Posted on 04/15/2024 2:02:24 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Everything you need to know about Kosher for Passover food.
The Kosher aisle at the supermarket looks a bit different every spring. Along with the cherished yellow-capped Coca-Cola bottles, plenty of new and sometimes unusual-looking products (off-brand grain-free children’s cereals, canned macaroons in festive flavors) are stocked on shelves in preparation for the major Jewish holiday.
What makes these products, and this seasonally niche form of Kashrut, different from the typical Kosher groceries and meals consumed during the rest of the year?
Passover comes with its very own, one-week-only, set of eating guidelines for observant Jews. Kosher for Passover food adds more restrictions to the typical Kosher diet, honoring the legacy of the holiday and helping Jewish people around the world celebrate in a way very familiar to the religion: Through food. Here’s everything you need to know about Kosher for Passover fare before the holiday.
What Is Passover?
Passover is a major Jewish holiday, commemorating the Israelites escaping from slavery in Egypt, as told in the Book of Exodus in the Bible.
Like all Jewish holidays, Passover starts after sundown. The holiday starts on the 15th of Nissan on the Hebrew calendar and runs through the 22nd. The dates on the Jewish lunar calendar occur during the spring, typically in March or April.
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In 2024, Passover starts on the evening of Monday, April 22. Jewish people observe Passover by holding seders the first two nights of the holiday. At Passover seders, folks gather to recount the story of Passover, depicted through ritual objects on a seder plate.
Throughout the week of Passover, Jewish people observe the holiday by keeping Kosher for Passover, an additional set of regulations that limit what belongs in the Kosher diet to commemorate the holiday.
What's the Meaning Behind Observing Kosher?
Observing the laws of Kashrut, or keeping Kosher, is a year-round Jewish practice. Kosher dietary restrictions are observed as laid out in the Biblical book of Leviticus. Kashrut is about purity and cleanliness, and for many, eating exclusively Kosher food and keeping a Kosher household can represent a connection to God and/or millennia of Jewish tradition.
All Kosher foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Jewish people vary in the ways they observe Kashrut and why this practice is meaningful to them. On the most basic level, keeping Kosher involves only eating fish with fins and scales (no shellfish or bivalves), only eating limited types of poultry (birds of prey are not permissible), and only eating animals that chew their cud and have split hooves (cows are fine, pigs are not). In Kashrut, meat and dairy can never mix, and all meat products must be raised, slaughtered, and processed in a specific manner.
Any food that is not kosher, such as bacon, shrimp, or a cheeseburger, is considered traif (pronounced tray-ff).
What Is Kosher for Passover?
Kosher for Passover food is Kosher food that follows an extra set of rules for the Passover holiday.
“Keeping kosher for Passover involves strict adherence to dietary laws and customs that have been observed for generations as part of the celebration of this important holiday in the Jewish calendar,” explains Shani Seidman, CMO of Kayco, the parent company of kosher food brand Manischewitz.
Here’s Why Some Coca-Cola Bottles Have Yellow Caps in the Spring “During Passover, certain grains, such as wheat, barley, rye, oats, and spelt, are prohibited in any form that may have leavened or fermented, known as chametz,” says Seidman. “Additionally, any food containing leavening agents or derivatives of these grains must be avoided. Foods that are only kosher, and free from these prohibited grains and derivatives are considered kosher for Passover.”
There are a few versions of keeping kosher for Passover. Ashkenazi Jews, those with an Eastern European background, follow the strictest rules. Sephardi Jews, those with Middle Eastern or Spanish ancestry, consume a group of ingredients called kitniyot, which includes rice, legumes, corn, seeds, and more items that Ashkenazi Jews typically avoid during the holiday, because these ingredients grow when cooked, similar to bread rising.
After 800 Years, Rice, Beans, and Corn Are Now OK for Passover
Keeping Kosher for Passover involves deeply cleaning one’s home to rid the space of chametz. Many Jewish people use a separate set of designated dishes, cookware, and kitchenware during the holiday.
A passover table setting.
There are a few versions of keeping kosher for Passover. Ashkenazi Jews, those with an Eastern European background, follow the strictest rules. Sephardi Jews, those with Middle Eastern or Spanish ancestry, consume a group of ingredients called kitniyot. Where Does Matzo Fit In?
“Matzo is a traditional unleavened bread eaten during Passover to commemorate the haste with which the Israelites fled Egypt, leaving no time for their bread to rise,” says Seidman.
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Crisp matzo is iconic to celebrating Passover, both a ritual object and a snack. Used on the seder plate and during the seder, matzo functions as a substitute for bread during the holiday. Matzo has a special set of regulations to be certified Kosher for Passover.
“To be considered Kosher for Passover, matzo must be made from one of five grains - wheat, barley, rye, oats, or spelt, mixed with water, and baked quickly to prevent fermentation, cooked in less than 18 minutes,” says Seidman.
What Are the 'New Rules' of Passover?
Passover observance dates back hundreds of years, and like many things in the Jewish religion, traditions have evolved with modernity. In 2015, The Rabbinical Assembly decided that kitniyot are permissible to eat on Passover. Still, many adhere to the tradition of avoiding beans, rice, seeds, and corn.
What Are the Kosher for Passover Symbols?
Foods that are Kosher for Passover are designated with symbols on the packaging.
“These symbols may vary depending on the certifying agency, but commonly include the letter "P" or the phrase "Kosher for Passover", in addition to the standard Kosher symbols such as OU,” says Seidman. Was this page helpful?
The Council at Jerusalem in Acts 15 also addressed the need to eat kosher and follow other parts of the Law.
yes Paul was observant but his converts were not - thus tension with James and that arm of Jesus followers that was eventually clipsed. but the vestiges of Jewish observance by Jewish Jesus followers took some time to drop away as the Church Fathers were preaching against using the Jewish calendar, celebrating J holidays and Shabbat well past 400 CE according to research of Michal Bar-Asher Siegal.
yes, the meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from animals strangled, and from fornication. Circumcision is optional but even nowadays is considered most hygienic and prevents urinary tract infections. Sorry, pork is still forbidden. Swine are scavengers and therefore not suitable for a temple to the Lord. (no bacon in Heaven).
*eclipsed
Jesus told us in Mark 7 that it’s not the things that enter into a man that defile him.
He told us there that all foods are good to eat.
Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.
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