Shalom Aleichem. The halacha for today from Shulchan Menachem discusses being careful with food, especially regarding Pesach, where every community has its own chumros and shitos. In Chabad, there are particularly strong and careful practices.
One major example is Matzah Shruyah, known today as Gebrokts. There is great care taken not to have anything Gebrokts. People go through significant effort to keep the matzos covered at all times, and before using a cup or plate they make sure that there are no crumbs present.
Even regarding Mayim Achronim, where normally one would pass their fingers over their lips after washing, this is not done during Pesach. However, this excludes Achron Shel Pesach, where there is specifically a minhag to be mehader, davka to use Shruyah during all meals.
In one place, the Rebbe writes that even young children should be trained to be careful with Shruyah. However, from another place it appears that this is not as absolute as another well-known Chabad hiddur, which is to eat only hand-baked Shmura Matzah. One should not eat machine matzah throughout the entire Yom Tov.
Regarding this, the Rebbe writes that matzah is called Meichla D’Mehemnusa, the food of faith, as brought in the Zohar. Because of this, it is specifically connected to handmade Shmura matzah, and therefore even young children should partake only in handmade Shmura matzah, as per the established custom.
Another practice mentioned is regarding sugar on Pesach. The Rebbe brings that his father-in-law did not use sugar at all. While this is not commonly practiced by everyone, some are careful to cook sugar before Pesach so that any possible concerns would be nullified beforehand. However, here it is noted that the Previous Rebbe avoided sugar entirely.
There is also discussion regarding kitniyos. In Ashkenaz communities, we are careful not to eat legumes. The Rebbe once addressed a situation in a telegram to refugees who had fled Russia and were in France. He wrote that they could use Natola oil, which is made from cottonseed.
Cottonseed oil is debated: some hold it is not included in kitniyos since it is not eaten directly but only used for extracting oil. Others disagree. Additionally, there are opinions that oils, being a derivative product, may have a different status. Despite the general stringency, in that specific situation the Rebbe permitted its use, likely due to the difficult circumstances.
Today, when many reliable options are available, such as olive oil with proper hechsherim, the common practice is to follow established community standards. Each person should follow their minhag, and the main thing is that the matzah should bring both Meichla D’Mehemnusa and Meichla D’Asvasa—faith and healing—to all of us.
Summary
Chabad Pesach customs include careful avoidance of Gebrokts and a strong emphasis on handmade Shmura matzah. Other practices, such as sugar and oils, vary by circumstance. The central theme is that matzah brings faith and healing, and each person should follow their minhag properly.