kitniyot, (, qit'niyyot) (legumes) is a category of foods that may not be eaten during passover by jews following traditional ashkenazi laws and customs. long-standing tradition in other communities and recent rulings have given support in certain cases for variation from this practice.plea for kitniyot, jerusalem post kitniyot are grains and legumes such as rice, corn, soy beans, string beans, peas, lentils, mustard, sesame seeds and poppy seeds.kitniyot ==laws and customs== the halakhic argument (the argument according to jewish law and tradition) against eating kitniyot during passover is an extension of the prohibition on leaven (chametz). the torah () prohibits jews from eating chametz during passover. chametz is only leaven made from the "five grains": wheat, spelt, barley, shibbolet shu'al (two-rowed barley, according to maimonides; oats according to rashi) or rye. there are additional rabbinic prohibitions against eating these grains in any form other than matzo. among ashkenazi jews, the custom (minhag) during passover is to refrain from not only products of the five grains but also other grains and legumes. traditions of what is considered kitniyot vary from community to community but generally include maize (north american corn), as well as rice, peas, lentils, and beans. many also include other legumes, such as peanuts and soy, in this prohibition. the chayei adam considers potatoes not to be kitniyot, and decided that because potatoes were unknown in the time when the prohibition was created they could not have been included in the prohibition (sha'arei teshuvah 453:1). this opinion is followed by nearly all ashkenazi authorities. sephardi jews typically do not observe the ban on kitniyot, albeit some groups do abstain from the use of dried pulses during passover. ==history== the origins of this practice is not clear, though two common theories are that these items are often made into products resembling chametz (e.g. cornbread), or that these items were normally stored in the same sacks as the five grains and people worried that they might become contaminated with chametz. it is als
Ashkenazi_Jews_topics Hebrew_words_and_phrases Jewish_law_and_rituals Oral_Torah Passover Sephardi_Jews_topics