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Before Pesach we have a flurry of rituals aimed at ridding our homes of Chametz. One ritual layers over the next creating a labyrinth of overlapping traditions that leaves one dizzy. The following article is intended to make sense of the seeming chaos.

The Torah prohibits not only eating but also harbouring Chametz in our home during Pesach. We are also forbidden to own Chametz in other people’s homes. In theory we could provide for this prohibition by abandoning ownership of our Chametz and declaring it null and void.

However, our sages were rightly concerned on two counts. Firstly there is no way to gauge the sincerity of an annulment because it depends directly on intention and affairs of the heart cannot be objectively assessed. Secondly they worried that if the now owner-less Chametz remains in the house, we might encounter a bagel or Danish in the midst of Pesach and consume it out of habit. Non kosher foods may remain in a Jewish home since Jews never eat it and there is no concern that one might forget, but Chametz is different because it is kosher all year long and one might easily forget it is Pesach and eat it.

Our sages therefore ruled that annulment and abandonment is insufficient and that all Chametz must be removed from the home. The only Chametz that may be in a Jewish home is one that belongs to a non Jew. And even in that case it is necessary to form a forty inch barrier to prevent access to the Chametz during the course of Pesach. This condition can be met by placing the Chametz in a designated room or cupboard and sealing the door.

All other Chametz must be removed, which is why our first effort before Pesach is to clean our home of Chametz. Every nook and cranny is inspected and even crumbs are discarded.

This business of removing all crumbs also requires explanation. The Torah prohibition extends only to Chametz the volume of an olive; however, our sages extended the prohibition to include all Chametz, even the most miniscule crumb. The primary reason for this extension is the concern that we are likely to err in our assessment and gauge a piece larger than the minimum to be smaller. For this reason we are careful to remove all edible crumbs.

It is true that old and hardened crumbs that are no longer edible (and in some cases even fresh crumbs that are edible) are no longer included in this injunction, however, the tradition has always been to scrub every surface irrespective of the condition of the Chametz.

This is why we search for Chametz with candle, feather and wooden spoon on the night before Pesach. Our sages declared that the night time is best suited for Chametz searching because the light of the candle is best utilized in the dark. Before searching for Chametz we chant the blessing for burning Chametz. We do not chant a blessing for cleaning the house or for searching it because those acts are not complete until the Chametz is actually burned. One should preferably refrain from talking until one has completed the entire search. However, if one has interrupted the search the blessing need not be repeated
unless the interruption occurred between the blessing and the beginning of the search.

All Chametz found during the course of this search is tied up and placed in a secure environment. After the Chametz has been secured we chant the formula for annulment and abandonment. Though we do not rely on this annulment and go to great lengths to actually find the Chametz and burn it as explained above, we are concerned that we might not have found all the Chametz in the house. In case a significant piece of Chametz has been overlooked it is necessary to annul it now, before the holiday actually begins. Of course if such Chametz is in fact found during Passover it must be burned. (If Chametz is found during Chag it must be covered until Chol Hamoed and burned immediately after Havdalah.)

The next morning we kindle a fire and burn the Chametz. We do not chant a blessing to burn the Chametz because we already chanted this blessing when we began the effort the night before at the beginning of the search. After the Chametz is burned we recite the formula of annulment and abandonment a second time. The reason for the second recitation is that the annulment of
the night before did not cover Chamtz that was deliberately left to eat at breakfast or the Chametz we intended to burn. We are concerned that some Chametz from that which was left over to eat or burn slipped away and is tucked away somewhere in the house. Since that piece was not covered by the annulment the night before we annul our Chametz again.

Still we recite the annulment twice and don’t rely on the second annulment alone because this annulment is recited after the Chametz is burned (otherwise the Chametz we burn would not belong to us and we would lose out on a mitzvah) and since the deadline for this burning extends until midday we are concerned that one might burn the Chametz just before midday and run out of time to annul the Chametz. This is because, as we will soon learn, Chametz can no longer be annulled or abandoned after midday.

In addition we sell all Chametz that we don’t want to discard or give away. As mentioned earlier, it is permissible to have Chametz in the house that does not belong to us so long as we erect some form of barrier between ourselves and the Chametz. Chametz that we sell to a non Jew for Pesach must be placed behind one such barrier. For example it can be placed in a cupboard or room with the door sealed shut. Those who will not be home or in the office all Pesach long may sell the entire building without bothering to gather up the Chametz in one particular place. (They must however consult a competent rabbi to determine how to fulfill the Mitzvah of searching for Chametz.)

The sale of Chametz is a legitimate form of sale. The non Jew is offered the Chametz of the entire community at a fixed price. He makes a nominal down payment and is given eight days (the duration of the holiday) to come up with the balance. If he comes up with the balance the Chametz will truly and really belong to him. If he does not come up with the balance the Chametz returns to the seller. They key to this sale is understanding that the Chametz belongs to the non Jew for the duration of Pesach and that the option of completing the sale belongs to him alone; we cannot stop it. Should the non Jew meet his deadline the Chametz will remain in his possession. If he fails to meet his deadline the Chametz will return to us.

Since the dynamics of this sale are complicated a competent Rabbi is entrusted with making the sale. The Chametz is not sold to the rabbi. The rabbi is appointed agent to sell the Chametz on behalf of its owner. We utilize many forms of transaction to effect this appointment. We complete a certificate of sale that identifies the location of the Chametz and authorizes the Rabbi to sell it on the owner’s behalf. If possible we also perform of a transaction of exchange whereby the owner takes possession of an item that belongs to the rabbi and in exchange grants the rabbi authority to represent him in the sale. Thirdly, the owner gives the rabbi a fee (of the owner’s choosing) to hire the rabbi to perform the sale.

This transaction must take place before midday of Erev Pesach. After this time the Chametz is no longer ours to sell; it is only ours with which to transgress. If one discovers Chametz in the morning of Erev Pesach and it is too late to add it to the sale, one can simply throw it into a public trash can. However, after midday on Erev Pesach such discarding does not suffice and it becomes necessary to burn it.

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Teaching and Giving

Did you know that Jews knew and studied the Torah well before G-d gave it at Sinai? The Torah was taught to Adam, who taught it to Seth who passed it to his children till it reached Abraham, who taught it to the Jews. (1) This begs the obvious question, what did G-d give us at Sinai that we did not already have?

Before Sinai, G-d taught us the Torah, at Sinai He gave it to us. Abraham studied the Torah; we own it. It was G-d’s precious gem, His own thought pattern and mindset, but he transferred it to us. Absurd as it sounds, it is true. At Sinai we moved into G-d’s space. Not as renters, but as owners.

This ownership is expressed in concrete terms through Halacha. Before Sinai questions of Torah law were determined in heaven and Torah scholars simply accepted it. At Sinai G-d transferred ownership to us; now Torah law is formulated by Torah scholars here on earth. When the High Jewish courts vote on a matter of Jewish law, G-d accepts and ratifies the outcome. (2)

In The World

The Torah is not an abstract document studied by wizened scholars in ivory towers; it is a manifesto with real world applications. The real world applications of our ownership are startling.

The Hebrew word for permissible is Mutar, which means literally untied. The Hebrew word for forbidden is Asur, which means tied down. The forbidden item is tied down to unholy energies and can never be released from spiritual defilement. Pork for example is fastened to unholy energies; every time Jews eat pork, we nourish impure energies within us. Kosher meat on the other hand is Mutar, not bound to impurity. When it is consumed for holy purpose it enhances the holiness within us. (3)

On Passover

Let us consider leavened bread on Passover. Kosher leavened bread is permitted all year long; it is not tied down to unclean spiritual forces. On Passover, however, the bread transfers the channel through which it receives its vitality and sustenance and thus becomes forbidden. That which was permitted all year is suddenly tied down to unholy forces and is permeated with unclean energies.

Now consider this. In days gone by (when the Sanhedrin, the high Jewish court, was still functional) the calendar was governed by the sages, who heard testimony and adjusted the calendar in tandem with their calendrical calculations. Today the Sanhedrin is no longer in existence and the calendar follows a set formula, established in the fifth century. But suppose the Sanhedrin were still functional, every time the Sanhedrin would declare a leap year the date for Passover would change. On the day when leavened food was meant to be forbidden it would de-facto become permitted. On the day when it would otherwise have been permitted it would actually be forbidden.

This means that human beings can affect the spiritual composition of a given object. The leavened bread that was meant to channel holy energies on the day before Passover ipso-facto becomes permeated with impure energies on the authority of human beings. This is an amazing thought.

The reverse is equally amazing. Bread that would otherwise have been absolutely forbidden and inaccessible to holiness on the day that would have been Passover suddenly becomes kosher to eat when the Sanhedrin adjusts the calendar.

A Paradox

This is a classic case of putting the cart before the horse. G-d created the bread and is in charge of formulating its spiritual composition. Yet, when we choose to move the calendar, the composition is automatically adjusted. G-d lets us make His decisions. (4)

In the classical understanding of G-d and humanity this would be an irresolvable paradox, however, viewing it from G-d’s point of view yields a different understanding.

From our standpoint, G-d is the creator and we are the created. From G-d’s standpoint, everything is G-d. G-d is omnipresent; He fills all space and nothing exists outside of Him. Though we appear to be completely separate from Him, in truth, we are part of Him. G-d sees Himself in each of us and from this standpoint there is no difference if His law is delivered directly through Him as a revelation at Sinai or through the formulation of a Talmudic sage.

Of course it is necessary that we follow the formula outlined in the Torah and vote on this matter in the context of a Sanhedrin. It is also crucial that the members of Sanhedrin be bona-fide Torah scholars whose deliberates flow from authentic Torah traditions.

But once these criteria are met, G-d speaks through the human. It is G-d’s will that we abide by the ruling of the Sanhedrin no matter which way they rule. No matter which decision they make, their rule is endorsed by G-d and becomes His will.

The Absolute Essence

At Sinai G-d invested the Torah with his essence. The first words of the Ten Commandments were Anochi Hashem, I am G-d. Anochi, is an acronym for Ana Nafshi Ketavit Yehavit, I have invested the scripture with myself. (5) The Midrash taught that when we study the Torah we acquire G-d Himself. (6) Indeed, when we encounter the absolute essence of G-d we have encountered the absolute essence of all. At this level it is all one. (7)

Footnotes

1. Babylonian Talmud, 59b.
2. Babylonian Talmud, Yuma 28b.
3. Tanya ch. 8.
4. The Ten Commandments are introduced with the words and G-d spoke to Moses, saying. Ordinarily when the word, saying, is used it means that G-d instructed Moses to repeat the commandment to the people, but in this case G-d spoke directly to the people. What might G-d have meant with the word, saying? (Rashi offers his own answer, but according to Chassidus) The answer is that G-d wanted Jews to know that they could and should say the words of Torah after they receive it from G-d. Every time we study Torah we stimulate Divine speech for G-d says the words of Torah right along with us. Kind David wrote (Psalms 119: 172), may my tongue repeat your words. Every time our tongue speaks Torah G-d says the words that we are about to say, just before we say them thereby causing us to repeat them after Him. (Tana Dbei Eliyahu Rabbah ch. 18) This means that when we say Kosher G-d quickly whispers the word Kosher effectively making us echo the Kosher he meant for us to say. In this way, the ruling of the Sanhedrin becomes the ruling of G-d.
5. Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 105a.
6. Shemos Rabbah 33: 1.
7. This essay is based on Sefer Mamarim Melukat v.4 p. 273.