Reply To: Ta'arovet Hametz kadma l' Pesach

Yes, but that doesn’t invalidate the psak of the Shulchan Aruch and it’s application le ma’aseh by Hakham Ovadia Yosef and others, now does it? I quote R’ Dr. Ronald Hasson on misperceptions people have about Pesah (Hasson is a leading respected Sephardic rabbi).

1) Even the smallest amount of Hametz is forbidden on Pesah.

False. Like all foods Hametz is nullified and considered insignificant if it is less than 1.6% of the total product. The original version of the Gemara stated that this principle is in effect even on Passover itself. However, after the period of the Gemara, a word was inserted into the text (unknown by whom) that adds a clause stating that even the tiniest amount of Hametz in a product renders the entire product not kosher for Passover. This became accepted as practice and therefore cannot be changed (even now that we know that this was not the original law). However, this added stringency only applies on Passover itself. Food that was mixed with small amounts of Hametz before Pesah is completely permissible to be eaten on Pesah. Rabbi Ovadia Yosef writes that any Rabbi who teaches otherwise is making a sin by teaching the incorrect law to people. One must follow Sephardic tradition when teaching Sephardic Jews. It is important not to ignore and abandon the Sephardic tradition just to add more restrictions than is required by Jewish Law. He also writes that anyone who writes laws for Passover, and writes them stricter than the actual law is, can not even be forgiven for this on Yom Kippur and must ask personal forgiveness from everyone that acted in a strict fashion on the holiday unnecessarily.

2) Any food not cooked specifically for the holiday is not kosher for Passover.

3) All items need a specific hashgacha for Pesah.

False. Any item that it is clear without reasonable doubt that it was made without any Hametz is permissible on Pesah. For example, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef writes that items such as raw meat, cheese, honey, jams, and canned sardines do not need a special Hashgacha for Pesah. This is the law even if the salt used on the sardines for example had some wheat in it, or if the jam was cooked in Hametz pots without anyone assuring that there are no bits of Hametz getting in. This is because the way of producing these items are uniform and it is very unlikely that there is a significant amount of Hametz in these items. The same would obviously apply to juice, milk, and other basic items. As the law forbidding even small amounts of Hametz is rabbinic in origin, the rabbis did not require one to be extra stringent on their laws. They made stringencies to protect against Torah violations. It would be inappropriate to make a stringency to their stringency.