Goodbye, Chametz!
sure, but the custom was never Jews, allowed to operate only cer-
accepted in their communities," tain types of businesses, were sell-
says the rabbi.
ers of alcoholic beverages, says
Not only are we prohibited from Rabbi Jacobovitz. "For a Jew to
eating chametz during Passover, lose that [business] really meant
Jews are supposed to thoroughly a death sentence to the family be-
rid their homes of it. For some, the cause there was no other way to
process has expanded to include make a living.
cleaning out every room in the
"So they devised a sale of the
house as a sort of spring cleaning. chametz, which is a perfect and
LYNNE MEREDITH COHN STAFF WRITER
It can prove costly or burden- legitimate sale; an agreement is
yen many non-Jews know may be close to chametz and thus some for some families to burn signed between the Jew and the
that Jews don't eat bread on serve as temptation, says the rab- perfectly usable chametz. Since non-Jew, and the Jew agrees to
Passover. But the reasons bi.
the Torah merely prohibits a Jew's sell his entire chametz to the non-
behind what has become a
Those products include rice and "ownership" of chametz during Pe- Jew. The non-Jew gives a deposit
massive spring cleaning effort to legumes for Ashkenazic Jews, and sach, it is permissible to symbol- on the agreed-upon purchase price
rid homes and offices of chametz, they are forbidden by custom but ically sell the chametz to a with the understanding" that it
or leavened foods, are less well not law, he says. "Things that are non-Jew and keep it in the house, now belongs entirely to the non-
known. In fact, they date back to similar to the five grains that can locked up, says Rabbi Avraham Jew."
Jewish text and European cus- be used in cereals, in breads, Jacobovitz, of Ma _ chon L'Torah.
The arrangement is that the
toms.
The transfer of ownership,
shouldn't be used on Pesach —
The halachic basis for not eat- corn, corn syrup.
known as mekhirat chametz, is ac-
ing chametz can be found in
"There's a question as to complished by appointing an
Parasha Bo in the Bible (Exodus whether derivatives of legumes agent to handle the sale. It is a
10:1-13:16), says Rabbi Chaim are the same as legumes, but valid and legal transfer of owner-
Bergstein, of Bais Chabad of mainly people hold the strict per- ship. If the ownership of the
Farmington Hills.
spective that corn syrup is pro- chametz is not transferred before
Chametz is specifically defined hibited because it's a derivative ." the holiday, the use of this non-Jew will come up with the
as five grains — wheat, rye, spelt,
Peanuts are "borderline," says chametz is prohibited after the rest of the money after Pesach,
barley and oats — "the five grains Rabbi Bergstein. Technically, they holiday as well (chametz sheavar says Rabbi Jacobovitz. If he does
which are said to be the basic sta- are not prohibited by law or by alav haPesach).
not, the Jew can repurchase his
ples of Eretz Yisroel," says Rabbi custom, but it has become prac-
Selling chametz is a custom chametz.
Bergstein. Specifically, the for- tice to avoid them due to their sim- that has become more popular in
If you keep sold chametz, "you
bidden five are said to sour, or rise, ilarity to legumes, he says.
the last few hundred years, says have to designate a place for it,
and thus are prohibited by the
Jews of Sephardic descent eat Rabbi Jacobovitz. "The mitzvah is where it must be locked up or
Torah in their risen form, he notes. beans and rice during Passover. to destroy the chametz we have sealed in a way that it reminds
But that's not all. The list of "They never accepted the strin- before Pesach."
you not to touch it on Pesach and
foods forbidden during Pesach has gency, quite possibly [because]
The sale of chametz to a gentile makes it a formal and official do-
grown to include other items that their diets are different. I'm not started in Europe because many main of the non-Jew for the du-
Halachah and custom provide the reasons for not
consuming, and even getting rid of, leavened
products during Pesach.
E
Ownership
prohibited.
ration of Pesach," says Rabbi Ja-
cobovitz.
Families often follow the tradi-
tion of bedikat chametz, by which
bread crumbs are placed conspic-
uously in rooms where food is or-
dinarily eaten. Using a candle for
illumination, a "search" is made
to find the remnants of chametz,
which are then collected by using
a feather as a whisk.
And it's not all in the digestion.
"There's a spiritual side to
chametz, too," says Rabbi Berg-
stein.
"Chametz is said to reflect the
arrogant, selfish side of a person.
Just as the dough expands, so also
a person's evil side is bloated with
its own self-importance, and this
is antithetical to accepting faith.
When a person is egotistical, he
cannot receive-faith.
"There's a statement that a
child cannot begin to speak, say
`Father, Daddy,' until [he or she]
is able to taste [matzah]. In other
words, the intellectual develop-
ment of the child is not complete
until [he or she is] able to taste
[matzah].
`There is also an association be-
tween recognizing your physical
father vis-a-vis [matzah] and rec-
ognizing your spiritual father.
When a child eats [matzah], the
child is able to recognize his spir-
itual father. Matzah is called
bread of faith by the Zohar."
❑
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