Parshas Vayikrah 5786
- Torah Tavlin
- Mar 20
- 2 min read
Relevant Psakim and Halachos of Chag HaPesach (2)
Understanding the Sale of Chometz. The obligation not to own chometz on Pesach and minimizing the chance of eating chometz, can be done by its removal and nullification. Yet, it has become customary to also sell chometz to a gentile and lease the location of the chometz to him (1). The mechanics of this is to appoint a Rav [and the Rabbanim working with in community sales] as a messenger to do the sale and leasing for him. Some people mistakenly think that they are selling their chometz to the Rav who resells it to the gentile. The reason for this mistake is that the the Rav makes a “Suddar Transaction,” asking them to pick up a yarmulka, which they think is a way to buy the chometz. In truth, there is no such transaction taking place. Appointing a Rav to sell and lease is accomplished by the signing of the Harsha’ah [document of appointing]. The act of lifting the yarmulka is just a custom to show sincerity in what the document of appointment says. This custom is mentioned in Shulchan Aruch (2).
Not in Person. If one cannot meet a Rav in person, he can send a completed and signed form to the Rav. Some shuls email a Harsha’ah and its members fill it in and send it back for printing. That is also valid. If that cannot be done, one can call a Rav and appoint him verbally. The Rav would fill in the Harsha’ah with the proper terms, indicating he has been appointed by that person.
Burning Chometz After the Sale. The RMA (3) writes that one should burn the chometz that belongs to him on Erev Pesach. It is hard to time the sale to make it before every person has already burned his chometz, and if the sale is first, he is not burning his chometz. To solve this problem many Rabbanim state verbally to the gentile that the chometz set aside to burn is not included in the sale. Of course this makes it absolutely imperative that each person ensures that his chometz is indeed burned properly.
Different Time Zones. If one is traveling and will be in a different time zone for Pesach, he should tell the Rav. Even if he is going to be in the same time zone, but probably in a place where Yom Tov starts quite a bit earlier or later, he should inform the Rav of his plans. This is because the Rav might need to include him into a sale made the day before, and/or exclude him from the immediate repurchase right after Yom Tov.
(1) מבואר בשו"ע או"ח תמ"ח (2) חו"מ קפב:א (3) רמ"א תלד:ב