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CHAMETZ AFTER PESACH
There is a strong rabbinic decree forbidding
the use of chametz after Pesach by a Jew if that
chametz was actually in Jewish possession during the holiday of Pesach
itself. The basis for this rabbinic decree is to prevent Jews from having
chametz in their possession during Pesach, so to speak hoarding it for
use after Pesach. The obvious danger is that that chametz will be used on
Pesach and there is a prohibition against not only as to eating chametz
on Pesach but also as to possessing
chametz. Therefore, in order to insure that no chametz
remains in Jewish possession during Pesach, the rabbis decreed that Jews
could not benefit from such chametz after Pesach. The solution to somehow have
use of such chametz after Pesach lies in the long accepted Jewish
tradition of “selling” the chametz to a non-Jew before Pesach and of
reacquiring that chametz after Pesach. This legal sale of mechirat
chametz is of ancient origin, though it really only came into general use
in the late middle Ages. Jews then increasingly were occupied in operating
distilleries for the production and distribution of liquor derived from
chametz grain and fermenting agents. Because of the heavy financial
complications involved, the use of a legal sale of the chametz to a
non-Jew took hold and has become de rigueur for Jewish individuals and companies
in our time and for the past many centuries. By selling their chametz before Pesach and
only reacquiring it after Pesach, these individuals and companies avoid any
problems regarding the use of and benefit from chametz after Pesach.
Because of these circumstances, stores and companies notify their Jewish
customers after Pesach that they in fact did sell their chametz before
Pesach, thus obviating any hesitation on the part of their Jewish customers in
purchasing chametz goods. As the economies of the world became more complex
and intertwined the rabbinic decisors of halacha had to deal with new
situations and financial arrangements regarding this issue of chametz
after Pesach. What about Jews who own shares in public companies that do
business on Pesach with chametz goods? What about large supermarket
chains outside of Israel who sell their chametz before Pesach but
nevertheless continue to sell those products on a regular normal basis in their
stores on Pesach itself? Does this not render the sale of their chametz
to a non-Jew before Pesach a sham? In countries that require that tax stamps be
affixed to the sale documents, is this necessary for the sale of the
chametz to the non-Jew and the reacquiring of the chametz after
Pesach by the Jews as well? Whose loss is it if the chametz became
damaged or destroyed during Pesach while technically under the ownership of the
non-Jew? How real does this apparently unreal sale really
have to be? All of these questions have been raised, thoroughly discussed and
argued over by the great decisors of halacha of the past centuries.
Needless to say, proper solutions to all of these issues have been found and
implemented. It is an irony, but a very true one, that it is the very rigidity
of halacha and its absolute adherence to traditional norms and constructs
that allows it to be so flexible and fresh in addressing problems such as this.
In Jewish kabbalistic and philosophical thought,
chametz on Pesach represents our evil inclination and immoral desires.
The holiday of Pesach is very instrumental in making us more focused Jews and
better people. But in order for this self-improvement mode to take hold within
us, the chametz after Pesach that still somehow remained within us must
be removed from our midst. The rabbinic decree regarding chametz after
Pesach should not be reduced to its simple, practical terms. Rather it should be
elevated to its highest spiritual form. In a world of chaff we should be the true kernel
of nourishing grain and in a world of self-promotion and swollen puffing we
should continue to be the unleavened matzo with its low profile and holy
form. Perhaps this spiritual lesson is one of the very reasons that our rabbis
so emphasized the problems associated with the concept of chametz after
Pesach. The lessons of disciplined freedom that Pesach created within us have to
be reinforced and nurtured after Pesach as well. The temptations of chametz
on Pesach are well known to all of us. The harm that undisposed of
chametz after Pesach can cause us should also be recognized and dealt
with. Shabat shalom. Berel Wein
