Pesach Preparations…

“30 Days before Pesach we begin learning the laws of Pesach”

A collection of halachic articles from Halacha2Go.com
by Horav Yosef Yeshaya Braun, Mara D’asra and member of the Crown Heights Beis Din

Bedikas Chometz when Traveling for Pesach

If a person is leaving on Erev Pesach to be somewhere else for Pesach and is selling their entire house to a goy for the duration of Pesach, they should make sure to exclude one room, and do Bedikas Chometz there on the night of Bedikas Chometz.

If a person is leaving before the night of Bedikas Chomtez, they should do Bedikas Chometz after they arrive in the place where they are on the night of Bedikas Chometz:

If they are staying at someone else’s house and have their own chometz there, they can do Bedikas Chometz in their assigned room with their own chometz.

If they do not have their own chometz, they are not obligated in the mitzvah of Bedikas Chometz in their room at their host’s home. If the guest wishes to be strict, they can acquire their own chometz, bring it into their room, and then do Bedikas Chometz. If doing so is impossible, some opinions suggest that the guest can make a kinyan with the baal habos (owner of the house), and acquire their room through it; however, in order to be able to make a brachah, it would not be that simple, and consequently it is best that the guest be yotzei the brachah from the baal habos. Another option is for the host to do Bedikas Chometz in the guest’s room as in the rest of the house; even if the guest has their own chometz there, the baal habos can be their shliach (representative). (Halacha2go.com #270)

Bedikas Chometz in the Weeks Before Pesach

It is permissible to begin – although not complete – the mitzvah of bedikas chometz earlier than the night of the 14th of Nisan. Regardless of the date of the search, it must be conducted during night hours and a candle must be used. In such a case, a blessing is not recited, and care must be taken to avoid introducing any chometz into the searched area following the conclusion of the search until after Pesach. One room must be left unsearched, so that a search can be conducted in that room on the night of the fourteenth, with a blessing.

Here is a practical example of such a scenario: One intends to enter his office during Pesach. In that case, the office cannot be included in the sale of chometz. It must be cleaned and searched instead, but he does not need to wait until the night of the fourteenth; he can search it earlier, as explained above. He must be extremely careful not to introduce chometz to the office following his search.

If one cleans a room from chometz with the intention of storing his Pesach items there, it is wise to wait until the night after he has cleaned it to conduct a search for chometz  by either candlelight or the use of an electric flashlight, and not to rely on the search that he will conduct on the night of the fourteenth. He can then introduce his Pesach items. (Halacha2go.com #581)

Kashering Braces or Dentures

People who are wearing braces in order to straighten their teeth or dentures should make sure not to eat hot chometz substances from twenty-four hours before the final time to eat chometz, or at least twenty-four hours before the final time when the braces or dentures are going to be kashered. The proper way to kasher the braces or dentures is the following: If they are removable, then before the final time to burn chometz, they should be cleaned very well to ensure that there is no visible trace, even the minutest trace, of chometz in every tiny crevice. Following the cleaning, boiling water should be poured on it from a kli sheini, a secondary vessel. If one is sure that the braces or dentures will not be damaged, they should pour the boiling water on them directly from the original source, i.e. the kettle or pot. A person who has braces or other dental appliances that are fixed in their mouth should clean them extremely well and ensure that not even the slightest trace of chometz is left. After this, they should drink water at the highest temperature that they can tolerate without burning themselves so that the hot water will kasher the braces or dental appliances. (Halacha2go.com #271) ■