Why are grains prohibited during passover

Question

Why are grains prohibited during passover?

Also, I have Gilbert's Syndrome, so fasting can actually make things worse for me. Am I exempt from fasting, or not?

Answer 1

The prohibition on Passover involves grains but it is not the grain itself that is prohibited. What is forbidden is the eating and ownership of "leavened" grain. That basically means grains that have been moistened and not baked within about 20 minutes. This is a very rudimentary definition.

The Biblical prohibition only extends to the five grains that contain gluten (wheat, barley, rye, oat and spelt). Rabbinically the restriction has been greatly expanded to include many other grains, such as rice and corn (though some Sephardic communities differ when it comes to this). The broadening of the scope of the prohibition was twofold: some grains can be processed into flour that can be used in baking (making mistakes with Biblically prohibited grains a possibility) and grain processing is not a neat business and many grains get mixed together in the grinding and storage process. (One could legitimately ask that in today's hypersensitive world there is little chance of this happening; the response is that according to Jewish law and the way rabbinic decrees were established, changes in reality rarely impact on the enforcement of the decrees.)

Grains processed and baked under rabbinic supervision are permitted to be eaten on Passover.

As for fasting and Gilbert's Syndrome, the disease is carried by about 5% of the population. That's a significant number. It's also not life threatening in any way.

There are a number of fasts in Judaism. The most significant are Yom Kippur and Tisha b'Av, which commemorates the destruction of both Temples in Jerusalem; these fasts, no food or drink, both last 25 hours. There are four other, shorter fasts as well, that last from dawn to nightfall.

The first two have more stringent rules than the others, and Yom Kippur is by far the most stringent, being the only Biblically mandated fast. In order to be exempt from fasting on Yom Kippur one would have to be in a condition where fasting would be life threatening. Even pregnant women and the elderly are expected to fast on these days. For the rabbinic fasts there are different levels of physical illness that would exempt someone from fasting.

Depending on how severe a case of Gilbert's syndrome you have and how the fatigue you would feel from fasting, there might be some exemption from fasting on the minor fasts. What many people do is wake up before dawn to eat breakfast. For a winter time fast that basically means skipping lunch and eating at nightfall; in the USA that would be somewhere in the 5:30-6:00 range. Summertime fasts would be more difficult. Specific exemptions should be discussed with a competent rabbi at the time of the fast.

And none of this applies, of course, unless someone is Jewish or well on the way to become a Jew through conversion. So, you're off the hook for now ;)