Chametz: Encyclopedia - Chametz

Chametz

Chametz (חמץ) is the Hebrew term for "leavened bread". The word is used generally in regard to the Jewish holiday of Passover. Jewish law prohibits one from owning, eating or benefiting from any chametz during Passover.

According to halakha, chametz is defined as any grain of wheat, barley, rye, oats or spelt which has come into contact with water after having been milled, and subsequently left to ferment. The rabbis have defined the time needed for the grain or flour to ferment as 18 minutes. Therefore, matzo, which is the opposite of chametz, has to be placed in the oven within 18 minutes of the flour coming into contact with water. Time during which the dough is being worked on (eg. kneaded) does not count as part of these 18 minutes.

It is forbidden for a Jew to own chametz over Passover, and, should chametz be in his possession over the festival, he is forbidden benefit even after the festival. The punishment for eating chametz on Passover is Karet (spiritual excision).

See also

• Passover
• Kitniyot

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Chametz", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki