Going away for Pesach
If you are going away for Pesach and will not be at home during
the entire holiday, you can be lenient and not clean for Pesach. You
should sell all of the Chametz (leaven) in the house, including all of the
crumbs -- but not just the crumbs on their own, because that would have no
halachic value. It is possible, however, to sell the food in the cabinets
and closets including the "Chametz dirt." If someone is staying
in your house, you need to clean the rooms which will be used. The
remaining unused rooms must be closed off with tape, and you must sell any
Chametz that is in them.
There is still the question of how to fulfill the Mitzvah of
Bedikat Chametz (the search for leaven). If you arrive at your Pesach
destination by the fourteenth of Nisan, perform the search there. If you
arrive on the morning of the fourteenth, you should clean well and check a
small room, i.e. the entrance way and not sell the Chametz in that room.
You must also perform the search for Chametz, with a blessing, in the rooms in
which you will live during Pesach - if no one else has done so.
Chametz smaller than a "Kezayit" (the volume of an
olive)
Chametz which is less than a "Kezayit" may obviously not
be eaten, but it is not included in the Torah prohibition of "Bal Yeira'eh"
and "Bal Yimatzeh" (Chametz may not be seen or found on Pesach –
Shemot 12:19, 13:7) (Responsa Igrot Moshe, Orach Chaim 1:145). Regarding
the Mishnah Berurah's statement (Sha'ar Ha-Tziun 451:6) that Chametz which can
be seen is included in the prohibition of "Chametz She-Avar Alav
Ha-Pesach" (using Chametz that has spent Pesach in a Jew's possession) --
the fact is that if it was included in the sale of Chametz, there is no problem
(see Mishnah Berurah 142:33 and Chazon Ish, Orach Chaim 117:15). A "Kezayit"
is 27 cubic centimeters - 3 centimeter square or a little over a square inch.
Usually, only rooms in which children are allowed to bring sandwiches or
cookies are likely to contain such big pieces of Chametz. A room in which
people do not walk around with food does not need to be cleaned at all.
Incidentally, you must take care not to hide pieces of Chametz which are larger
than a "Kezayit" before "Bedikat Chametz," in case one of the
pieces should get lost. That way, you do not find them, you will not need
to bother much to hunt for them, and you can rely on the "Bittul Chametz"
(declaring Chametz ownerless) that you do after the search (Responsa Yechaveh
Da’at 5:149).
Bedikat Chametz
Start "Bedikat Chametz" in a place where Chametz was
used, so the blessing will apply to it. Only
search for Chametz in places in which there is a reasonable chance of finding
it. It is nearly impossible for Chametz which is a square inch to be
hidden inside a book! If there is a chance that the book has Chametz in
it, then it must be thoroughly checked. Most books, however, do not need to be
cleaned or checked. Cleaning and checking a sample is sufficient. It is
customary not to place books that have not been checked for Chametz on the
table during Pesach. Everybody knows their kids' habits. Peek, and open
here and there. Regarding crumbs in the corners of the house: 1. They are
not a "Kezayit." 2. They are inedible to a dog. If there
is bread behind a cabinet in an unreachable place, nobody will get to it on
Pesach and it is as if it is buried -- just as you do not have to search under
stones or under the house's foundations, since nobody will take Chametz from
there.
Educating Children
If you want to do a spring cleaning, this is certainly possible,
but not before Pesach – this is not the appropriate time. Pesach vacation
is for taking trips, playing with the kids, being happy, dancing and preparing
stories for the Seder. A woman works hard all year long: "They
enslaved the Jewish women with back-breaking work" (play on Shemot
1:13). If the husband is on vacation too, this may be a good time to
leave him with the kids, and give the wife a vacation! That is what
vacation is for – not for working like a donkey and scraping floors. You
can take trips, enjoy yourself, and arrive at the Seder rested in order to make
a beautiful Seder and inspire the children. If a woman wants to work like
a donkey, and be a kind of slave, she is permitted to do so, but it is not good
educationally. She should be free in order to play with the kids.
We left the slavery of Egypt, and it was not to enter into our own
slavery! We do not have anything against house cleaning, but you should
spread it out over the course of the year – each few months clean another
room. This is not the time for projects of cleaning and arranging.
In any event, when the Seder arrives there will still be disorder and cleaning
that has not been completed.
If a woman is happy with suffering, she is allowed and it
subtracts from the suffering of "Gehinom": Any suffering in this
world is deducted from the suffering of "Gehinom." If someone
desires, this it is legitimate, but not before Pesach. The month of
Nissan is a happy month.
Husband's Help
Question: Does a husband have to help his wife?
Answer: A husband does not have to help his wife nor does a wife
have to help her husband. Rather, the two of them have to clean together
since this is a shared home, and theirs is a shared life as well.
Children's Clothes
There may be cookies in your kids' pockets. Even the crumbs must
be removed, since a child may put his hand into his pocket and then into his
mouth. You only have to check the clothes you will be wearing that
season. It is unnecessary to check any clothes that are put away and will
not be worn now, such as winter clothes.
Question: Is it possible to simply wash them in a washing machine?
Answer: Running the clothes through a washing machine will not
necessarily get rid of all of the crumbs. The clothes must be checked.
Toys
Toys must also be checked. However, you may put some or all
of the toys away, and buy new toys as a present for the holiday! This
serves a double purpose of saving work and making the children happy.
Bathroom Cabinets
These may contain Chametz, such as wheat germ oil and alcohol
derived from wheat. What a waste to clean it. Close and tape the
cabinets and include it in the sale of Chametz.
Couches
You have to check between the pillows. It is an interesting
experience to find lost objects.
Books
There is no need to clean them, just do not put them on the table
on which you eat. The custom is not to check books for the crumbs that
remain in them, but to rely of the nullification (Haggadah Chazon Ovadiah of
Ha-Rav Ovadiah Yosef, p. 21). Clean the books which you will want to read
at the table on Pesach, or clean a few books for Pesach.
Dining Room
You do not have to clean everything, just the place where people
eat, i.e. the chairs and the table.
Chairs: If the chairs are clean, there is no need to clean
them. If the kids throw cereal or other things on them and they do not
look clean, clean them with a wet rag.
Table: There are two options: 1. Kashering with boiling
water. 2. Covering with several layers of plastic and cloth tablecloths.
High Chair
If it is plastic, it may be immersed in a tub with boiling water
and cleaning agents. Clean the cracks with a stiff brush. It is unnecessary to
take the chair apart, because whatever is in the cracks and holes is inedible
to a dog.
Kitchen
This room must be thoroughly cleaned and not one crumb of Chametz
left. A crumb is not nullified even in a thousand times its volume.
Dishwasher
It is preferable not to Kasher a dishwasher. You can do the dishes
by hand as in previous generations. It is also possible to use disposable
dishes.
Question: Is it at all possible to clean a dishwasher?
Answer: It is possible, but it is a lot of work; there are a lot
of rubber parts and connections.
Oven
If you do not have a self-cleaning oven, it is best not to Kasher
it. Seal the oven and buy baked goods or buy a "wonder-pot" which
allows you to bake on a stove.
Stove
Grates: Clean and cover the grates with as much aluminum foil as
possible. Use aluminum foil that is thick enough not to tear, but thin
enough to bend and shape. What a waste of time and effort! The best
thing is to use special Pesach burners.
Burners: There is no need to clean them; they get burned up in the
course of use. Bottom Pan (where everything falls): In general, if some food
falls into it, we do not pick it up, and it is considered "treif;"
nevertheless, put aluminum foil on it.
Knobs: Wipe them clean.
Refrigerator
Clean it, but it does not have to be a lot of work. Of course,
defrost the freezer (if you have an older model which does not defrost
automatically) and clean it. It is best to eat up all Chametz before Pesach,
but if expensive Chametz food products are left over, i.e. frozen foods, they
may be wrapped up well, labeled "Chametz," stored in the back of the
freezer/refrigerator and included in the list of Chametz sold before Pesach.
If you have an old refrigerator with cracks or crevices in the
door which is difficult to clean, do not use its inner shelves, but cover them
with plastic. Similarly, you must clean the door's rubber part well. If it is
old, sometimes it is easier to replace it.
Food Pantry
Do not clean. It is a waste of time. Seal, put sign or
sticker not to use and include it in sale of Chametz.
Cabinets of dishes, utensils, pots and pans
Dishes, shelves, and drawers that will not be used on Pesach may
be sealed, and need not be cleaned. There are those who are strict to
clean even the things which are used for Chametz, but one can be lenient on
account of three reasons, each of which would be enough:
1. We
sell all the crumbs together with the sale of Chametz.
2. The
dishes are clean -- nobody puts a dirty dish away in the cabinet.
3. Even
if there is "Chametz dirt," it is definitely less than a "Kezayit."
By the way, sometimes it is easier to paint than to clean. You can
paint the corner of the kitchen where food flies using a water-based paint and
the gas grates using aluminum paint.
Microwave
It can be Kashered by not using it for twenty-four hours, cleaning
it for five minutes and boiling water in it for half an hour. All food cooked
or baked in it on Pesach should be placed in a covered utensil.
Counters
It is possible to cover them with thick aluminum foil, and then
there is no need to Kasher them at all; just wipe them with a rag. Sometimes it
is complicated to cover, and then one can Kasher it. Where there are holes,
pour floor bleach in them and then pour water from an electric kettle which is
still boiling. It is good for two people to do this: One to pour and the
other to unplug.
Sink
Regarding the kitchen sink, there are a few solutions:
1. Do
not put anything into the sink on Pesach, and wash the dishes in the air.
This, however, is unrealistic.
2.
Put a plastic bin inside. Just make sure there is still a direct flow down the
drain.
3.
Thoroughly clean and Kasher the sink like the counters.
Toaster
It is impossible to clean a toaster, but there is no need. Put it
in the cabinet of sold Chametz.
Mixer
You have to do "Hagalah" (Kashering by dropping into
boiling water) for the bowl and blades. As for the body of the mixer, wrap it
in plastic -- making sure not to block the air holes. The best thing is to buy
a cheap hand-mixer for Pesach.
Kashering dishes
This is a tremendous amount of work. It is preferable to buy new
dishes. True, it is expensive, so buy a few things each year. As for
pots, it is possible to buy cheap aluminum ones which are okay for just seven
days. There are cheap plastic plates as well as cheap cutlery.
Car
You have to clean it. Take out the mats and gather the "Chametz
dirt" – there is no need for a vacuum cleaner -- and clean the
compartments and containers. There is no need to pour water or dismantle the
seats. In general, there is no need to dismantle anything with screws. Any way
you look at it -- if the Chametz is accessible, you can take it out without a
screwdriver, and if it is not accessible, it will not come out on Pesach
either.
Chumrot - Being Strict
If you know that you are being stricter than Halachah requires,
and you choose to be strict, you deserve a blessing. And if you accepted
a stricture on yourself and now you want to stop, the way to do that is to do
"Hatarah" (getting the vow annulled). But if you thought that a
particular act was the actual Halachah, and now you realize it is a stricture,
you do not need a "Hatarah." If you have a strong desire to
clean a lot, you deserve a blessing, especially for Pesach, "whoever is
strict deserves a blessing." You should not, however, force a
stricture on yourself, but accept it with love.
Summary
In light of what is written above, it should take about an hour
for the dining room, two-three hours to Kasher the kitchen, and another hour to
clean the rest of the house. In short, about one day!
All the rest of the cleaning jobs are either strictures or just
made up. When we work hard, we use up our energy and get mad at the kids.
You have to educate the kids -- but not to educate them
to be aggravated: "I told you not to go into this room anymore! Why did
you go in?! Eat on the porch! Eat standing up! Don't touch!" The whole
kitchen looks like it was overturned by vandals; the husband and kids are
trembling in fear in some corner and eating; the mother looks at them like a
drill sergeant; there's anger between husband and wife. This is preparation for
Pesach?! This is educating the kids? This is definitely not setting a
positive example! Our memories of Pesach should not be of a reign of
terror.
If you clean together with the kids, that is great, but it must be
a happy adventure. First of all, you have to clean what you must – taking
half a day – and after that if you want to do other things, you can clean with
happiness and joy. Clean, sing, pour water and "you will clean with
joy from the wellsprings of salvation" (based on Yeshayahu 12:3).
The Rama rules in the Shulchan Aruch: "Every person should
sweep his room before Bedikat Chametz, and check his pockets for Chametz, and
the pockets or cuffs where you sometimes put Chametz also need to be
checked" (Orach Chaim 433:11) The Mishnah Berurah (#46) adds: "It is
the custom to sweep the whole house on thirteenth of Nisan, so that it will be
ready to check immediately after nightfall on the fourteenth." This
custom is enough. Beyond that, "whoever is strict deserves a
blessing" -- as far as Pesach goes, but not as far as the kids go.
It is understood that I am not forcing my opinion on anyone.
I am simply stating my humble opinion with explanations. Whoever accepts
the explanations will listen and whoever does not accept them will not. I
heard most of the practical suggestions about how to shorten the cleaning from
women themselves. It is possible that a woman has a strong desire not to
shorten this work, and just the opposite, she finds joy in it. That is
okay. Even she will benefit from all of the above, because she will not
feel pressured that she might violate the Halachah, but rather she will clean
with satisfaction and tranquility.
The essential point is the distinction between Chametz, which there
is an obligation to clean with all the severity of the Halachah, and dirt –
which should obviously be removed, but not necessarily before Pesach. You
can spread out the work of removing dirt over the whole year, so that we and
our families do not suffer before Pesach. I am not advocating poor
housekeeping. We should stand before Chametz with awe and fear, but not
all dirt is Chametz. Do not treat Chametz cavalierly, G-d forbid, but at
the same time, not everything that is accepted as Pesach cleaning is directed
at Chametz.
Have a kosher and happy Pesach. We should ensure that we
have a HAPPY Pesach and a KOSHER Purim (!). We should arrive at the Seder
night neither tired nor aching but happy, so that this night will be a powerful
experience for the kids, and a great source of faith in Hashem, the Redeemer of
Israel.
"Dirt is not Chametz and children are not the Pesach
sacrifice!"