If I have spices that are already open, can I use them on Pesach?
Using Opened Spices on Pesach
Question
Answer
No, you cannot use open spices on Pesach.
Sources
The Shulchan Aruch rules that chametz mixed into food before Pesach is nullified. The Rema adds an exception for dry items, or wherever there is concern that chametz got mixed in. His example is bread that fell into wine: even after the bread is removed, the wine is forbidden on Pesach, because crumbs may have remained and give taste on Pesach. Open spices are dry and may have picked up chametz crumbs during the year, so they fall under this concern.
The Mishnah Berurah explains that when something dry was mixed in before Pesach, the chametz ‘reawakens’ (chozer v’ne’or) on Pesach, because the chametz is still physically present.
- Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 447:4 (with Rema) — a dry item, or one where there is concern of a chametz mixture, is forbidden on Pesach for fear that crumbs remain and give taste
- Mishnah Berurah 447:33 — dry chametz mixed in before Pesach reawakens on Pesach, since the chametz is still present
Author
Rabbi Shay Tahan
Share this
Have a question of your own?
Ask Rabbi Tahan