Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Food made from leavened grain flour. The Torah states that Jews are not permitted to eat or drink it during the festival of Pesach (Passover), nor own it or even be seen with it, but must remove it from their houses and land at the beginning of the festival.
  • noun Arrogance, pride, artifice (this usage is based on a disputed translation of the Hebrew source word)

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Transliteration of Ancient Hebrew חמץ (leavened bread, leaven, ferment, corruption, extortion)

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word chametz.

Examples

  • Jews are forbidden to have any chametz, which is literally any kind of grain mixed with leaven and allowed to swell up.

    Street Seders: Sacred Protest 2008

  • The candle with which you look for the chametz is the awareness of the heart that you are shining on all the places in yourself, all parts of yourself.

    Tikkun Magazine - Current Thinking Rabbi Michael Lerner 2010

  • These foods are called "chametz" and it's the prohibition against owning even a crumb of the stuff during Passover that creates the greatest levels of anxiety.

    BrothersJudd Blog 2010

  • These foods are called "chametz" and it's the prohibition against owning even a crumb of the stuff during Passover that creates the greatest levels of anxiety.

    BrothersJudd Blog 2010

  • In this case chametz is all that emotional baggage we have lugged, at one point or another.

    Joel Dovev: The 10 Plagues Of Divorce Joel Dovev 2011

  • According to Jewish law, nothing made with chametz (any of a number of proscribed cereals and grains, including corn) during passover may be consumed — so in order not to lose sales from observant Jews during that eight day period, a small number of Coca-Cola bottlers make a limited batch of the original Coke formulation, using refined sugar.

    27 « March « 2009 « Off The Broiler 2009

  • It's customary to rid your house of all chametz--non-Kosher for Passover items.

    Joel Dovev: The 10 Plagues Of Divorce Joel Dovev 2011

  • According to Jewish law, nothing made with chametz (any of a number of proscribed cereals and grains, including corn) during passover may be consumed — so in order not to lose sales from observant Jews during that eight day period, a small number of Coca-Cola bottlers make a limited batch of the original Coke formulation, using refined sugar.

    Kosher for Passover Coke: It’s the Real Thing Baby 2009

  • In this case chametz is all that emotional baggage we have lugged, at one point or another.

    Joel Dovev: The 10 Plagues Of Divorce Joel Dovev 2011

  • It's customary to rid your house of all chametz--non-Kosher for Passover items.

    Joel Dovev: The 10 Plagues Of Divorce Joel Dovev 2011

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.