[Avodah] Particles of flour cannot become Chamets

[Micha Berger]

On Wed, Apr 18, 2012 at 03:08:09PM -0400, hankman wrote:
:> When I saw the ST, I *assumed* he was talking chemistry, not shiurim. One
:> wet grain of wheat can't leaven (neither chimutz nor even sirchah). Even
:> if ambient yeast turn some of the carbs in the wheat into CO2 and alcohol,
:> there isn't the ability to make a bubble of dought around the CO2.
: 
: My understanding of what actually makes something chometz has always
: been quite deficient. I understood that as a practical matter it
: requires one of the 5 grains to come into contact with water for an
: adequate length of time (which could vary with temperature etc), and
: is commonly called rising or leavening. The more direct terminology in
: lashon hakodesh (as RMB mentions above) of chimutz (process) or sirchah
: (result of process?)...

Here is how I understand leshon Chazal.

Chameitz is by definition only with 5 grams and water.

The same physical process with other subtances (wheat and pure undiluted
juice or rice and water) is sirchah. Sirchah might be all fermentation,
including chameitz, or perhaps is defined exclusively as fermentation
that isn't chameitz. I don't know.

:               Loosely, I took chimutz sometimes to mean the rising (or
: synonymously leavening? -- or is leavening a term more related to the
: chemistry?) brought on by the chemical process RMB refers to above...

The biology is fermentation. Leavening is when fermentation causes a
dough to rise.

But notice that chameitz isn't really leavening, it's a certain level
of fermentation that in doughs would be leaven. E.g. beer and ale have
too much water to become dough, but have the din deOraisa of taaroves
chameitz. (See Pesachim 3:1 and the Bartenura.)

:-)BBii!
-Micha

-- 
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