D7
We are not to eat chametz from Passover through the seventh day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Category: Days & Seasons
Type: Negative
Form: Explicit
Source dataset: Old Testament
Uniqueness: Not unique
Classical commandment: Yes
New Covenant Literal Application
Applies to Person Categories: Not specified
Literal Application: Not specified
More explanation about New Covenant Literal Application
The New Covenant Literal Application Code (NCLA) is an interpretive guide used by the authors to indicate which person categories a mitzvah applies to, and at what level of literal compliance.
It combines person categories such as Jewish, K'rov Yisrael, and Gentile, together with male/female distinctions and an application level such as mandated, recommended, optional, or prohibited.
This code reflects the authors' interpretive opinion and is provided for prayerful consideration. On this page, the technical code is summarized into plain language to help new readers understand it more easily.
Bible references
Key NT Scriptures
- 1 Corinthians 5:6-8
- Galatians 5:7-9
- John 2:23
- John 6:4
- John 11:55
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Luke 22:7-13
- Mark 8:15-17
- Mark 14:12-16
- Matthew 26:17-19
Key OT Scriptures
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Deuteronomy 16:2-3
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Exodus 12:19-20
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Exodus 12:33-34
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Exodus 12:42-49
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Exodus 13:3
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Commentary
Rabbi Michael Rudolph
Chametz is any food that contains leaven, the quintessential one being bread leavened with yeast. This Mitzvah states that we must not eat chametz , from Passover through the seventh day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Each of the supporting Scriptures above states it a little differently. Exodus 13:3 instructs abstention from chametz , Exodus 12:19-20 prohibits eating food that contains chametz , and Deuteronomy 16:2-3 prohibits eating chametz along with the sacrificed Passover lamb, all of which amount to the same thing which is to not eat chametz during the seven days of Unleavened Bread. The particulars of what should be considered leaven and chametz are controversial among Jewry. Sephardic and Ashkenazic communities follow different rules on the subject, and Messianic Jewish communities are equally diverse. Is leaven anything that can cause food to rise, or must there be fermentation in order for it to qualify? What grains must be removed from the house because they are subject to spontaneous fermentation during storage? Rice? Barley? Beans? Discussions of such particulars are found in the Talmudic literature, but not in any of the classical mitzvah codifications. I do not think it would be judicious for me to express my opinion of these particulars here. The general idea in the Scriptures is that the Israelites' bread that would otherwise have fermented with yeast did not have time to rise. Therefore, a commonly held view that our not keeping casually-stored grains that would have had time to ferment and rise is what Scripture intends. An alternative view discounts the effect of airborne yeast and calls for discarding only those items that contain added leaven. The commercially prepared foods found in today's homes pose a special problem of identification in that some contain leaven where you would not expect it. Soups, for example, often contain yeast. My personal practice is to read all of the labels on packaged and canned foods and discard those that contain the words "leaven" or "yeast". This Mitzvah is mandated for Jews and K'rov Yisrael Gentiles, but not for Gentiles generally. Exodus 12:19-20 makes this clear in that most Gentiles were not part of the community of Israel in the first place, so their being cut off from it for eating chametz is meaningless.
Classical commentators
The classical commentators' mitzvot and this Mitzvah are in agreement except for terminology. They use the word " Pesach " as inclusive of both Passover and the 7 days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, whereas my use of the word refers only to the evening period from Nisan 14 to 15 when God "passed over" the homes of those Israelite families that applied the blood of the sacrificed lamb to their doorposts. Maimonides, Meir, and HaChinuch agree that chametz is not to be eaten after the middle of the 14 th day of Nisan because the Passover lamb was slaughtered at dusk.
Copyright © Michael Rudolph and Daniel C. Juster, The Law of Messiah, Torah from a New Covenant Perspective, Volume 1 & 2
Classical sources
Maimonides
Maimonides (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, 12th century) organized all 613 Torah commandments into a structured list. These linked items show where this Law of Messiah commandment overlaps with that classical framework.
Meir of Rothenburg
Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg (13th century, Germany) was a leading Talmudic authority. These reference numbers link this commandment to his halachic rulings.
MN5, MN4, MN104
Source and License
Based on The Law of Messiah - Torah from a New Covenant Perspective by Michael Rudolph and Daniel C. Juster.
License: CC BY-ND 4.0 (Attribution required, NoDerivatives). CC BY-ND 4.0
Disclaimer: the original content is authored by Rabbi Michael Rudolph and Rabbi Daniel Juster; additional notes or implementation details on this website are not part of their original work and do not represent their views.
Record source: The Law of Messiah - Torah from a New Covenant Perspective - Volume 1 & 2
Copyright note: Copyright © Michael Rudolph and Daniel C. Juster, The Law of Messiah, Torah from a New Covenant Perspective, Volume 1 & 2