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An Overview of the Laws of Bedikat Hametz
By Rabbi David Ani, Rav of Congregation Bet-El and the Abraham Ohabi program and professional Mohel, Brooklyn
The Prohibition of Owning Hametz
The Torah in Parashat Bo writes: “On the first month, in the evening of the fourteenth day, you shall eat Matzot, until the twenty first of the month in the evening. For seven days, no leaven shall be found in your home”[1]. The Torah states further: “Matzot shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and there shall not be seen with you any Hametz, nor shall any leaven be found in all of your boundaries”.[2]
The Sefer HaHinuch[3] explains the reason for this prohibition is to remind us of the miracles of Yetzi’at Mitzrayim, during which the ensuing rush and commotion there was not even time for our dough to rise and we were left with Matzah. The commentaries add that the rising of leavened bread represents haughtiness. We are thus commanded once a year to examine whether we were haughty in any sort of way, so that we can strive to act with a greater sense of humility.
Cleaning the Home Before the Bedika
In order to properly fulfill the Mitzva of removing all leaven products from our possession according to Halacha, we must first clean our homes and perform a Bedika – a search – to guarantee that we have adequately fulfilled the Torah’s obligation to banish all Hametz from our homes. It is therefore customary to start cleaning our homes, room by room, well before Pessah.
Our Hachamim tell us that just like before Shabbat one is responsible to check their clothing and empty out their pockets in order to avoid carrying on Shabbat, so too, before any holiday one is responsible to prepare properly for that holiday; before Sukkot one builds a Sukka and buys a Lulav and Etrog, and on Pessah, one must properly clean his house and remove all leaven.
Where Must One Check?
Any place that may have Hametz in one’s possession – even if it may have only been brought there once or twice during the year – must be well cleaned and searched for Hametz before Pessah[4], especially if one has small children or any sort of pets that roam around the house and can easily spread Hametz into its nooks and crannies without one realizing it.
People have found Hametz in all sorts of interesting places on Pessah, even places that they would never have imagined there would be any sort of food items at all. It is therefore extremely important that the house should be cleaned and checked thoroughly. This is especially applicable in our days, in which many people have large homes and vacation homes as well as offices, cars and various other possessions. It may seem impossible to check everywhere and one has to be extremely vigilant in order to fulfill this Mitzva properly.
One practical solution is to use strong cleaning agents which would render any food particles in the area that one cleans inedible even for animal consumption. One can also limit the places necessary to search by cleaning and searching in advance. Although the proper time of Bedikat Hametz is on the night of the fourteenth after nightfall, nevertheless, the Poskim[5] say that if one conducts a proper Bedika even a couple of days in advance he has fulfilled his obligation. It is still necessary to leave one or two rooms unsearched in order to be able to perform the Mitzva at the proper time on the night of the fourteenth.
Places that are likely to have Hametz include: bedrooms, closets, hallways, clothing, suitcases, briefcases, cars, offices, refrigerators, ovens and all kitchen cabinets. They must all be cleaned and searched. Floors should be mopped and carpets should be vacuumed and sprayed with some sort of a soap solution, as we mentioned. Many appliances have small cracks and that can fill up with crumbs. These areas may be sprayed with a soap solution that will invalidate the food and do not need to be completely scrubbed out if it is too difficult to clean.
If one has no house or office to search, there is a dispute amongst contemporary Poskim whether one should recite a Beracha over checking his car or pockets.
With regards to books which may have crumbs in them, some [6]Poskim are of the opinion that one should check every page because of the suspicion that there may be some crumbs between the pages, especially if it is a book that is placed on the table with food from time to time. [7]However, it has never been the Sephardic custom to be concerned about this.
Synagogues and offices should also be checked by those who are responsible for them. Many times, in a busy company office or warehouse where there are multiple people from all different faith backgrounds that are constantly going in and out, the owner of the property may inadvertently come into possession of Hametz, as employees may leave Hametz around which would subsequently become property of the office. In such instances, one should have in mind prior to Pessah, that any Hametz that enters into his property should not automatically become via his property (Kinyan Hatzer). Furthermore, if one acquires a building or property on the Hol HaMo’ed days of Pessah, one should have in mind and make a stipulation that they only want to acquire the property and not any Hametz that may be inside it
When to Check?
The proper time to conduct Bedikat Hametz is after nightfall, on the eve of the fourteenth day of Nissan. If one has an extenuating circumstance and needs to start checking earlier, one may start after sunset.[8]
Once it is time to check comes one is not allowed to engage in anything that may distract him from checking properly. This includes not studying, sitting down to a meal, or getting involved in any sort of business that may distract one from the search.
If one missed the proper time to check one still has to check the next morning using sunlight or the room light. [9]
How to Search?
Before we start the search, we recite a special Beracha: בא”י אמ”ה על ביעור חמץ – Al Bi’ur Hametz – thanking G-d for giving us the opportunity to do his commandments and banish all leaven bread from our possession. Once one makes the Beracha, it is preferable not to talk until one has completed the search. One may check multiple locations, and, if necessary, even drive great distances to check other locations on the premise of the original Beracha.
Our rabbis tell us that the search must be done with a candle, not a torch. The Poskim debate whether a flashlight is classified as a candle or a torch[10]. On the one hand, it is extremely dangerous to take candles into our bedrooms and around our homes, yet, if a flashlight does not have the official Halachic status of a candle then, not only would the Mitzva of Bedikat Hametz not be the correct way, the Beracha that is recited might be considered to be a Beracha L’Vatala – a blessing in vain. In order to avoid this issue, it is advisable to use a candle for a few minutes following the Beracha, after which one can then put it out and use a small flashlight for the rest to the search.
It is not necessary to dim or close the lights during the time of the search.
The Ten Pieces
There is an age old custom[11] to have a family member hide ten pieces of bread for the searcher to find. Each piece should be less than one ounce[12] and wrapped in paper so that they will be easy to burn. If some of the pieces are lost and not found in the checking, if they are less than one ounce, one can rely on the nullification alone. If one fulfill this Minhag, he nevertheless fulfills his obligation of Bedikat Hametz
The Pessah Traveler
If one leaves a property thirty or more days before Pessah (i.e. a summer home or midwinter vacation home) one is not required to search for Hametz in that property. Nevertheless, he is still required to sell any Hametz that he may have there to a non-Jew
One who chooses to rent out a part or all his property to a non-Jew as part of the selling of the Hametz, is not required to check that area of the property. One may even enter those rented areas if it is understood that the rental only involves granting the non-Jew the space to acquire and hold the Hametz, but not to prevent the owner from entering that space.
If one is going away for Pessah and sells his entire home to a non-Jew along with the sale of the Hametz, it is important to get to their hotel room during the time of the requirement of Bedikat Hametz in order to have a place in which to fulfill this very important Mitzva of Bedikat Hametz.
There is an age-old discussion whether the Mitzva of removing all leaven bread is a Mitzva upon the individual or whether it stems from the food item itself. The practical application of this discussion would be in the event that one travels to a different time zone. Can he sell his Hametz in his original time zone – where the actual Hametz is located – or does he need to sell it where he – the owner – is located? Most opinions hold that the sale should follow the owner’s locale, however, there are those that are of the opinion that each Hametz should be according to its place. Therefore, after Pessah, when the rabbi buys back all the Hametz from the non-Jew, he must have in mind not to acquire that Hametz whose owner is in a different time zone until after nightfall in the owner’s location.
The Annulment of the Hametz
Despite all of the precautions that we take, it is still possible to “miss a spot” and there may be places in one’s home that still have some leaven bread that had not been found. Therefore, our Sages instituted that in addition to the search, one should make a declaration of annulment after the search, relinquishing any and all rights to any Hametz that may still be in one’s possession
Finally, let us bear in mind the words of the Be’er Heitev[13] who brings in the name of the Arizal that anyone who is careful even from an iota of Hametz on Pessah is guaranteed that they will not sin during the coming year.
May we all have a Hag Kasher V’Sameah.
Rabbi David Ani currently serves as the Rabbi of Cong. Bet-El and the Abraham Ohabi program. He is a professional certified Mohel who travels around the country doing performing Beritot for Jews of all affiliations. For questions or comments or to retain his services he can be reached via email Mohel@makeabris.com
[1] שמות יב, יח-יט
[2] שם יג, ז
[3] מצוה יא, ד”ה משרשי המצוה
[4] שו”ע או”ח סי’ תלג ס”ג
[5] הגרח”פ שיינברג זצ”ל מפי השמועה. ועיין באו”ח סי’ תלג סי”ד. ויש לחלק בין המכבד להבודק. והביא החזו”ע (הגה”ה ז’) מהר”י שפירא שהביא סמך קצת להמקילים שאינן מטריחים לבדוק כראוי שכבר בדקו וניקו הבית, הביאו גם החיד”א במחזיק ברכה שם סק”ו
[6] הגר”א במעשה רב אות קעח, וכן מובא שעשו החזו”א והסטייפלער
[7] בחזו”ע (הערה ב’) הביא שמקילים בפירורים בספרים וסומכים בזה על הביטול “ולא חזינן לרבנן קשישאי המתחסדים עם קונם שיחושו לזה כלל וכל” ופוק חזי מאי עמא דבר. וכ”כ באור לציון (ח”א סי’ לב) להקל, והוסיף שלא ראה רבנים שחששו לזה
[8] עיי’ בחזו”ע (הגה”ה ג’) שבדיעבד מהני גם אם התחיל מזמן שקיעה (הליכ”ע פר’ צו עמ’ ערה)
[9] או”ח סי’ תלה
[10] בחזו”ע כתב (אות ב’) דפנס קטן ונר חשמלי המיטלטל, לא הוי אבוקה ומותר בשעת הצורך כשאין לו נר.
[11] הרמ”א סי’ תלב ס”ב כתב בזה”ל: “ונוהגים להניח פתיתי חמץ במקום שימצאם הבודק כדי שלא יהא ברכתו לבטלה (מהר”י ברי”ן), ומיהו אם לא נתן לא עיכב, דדעת כל אדם עם הברכה לבער אם נמצא (כל בו)”. ע”כ. וע’ בשעה”צ ס”ק יא שלדעת הט”ז עדיף שלא להניח שמא יאבד. וע”ע בחזו”ע (סוף אות ט’ והערה ח’ וט’) שהביא את דברי הראב”ד בספר תמים דעים (סס”י כ”ט) שהוא מנהג נשים בלי שורש, ומביא בשם המור וקציעה סי’ תלב בשם אביו החכם צבי שלעג על זה ושלא אמר האריז”ל דבר זה. ובספר ברית כהונה כתב שהמון העם חושבים שזו כל הבדיקה ולא בודקים כדין. אמנם בשו”ת איש מצליח כתב שמנהג נכון הוא. והסיק הגרע”י בחזו”ע שאעפ”י שאין מנהג זה מעכב, מ”מ נכון לקיימו.
[12] כ”כ בשערי תשובה, הובאו דבריו בחזו”ע, להניח פתיתים פחותים מכזית עטופים בניירות (וצריכים להיות כולם יחד יותר מכזית, דאל”כ לא תיקן כלום להתחייב בבדיקה).
[13] או”ח ריש סי’ תמז