be kashered. However fine china that were put away clean and that have not been used for over one Jewish calendar year may be used after thorough detergent and hot water washing. The dishware are then considered pareve and may be designated for meat or dairy use.
A dishwasher needs to be cleaned as thoroughly as possible, including the inside area around the drainage and filters. After 24 hours of not being used, the dishwasher is again run empty (with racks in), with soap in the dispenser and in the main dishwasher, and set on the highest heat for the purpose of kashering.
Other electrical appliances can be kashered if the parts that come in contact with ameitz are metal and are removable, in which case they may be kashered like all other metal cooking utensils. If the parts are not removable, the appliances cannot be kashered. We recommend whenever possible that small appliances, like toaster ovens, be used strictly for Pesaḥ, thus avoiding the difficulty of kashering these appliances.
Coffee makers that are used year-round with only unflavored coffee (regular or decaf) do not need to be kashered. Coffee makers that are used with flavored coffee, or anything else one might brew in it, need to be kashered. This applies for drip coffee machines or Keurig-style coffee brewers (including Nespresso). Clean all parts well and let sit for 24 hours. Then remove the filter holder and perform either hag‘alah or iruy. Then use the machine to brew plain coffee (or just run hot water through). A french press can be kashered by washing the glass, and doing hag‘alah or iruy on the metal elements. An Aeropress can be kashered via hag‘alah or iruy.
Refrigerators and freezers should be thoroughly cleaned but require no kashering.
Dining room/kitchen tables (surfaces primarily used for eating) should also be cleaned well, but require no kashering. Some have the custom of using designated Passover tablecloths
throughout the holiday.
Many countertop surfaces can be kashered simply by a thorough cleaning, a 24-hour wait and iruy–pouring boiling water over them. The potential effectiveness of iruy depends on the material of which the counter was made.
Tables and counters primarily used for cooking/baking that cannot be kashered should be thoroughly cleaned and covered for Pesaḥ. While cleaning to rid the surface of ḥameitz is of primary importance, the covering serves as both an extra barrier against ḥameitz and a reminder to all that only items that are kosher for Passover should be placed here. The coverings can be contact paper, regular paper, foil or cloth that does not contain ḥameitz (e.g. been starched with ḥameitz starch).
The Torah prohibits the ownership of ḥameitz (flour, food or drink made from the prohibited species of leavened grain: wheat, oats, barley, rye or spelt) during Pesaḥ. Ideally we burn or remove all ḥameitz from our premises. In some cases, however, this would cause prohibitive financial loss. Therefore, we may arrange for the sale of the ḥameitz to a non-Jew and its
repurchase after Pesaḥ. One can also accomplish removing all ḥameitz by making donations to a local food pantry or non-profit.
Mekhirat ḥameitz – the sale of ḥameitz is accomplished by appointing an agent, usually one’s rabbi to handle the sale. This must be considered a valid and legal transfer of ownership and thus the items sold must be separated and stored away from all other foods and supplies. This means that ḥameitz foods which have been sold as part of the selling of one’s ḥameitz should be separated, covered or locked away to prevent accidental use. At the end of the holiday, the agent arranges to repurchase the hameitz on behalf of the owner, since the ḥameitz at that time is again permitted. One must wait until one is sure the repurchase has been done. If ownership of the ḥameitz was not transferred before the holiday, the use of any such ḥameitz remains prohibited after the holiday (ḥameitz she-avar alav ha-Pesaḥ) and any such products should be given away to a non-Jewish food pantry. Consult your local rabbi/synagogue to arrange for the selling of your ḥameitz.
Since the Torah prohibits the eating of ḥameitz during Pesaḥ, and since many common foods contain some ḥameitz, guidance is necessary when shopping and preparing for Pesaḥ. Foods that are made with wheat, barley, oats, spelt or rye (grains that can become ḥameitz or derivatives of these grains) must be certified kosher for Pesaḥ. This includes foods produced from the above-mentioned grains like pasta, cakes, breads, crackers, grain-based alcohol and more. It is also important to check that all matzah purchased for use on Passover is certified specifically as kosher for Passover.
Generally, an item that is kosher all year round, that is made with no ḥameitz, and is processed on machines used only for that item and nothing else (such as unflavored pure coffee) may be used with no special Pesaḥ supervision. Food ingredients and production techniques change regularly, though, and relying on the kashrut of a product for Pesaḥ without a Passover
hekhsher may sometimes change, and is often challenging to determine.
A Note on the Food Lists in This Guide
As you enter into the “prohibited/permitted” foods section of this guide, a few caveats to keep in mind. The Torah’s prohibition on ḥameitz is in many cases more stringent than other prohibited foods, forbidding ḥameitz on Passover itself in even the smallest amount. Therefore, there is a long-standing custom among a wide variety of Passover-observant communities to shop even more carefully for Passover than other times of the year.
This guide functions more like a Legal Code than Responsa Literature. It will offer general guidelines for the purchase and/or preparation of food before and during the holiday. It is certainly not exhaustive, and cannot list every commercial possibility–there’s just too much variation in the industry to blanket permit or prohibit all food-types. And this can sometimes be confusing because two different brands of the same general product-type might receive different rulings. Or, a product in one processed form may contain ingredients that the same product doesn’t contain in a different processed form.
As noted in the introduction, full-time Kashrut Supervision agencies that have mashgiḥim on the ground offer far more detailed brand lists, if also more strict than we ourselves might be in interpreting the stringencies of Passover halakhah
In the fall of 2015, the CJLS approved two responsa which permit the consumption of kitniyot for Ashkenazim. Some individuals, communities, and institutions may utilize this new ruling, while others will choose not to do so. Both decisions are equally legitimate and derekh eretz should be the guiding value with which we hold our communal and interpersonal conversations around this topic. We encourage all decision-making parties to be transparent in their policies and menus, as well as sensitive to the spiritual and dietary needs of others.
One way to potentially find acceptable foods without a specific
Kosher for Passover designation during pre-Passover shopping is to prefer certified Gluten Free (and oat-free–check labels) products. In an effort to definitively alert consumers to the presence of wheat gluten in packaged foods, the FDA mandates that any product including the words “gluten-free,” “no gluten,” “free of gluten,” or “without gluten” must contain less than 20 parts per million of glutinous wheat, spelt, barley, or rye. This eliminates the possibility of a gluten-free packaged food containing 4 of the 5 ḥameitz-derived grains in any quantity that would be relevant according to Jewish law. Furthermore, this eliminates concern over any shared equipment that may have imparted ḥameitz, since the amount of 20 parts per million is
much more stringent than the halakhic principle of batel b’shishim, nullifying ḥameitz in trace amounts (1 part in 60, about 1.6% or less of the total volume). Oats are the only ḥameitz-grain not necessarily absent in a gluten-free food, therefore, check carefully to ensure oats are not listed as an ingredient. Check for oats if you shop GF.
During Passover, no amount of ḥameitz can be considered too small to “count”–any amount is forbidden. Before Pesaḥ, ḥameitz can be nullified in an amount sixty times greater than itself. Since the Pesaḥ time-enacted commandments haven’t yet kicked in, the stringency of forbidden “in any amount” can’t begin. This means that if you can be reasonably sure that:
you can buy the product before Pesaḥ and eat it ON Pesaḥ. The essential legal question is whether or not ḥameitz is subject to the laws of “returning and reawakening,” ḥozer ve-neiyyur. In other words, does the onset of Pesaḥ reawaken the trace amounts of ḥameitz such that they
would be subject to the laws of forbidden “in any amount”? The overarching opinion is no, ḥameitz does not return and reawaken. As long as the mixture
occurs before Passover, the ḥameitz is nullified.
Therefore, there are a number of foods that can be purchased before Passover that haven’t received special Passover supervision.
Here are some of those foods:
Baby food with a Passover hekhsher is sometimes available. Of course, home preparation of baby food, using kasher l’Pesaḥ utensils and kitchen items is always possible. Pure vegetable prepared baby food that is kasher the year-round is acceptable for Pesaḥ. For those who do not use kitniyot, the use of kitniyot for babies is still acceptable. Thus infant formula products that are kasher year round are acceptable for Pesaḥ.
Any detergents, cleaners, etc. which are not food stuff and which are not eaten may be used for Pesaḥ with no hekhshered supervision. This would include, but not be limited to:
All medications that are needed for illnesses and medical conditions that involve possible life-threatening situations are permitted.
Medications that do not involve life-threatening situations are divided into two categories. Those medications, in particular pills which are known remedies in the medical community and are made to be swallowed whole, are permitted, since they are to be considered like a “burnt item” that has lost its relationship to its possible non-kosher origin. Although swallowed, they are considered to be neither food nor (edible) ḥameitz.
However, medications for illnesses or medical conditions that do not involve a life-threatening situation (including vitamins and supplements) that have been formulated to be edible or semi-pleasant to drink can be problematic. This includes soft gelcaps which often contain porcine gelatin and liquid medicines that often contain glycerin and other additives (which can be made from animals). It is recommended that all such over-the-counter items be purchased with hashgaḥah (Kosher certification) before Pesaḥ and state on their packaging that they contain no starch. If this is not possible, then it is preferable to purchase unflavored liquids and hard capsules, also prior to Pesaḥ. If none of these are available, consult your rabbi.
All prescription or non-prescription drugs in the form of topical medications, including creams, lotions, ointments, foams, gels, drops, patches and inhalants as well as non-chewable tablets and injections may be owned, used and consumed on Passover, even if they contain ḥameitz or kitniyot (for those who maintain this custom), since they are inedible. This covers most medicines used by adults. All medications for babies may be used.
The prohibition against ḥameitz during Pesaḥ includes not owning, not seeing and not benefitting from ḥameitz. Therefore, we are not allowed to own or make use of ḥameitz during Pesaḥ, even that which is exclusively for our animals’ consumption. The most appropriate way to take care of your pet during Pesaḥ may be a function of what kind of animal/s you own. We provide three different systems for feeding your pet during Pesaḥ, in descending order of desirability:
