PESACH, disowning Chametz

9th of Nisan, 5770

As we’ve explained, there are two Biblical prohibitions (Lo-Yeare/Lo Ymatze) which proscribe us from “owning” Chametz during Pesach and one positive commandment to get -legally - rid of it. For practical reasons, our rabbis instructed to actually remove all Chametz from our properties, but we still perform one act by which we cover these 3 commandments at once.

Monday March 29th at night, after Bedikat Chametz, and in the following morning we do the Bitul Chametz: an oral declaration by which we state that if, unknown to us, any Chametz is still within our properties we renounce to its possession.

In this declaration we use the analogy Chametz/dust of the ground. Let me explain: If I have flowers in my property, I do care that no one will take them without my permission. The flowers are not ownerless. They are “mine”. If one day I don’t care anymore about those flowers, I might say: anyone can take these flowers. Halakhically the flowers are then HEFKER, “ownerless”. I’ve renounced to my possession.

There are some elements that by their nature are considered Hefker, we don’t claim possession of them, even if they are within my property. For example, “dust of the ground”, anyone can take some...

When in the Bitul we renounce to our possession of Chametz we say: “I declare any unseen Chametz that might have remained in my property to be owner-less (we should say "Hefker") like the dust of the ground”.

By saying the Bitul we perform one Positive Biblical commandment and we avoid two Biblical prohibitions in one single act!

For more information about Bedika, Bitul, Selling the Chametz, Pesach out of town, etc, see:
https://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=S1VEa3NWT01kMnMwTVE9PQ

For all general Pesach information and food lists and forms , see: http://www.mashadi.info/pesach5770