In a startling revelation, a bag of Kosher L’Pesach lentils (kitniyos, permissible for Sephardim during Pesach) was inspected by a mashgiach at a hospital in Northern Israel, only to uncover numerous kernels of wheat. The lentils, certified by Badatz Beit Yosef and another kosher supervisory body for Pesach, were intended for use during Yom Yov. The Mashgiach says he checked the lentils five times.
The Badatz Eidah Chareidis, which provides year-round certification for the product, explicitly states that the lentils are not certified for Pesach and must be thoroughly checked before use.
This is why people do not eat Kitniyos and helps you understand why many people use almost no processed products to ensure strict adherence to Kosher for Pesach standards.
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23 Responses
Now I even more so comprehend the גדלות of our amazing אשכנזים Rabbis who accepted the ban on קטניות & I even more so comprehend why ספרדים are in need of סליחות from commencement of אלול whilst we אשכנזים only need 4 days of סליחות
Not shocking at all…that’s why sefardim check their kitniyos for chametz.
Also, you incorrectly wrote that kitniyos is muttar for sefardim. This was at a hospital, and everyone knows kitniyos is muttar for ASHEKNAZIM who are cholim. That’s clearly who was the intended recipient of these lentals.
@147: While your 1st half comment is great your 2nd half is disgusting – you could also do with a whole month of סליחות
THAT IS THE REASON Ashkenazim don’t eat these grains altogether. That is also why the minhag of the Syrians who do eat kinniyot grains including rice is checking them by finger one by one BEFORE Y”T. (Furthermore, if it was cooked/baked BEFORE erev Y”T /zman issur, it would be batel 1/60 as opposed to becaming all chametz gamur on Pesach R”L.)
What an amazing mashgiach! He has real siyata dishmaya!
I hope 147 is half as careful in his own home.
Halevai halevai.
I know that the “yeshivishe oilam” think we Sefaradim are morons. Sefardic Bene Torah don’t rely on Badatz Bet Yosef for anything. Much less kitniyot.
I eat chickpeas on Pesach, and I check them myself, exactly as required by halachah.
You should worry a lot more about your Ashkenazi brethren who have destroyed the ruach of Pesach.
Hmmm….. I would imagine that 147 should probably now say Selichos from rosh chodesh Elul, at least for the coming year. I personally wouldn’t readily insult masses of frum, Torah observant Jews (let alone R’ Yosef Karo ZTZL, himself) with such a side swipe.
Also, it seems that the checking caught the potential chametz, so I’m not exactly sure of the problem here. If the guy checked it 5 times previously, and is still now finding kernels (6th check), perhaps it was youthful impatience that let them through the first checks. I don’t know. I don’t have a very positive view of younger “mashgichim” precisely because of their propensity to bore easily and speed up a process that is very time consuming.
I have used pre checked kitniyot for years and while checking them a final time before use, I have NEVER found a chametz contaminant. Never. Not even once. Nothing. This goes for rice and legumes. I do find tiny stones sometimes, which I’m grateful for because no one wants a cracked tooth on YT.
147 – you finally graduated to become a complete moron for saying “I even more so comprehend why ספרדים are in need of סליחות from commencement of אלול whilst we אשכנזים only need 4 days of סליחות”. Do not troll or mess with our beloved ta’hor v’kadosh brothers and sisters who a Sefardim! Are you in such great need of besmitching others and creating a machlokes and ill feelings?! DOes that make you feel better?! Your yichus is definitely questionable- either you are a mamzer or an offspring of a goy.
As someone who consumes kitniyot I don’t know why this story is such a headline. This is exactly the reason why we check our kitniyot, painstakingly and by hand, BEFORE pesach.
Of course we are all taught that kitniyot may have grains which is why we check it in the first place. Although personally my family does not consume lentils on the chag, I have been checking rice for over 20 years and have never seen wheat . (Although in prior years I’ve heard that people have seen in certain brands rarely)
And I think 147 needs to stop being judgmental on Sephardim who have been following this minhag for generations
Editors, please consider deleting the comment from “147”, it is disgustingly full of גאוה and שנאה.
What a messed up comment 147
147- youre a complete idiot if you sincerely believe your comments, and btw the most important askenazi rishon legabei piskei halacha, the rosh, was very against not eating kitniyos (ironically when he came to sefardi spain, who also have that minhag), he held it came from the karaim since chametz literally means anything that puffs up when exposed to water (and im sure r’ yitzchak yosef needs 10x less selichos than you)
“This is why people do not eat Kitniyos and helps you understand why many people use almost no processed products to ensure strict adherence to Kosher for Pesach standards.” This is beyond racist to our sefaradic brothers who DO in fact eat kitniyos. Also, I don’t know what the big shock is, anyone who works in hashgacha will tell you its relatively common, unfortunately, that things like this can happen
as someone who eats kitniyot I’m extremely disappointed. What a horrible story and an even worse article. If the information is true as presented(this is a big and important “IF”). The takeaway should be to improve kashruth standards. It would seem abundantly obvious that this horrible story shouldn’t be used as a cudgel against Sephardim. Be better than that.
Reply to 147. Ahh, yes of course. The inerrant Ashkenazi rabbis. Even the tannaim and amoraim could not foresee this.
Reply to 147. Yes, even the amoraim could not foresee this
Reply to 147. I think you should start selichot early this year for saying that. Think twice before you put down half of Am Yisroel
I’m םפרדי. I eat rice on Pesach. We check it 3 times before we use it. Would have solved this issue as well. Too bad ashkenazim don’t have this minhag. It makes a filling meal. Maybe if they said selichot for 30 days they would have been זוכה. Enjoy the kugel!
Yasher Koach to the amazing mashgiach from the Rabbanut who caught this! Not an easy job, juggling home and kashering the entire facility. And still rechecking all kitniyot, which is the minhag of sefardim.
I hope that no one who reads these pages has any sympathy with the comment made by “147.”
Dear Sephardi chaverim, you do not need to apologize for your minhag to someone who is used to think that the frummer the better. As Alter from Slabodka used to say – galach (priest) is frum, a Yid is ehrlich.
There is possible historic explanation for Minhag Ashkenaz (it is us who deviated, Sephardi was the previous norm): Northern Europe improved agriculture during middle ages, alternating wheat and beans in the same field, leading to a very possible mixture. Beans, of course, have protein in addition to very expensive meat, that is why Northern European increased in numbers and that is why there are now so many Ashkenazim that are now making fun of you for no reason.
The diligence of sefardi reponders who thoroughly precheck their rice before Pesach is impressive. The expression “it’s not worth the weight” come to mind as we already get enough glycemic spikes from matzah. I wish they would sell & promote more cauliflower-rice sushi all year round.
totally bananas. ANYTHING could have wheat mixed in, so why not ban EVERYTHING? potato starch not only looks like wheat, it is also used to make non-gebrochts, so why not ban potatoes? since there is neither a mitzvah not to eat kitniyot, nor a clear definition of what kitniyot are, why not forget this superstition altogether?