PESACH: Getting your kitchen ready for Pesach

Today is Rosh Chodesh Nisan (1st day of Nisan), 5771

During Pesach, it is forbidden to use the same cooking utensils or tableware that was used year-round for Chametz. It is customary and most recommendable to have a separate set of cookware and tableware for Pesach. If this is not possible, one can still use some of the year round utensils after a process called: Hagala, which is a form of sterilization that serves to eliminate any traces of Chametz absorbed in the utensil's walls.

All different types of Hagala follow one single principle: Kebol'o Kakh Polto, which means that the expulsion of any substance of Chametz absorbed in the walls of a utensil, will occur in the same way that those particles were absorbed there in the first place. The process of Hagala is different for each type of utensil, depending on the material from which it is made, and the way we use it.

Some examples of Hagala

Glass: According to the Sephardic Minhag, any clear-glass utensils like cups or even plates used throughout the year for Chametz should be thoroughly washed and they can then be used for Pesach without any further Hagala.

Metal: All tableware like forks, spoons or knives should be thoroughly cleaned and then immersed in a pot of boiling water. Then, they are washed with cold water and can be used for Pesach.

Porcelain: Ceramic, pottery or porcelain china and tableware that are used throughout the year for Chametz are not suitable for Pesach. In other words Hagala does not sterilize them; therefore they cannot be used for Pesach. (There are some exceptional cases in which they might be used. Ask a Rabbi for details).

Sink and countertops: The sink, even when made of porcelain, should be cleaned by pouring on it boiling water. Countertops and tables, if possible, it should be poured on them boiling water. If that is not possible they should be covered to use them for Pesach. For a regular table, after it is cleaned, just cover it with a new or a Pesach tablecloth.

Awesome Pesach video!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIxToZmJwdI

Rabbi Yosef Bitton. YMJC | 130 Steamboat Rd. | Great Neck | NY | 11024