Q&A

I bought and planted an apricot tree in my garden, which later on I found out was an almond tree with an apricot branch grafted onto it. Does this constitute kila’im? If so, what should I do with the tree?

Is it permissible to plant a tree from a lemon tree scion grafted onto a hushhash (sour orange) rootstock? Is there a comprehensive list of all the permissible grafting combinations? Are there any nurseries that follow halacha?

If I bought sapling for my garden at home, when I bought them from a person who I don’t know (he looks like he is religious; he was wearing a kipa), is there a problem for me to plant them in my garden? Please note that there are five different trees: 1) lemon, 2) orange, 3) tangerine, 4) pomelo, 5) guava.

I am Ashkenazi and avoid eating kitniyot on Pesach. I would like to find out if the prohibition against eating legumes applies to canola oil. My understanding is that this oil is produced from rapeseed (liftit). Also: if canola oil is permitted, then would it also be permitted to eat chocolate when it says on the package "includes rapeseed" (מכיל לפתית)?

How is it possible to obtain amaranth and quinoa for Pesach, since they don't have kosher-for-Pesach certification? It is possible to buy them without a special Pesach certification, check them carefully, and eat them on Pesach?

After baking matzot mitzvah, we put all the matzot together and we took challah with a blessing. Just then, accidentally, the challah got mixed up with all of the questionable matzot given to the children following the matzah baking. When I noticed what had happened, I took the matzot from the children. Most probably the challah was not eaten, but my heart is very heavy about the whole thing. How do I go about rectifying the matter?

I wanted to know—can garden cress (rashad) be used as maror? Garden cress is an herb, very similar to mustard, and its stems are very sharp-tasting. It is, of course, edible. It is also easier to digest despite its spiciness, as opposed to sharpness like that of sechug, since it passes more quickly (similar to wasabi, Japanese horseradish, for those who are familiar).

Is it possible to fulfill the mitzva of eating maror on lettuce grown hydroponically?

Is wheat conditioned (where the kernels are exposed to moisture before being milled) in modern milling? There is a responsum by Rabbi Epstien in Chevel Nachalato about wheat conditioning (letita). I recently heard that this is not done today (including to a taped conversation with a professional on the matter; yet I don't know who the speaker is and what the context of the discussion). My question is if conditioning is still performed in the wheat milling process, or has technology changed and with it the halacha with regarding to chametz. Have the rabbis recently reinvestigated the matter? Thank you!

I have celiac. In recent years, gluten-free matzah has now been made available. I'm somewhat confused: leavening is caused by the gluten, so how can I observe the mitzvah of eating matzah on Seder night by eating matzah that can't become leavened?