Siman 462, Se'if 1 · Matzah ashirah and the requirement of lechem oni

Shulchan Aruch, Siman 462: the law of fruit juices, whether they cause chimutz (leavening), containing seven se'ifim.

"Fruit juices without water do not cause leavening at all, and it is permitted to eat on Pesach matzah that was kneaded with fruit juices even if the dough sat all day. However, one does not fulfill his obligation with it, because it is matzah ashirah (rich matzah), and the verse says 'lechem oni' (bread of affliction)."
(Shulchan Aruch, Siman 462, se'if 1)

Matzah ashirah and the requirement of lechem oni

• When lechem oni is required: The requirement of lechem oni does not apply throughout Pesach. It applies only to the matzah of the Seder night. The Torah established that the matzah with which a person fulfills his obligation must be lechem oni, meaning flour and water only.
• The scope of the law: The matzah over which one recites "al achilas matzah" on Seder night, and according to most opinions the afikoman as well, must be lechem oni.
• Matzah ashirah: Matzah kneaded with fruit juice is not lechem oni, so one does not fulfill the obligation with it on Seder night, even though in itself it is permitted and may be eaten all the days of Pesach according to the Shulchan Aruch.
• Adding salt: Some maintain that even salt is not added to matzah, and one of the reasons given is that salt turns it into matzah ashirah, which is not valid for Seder night, even though it is fine for the rest of Pesach. Others omit salt for entirely different reasons.

What are "fruit juices"?

• Definition: Any liquid other than water that comes to enrich the dough: wine, oil, honey, milk, and egg liquid.
• The purpose of adding them: To make the matzah tastier and easier to eat, and that is precisely what makes it matzah ashirah.

"Fruit juices, such as wine and oil, and the same applies to honey and milk, and the same applies to all other liquids."
(Mishnah Berurah, Siman 462, s.k. 1)

The basic question: do fruit juices cause chimutz?

• The rule with water: Flour and water do not become chametz until eighteen minutes have passed. If the dough is put into the oven before that, the baking halts the process, and from then on the dough can no longer come to chimutz.
• The stringent side: Some argue that with fruit juices we do not know what process they set off with the flour, and it is possible that they work faster, say fifteen minutes rather than eighteen.
• A practical difficulty: It is hard to obtain completely pure fruit juice; usually some water is mixed in, and then the mixture may leaven more quickly.

"'And not water' means without any water at all, and if there is water in them, even the slightest amount, they do cause leavening."
(Mishnah Berurah, Siman 462, s.k. 2)

• Precision in the Shulchan Aruch's wording: The Shulchan Aruch stipulated explicitly "without water," which shows that he holds that the moment there is any water present, no matter how little, there is already a concern of chimutz.
• Water in milk: Milk today contains a certain percentage of water, and accordingly one should not make a dough from flour and milk.

Sour is not chametz, and dough that rises

• Sour fruit juices: Even if one made juice from sour fruits, it does not make the dough chametz. One must distinguish between a sour taste and chametz; these are two entirely different matters.
• Customs about sour foods on Pesach: Some had the custom not to eat pickled cucumbers on Pesach, and there is an opposite view, that one specifically eats pickled cucumbers to demonstrate that sour is not chametz. Some connected this custom to the dispute with the Karaites.
• Dough that rises: Even if the dough sat all day and rose, that is not chimutz but spoilage.
• A comparison to rice: Rice soaked in water even for a full day swells, but the swelling is not the result of leavening; it is a different process. Whether rice is even considered kitniyos is a separate question, and it has nothing to do with chimutz.

With which matzah does one not fulfill the obligation?

"'One does not fulfill his obligation with it' refers to the first kezayis of the two nights."
(Mishnah Berurah, Siman 462, s.k. 5)

• The practical summary: One does not fulfill the mitzvah of matzah on Seder night with matzah ashirah, and according to certain opinions not with the afikoman either. But according to the Shulchan Aruch it is permitted to eat it all the days of Pesach, since it is not chametz.

Fruit juices mixed with water (se'if 2)

"Fruit juices together with water leaven faster than other dough, therefore one should not knead with them, and if he did knead with them, he should knead and bake immediately."
(Shulchan Aruch, Siman 462, se'if 2)

• The explanation: If the measure with water is eighteen minutes, it is possible that with a mixture of water and fruit juice the measure is shorter, and therefore one should not knead with them at the outset.
• Baking immediately: When the dough is placed in the oven immediately upon finishing the kneading, there is no concern, since it did not sit at all.
• What emerges from this: From the Shulchan Aruch's own words we understand why it is required that there not be even a drop of water in them.

Egg liquid (se'if 4)

"Egg liquid and other liquids, all of them are included in the category of fruit juices."
(Shulchan Aruch, Siman 462, se'if 4)

"You might have thought that it is worse than fruit juices, since dough rises from egg; therefore he teaches us otherwise."
(Mishnah Berurah, Siman 462, s.k. 12)

• The novelty: An egg is not an ordinary liquid like wine or oil, and we even see that dough rises from it, so there was room to say that its law is more stringent. The Shulchan Aruch teaches us that it too falls under the category of fruit juices.

The Ashkenazi custom according to the Rema

"And in these lands the custom is not to knead with fruit juices."
(Rema, Siman 462, se'if 4)

"'The custom is not to knead': we are concerned at the outset for the view of those poskim who hold that fruit juices on their own also cause leavening, and that they also leaven quickly; and we are also concerned that perhaps a little water became mixed into them and one kneaded with them, and it leavens quickly."
(Mishnah Berurah, Siman 462, s.k. 15)

• Two concerns: First, that fruit juices on their own do cause chimutz and do so quickly. Second, that perhaps a bit of water got mixed in, in which case the leavening is even faster.
• The implication of the "speed" concern: According to this concern it will not help to say that one kept within eighteen minutes, since with wine perhaps ten minutes or less is enough, and the measure is simply unknown.
• The mixture concern in practice: Even with juice squeezed from the fruit alone, we are concerned that the cup or the juicer was damp and not completely dry, and according to this view every drop of water is enough.

The dispute in practice

• According to Sephardim: Matzah ashirah is permitted to eat all the days of Pesach and is not chametz; only on Seder night does one not fulfill the obligation with it.
• According to Ashkenazim: One does not knead with fruit juices at all, and therefore one does not eat matzah ashirah and does not bake baked goods from it.
• The practical difference when shopping: Cookies and baked goods labeled "matzah ashirah" are not suitable for an Ashkenazi. These baked goods are eaten, among other times, on erev Pesach, and are served on flights.
• The berachah on them: According to a large portion of the poskim, the berachah on matzah ashirah is mezonos.
• Alternatives for Ashkenazim: Coconut cakes that contain no flour at all, date-based products, baked goods from potato flour, and also wafers and rolls made from potato flour.

Matzah with a spread is not matzah ashirah

• The principle: The entire problem is before the dough goes into the oven. Once it is baked the story is over, and one may put chocolate, eggs or wine on the matzah.
• The definition: Matzah spread with chocolate or butter is not matzah ashirah; it is matzah with a spread. Even if it has become soft, the main component is the matzah itself, which is bread.
• The berachah: One recites Hamotzi lechem min ha'aretz over it, not mezonos. If the main thing he is eating is the chocolate and not the matzah, that is a different question.

Eating bread on erev Pesach (Siman 471)

"It is forbidden to eat bread from the tenth hour onward, so that one will eat matzah with an appetite. But he may eat a small amount of fruit or vegetables, and he should not fill his stomach with them."
(Shulchan Aruch, Siman 471, se'if 1)

"'It is forbidden to eat bread' - even matzah ashirah, as stated below in se'if 2. 'From the tenth hour' means from the beginning of the fourth hour after midday. And even if he began eating, he must stop, since he began in a forbidden manner."
(Mishnah Berurah, Siman 471, s.k. 1)

• What bread even exists on erev Pesach: The only bread that exists on erev Pesach is matzah ashirah, and therefore the Mishnah Berurah emphasizes that it too is included in the prohibition.
• Calculating the hour: The tenth hour is from the beginning of the fourth hour after midday. If sunrise is at six and sunset at six, for example, the prohibition begins at three o'clock.

"Before the tenth hour it is permitted to eat matzah ashirah."
(Shulchan Aruch, Siman 471, se'if 2)

• The reason for the permission and for the prohibition: There is no inherent prohibition in eating it, and according to Sephardim matzah ashirah is permitted. The prohibition from the tenth hour onward exists solely so that a person enters the Seder night with an appetite and eats the matzah, the maror and the four cups with a real appetite.

In passing · Pesach hechsherim and the note "for those who eat kitniyos"

• A hechsher on matzah ashirah: Matzah ashirah under the hechsher of Rav Ovadia is intended for the Sephardi community, for whom fruit juices are not a problem. One should know that not every hechsher of his is for Sephardim alone, since he certifies for Ashkenazim as well, so one has to check each product.
• Matzah ashirah has nothing to do with kitniyos: Matzah ashirah is flour and fruit juice; it contains no kitniyos at all, so a note saying "for those who eat kitniyos" is not relevant to it.
• Wording that appears on hechsherim: There are batei din, such as that of Rav Machpud, that write explicitly "for those who eat kitniyos only," and when it is written out, the matter is clear.
• An example from the field: The very same canola oil from one manufacturer is found in identical packaging under two different hechsherim: on one it says "kosher for Pesach, pareve" without qualification, and on the other, "kosher for Pesach, not for those who eat kitniyos."

In passing · The berachah on chocolate

• The dispute: Some poskim hold that the berachah on chocolate is Borei pri ha'adamah, and others disagree; it is a major dispute.
• The reasoning: We follow the purpose for which the tree was planted. The cacao fruit is not edible as it is, similar to coffee, and the entire purpose of growing the tree is the product extracted from it, so the product itself is considered the fruit.
• The comparison to an orange: One who eats an orange recites Borei pri ha'etz, and one who squeezes it recites Shehakol, because the fruit is primarily meant to be eaten and the juice is secondary to it. With cacao that is not the case.
• A practical reservation: Today's chocolate has sugar, fat and other additives mixed in, and for that reason there is room to say that its berachah is Shehakol.
• Regarding wheat: One who eats wheat kernels as they are recites Borei pri ha'adamah.