Editing Passover (section)

== Prohibition of Chametz ==
=== Removing all leaven (''chametz'') ===
{{see also|Chametz#Removal of chametz|Bedikat Chametz}}
[[File:Biur chametz woodcut.png|thumb|Washing dishes for passover (1657)]]
[[File:BiurChametz2010.jpg|thumb|250px|Burning chametz on the morning before Passover begins]]
Leaven, in Hebrew ''[[Chametz#What is chametz?|chametz]]'' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: {{lang|he|חמץ}} ''ḥamets'', "[[leavening]]") is made from one of five types of grains<ref name=Pomerantz/> combined with water and left to stand for more than eighteen minutes. The consumption, keeping, and owning of ''chametz'' is forbidden during Passover. Yeast and fermentation are not themselves forbidden as seen for example by wine, which is required, rather than merely permitted. According to Halakha, the ownership of such ''chametz'' is also proscribed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://oukosher.org/passover/articles/which-foods-are-chametz-2/|title=Which Foods are Chametz?|date=January 23, 2013|website=Kosher for Passover|access-date=April 1, 2020|archive-date=April 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407120816/https://oukosher.org/passover/articles/which-foods-are-chametz-2/|url-status=live}}</ref>

''Chametz'' does not include [[baking soda]], [[baking powder]] or like products. Although these are defined in English as leavening agents, they leaven by chemical reaction, not by biological fermentation. Thus, bagels, waffles and pancakes made with baking soda and matzah meal are considered permissible, while bagels made with sourdough and pancakes and waffles made with yeast are prohibited.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chabad.org/holidays/passover/pesach_cdo/aid/1742/jewish/What-Is-Chametz.htm|title=What Is Chametz (Chometz)?|website=www.chabad.org|access-date=April 1, 2020|archive-date=April 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411142053/https://www.chabad.org/holidays/passover/pesach_cdo/aid/1742/jewish/What-Is-Chametz.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Torah commandments regarding ''chametz'' are:
* To remove all ''chametz'' from one's home, including things made with chametz, before the first day of Passover<ref name="bibleverse||Exodus|12:15|HE">{{bibleverse||Exodus|12:15|HE}}</ref> It may be simply used up, thrown out (historically, destroyed by burning), or given or sold to non-Jews.
* To refrain from eating ''chametz'' or mixtures containing ''chametz'' during Passover.<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|13:3|HE}}, {{bibleverse||Exodus|12:20|HE}}, {{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|16:3|HE}}</ref>
* Not to possess ''chametz'' in one's domain (i.e. home, office, car, etc.) during Passover.<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|12:19|HE}}, {{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|16:4|HE}}</ref>

Observant Jews spend the weeks before Passover in the process of thorough housecleaning, to remove all ''chametz'' from every part of the home. [[Halakha|Jewish law]] requires the elimination of [[olive]]-sized or larger quantities of leavening from one's possession, but most housekeeping goes beyond this. Even the seams of kitchen counters are thoroughly cleaned to remove traces of flour and yeast, however small. Any containers or implements that have touched ''chametz'' are stored and not used during Passover.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/ultra-orthodox-burn-leavened-food-before-passover-begins-1.356761 |title=Ultra Orthodox burn leavened food before Passover |work=Haaretz |date=April 19, 2011 |access-date=April 17, 2014 |archive-date=April 19, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140419023434/http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/ultra-orthodox-burn-leavened-food-before-passover-begins-1.356761 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Some [[hotel]]s, [[resort]]s, and even [[cruise ship]]s across [[United States|America]], [[Europe]], and [[Israel]] also undergo a thorough housecleaning to make their premises "kosher for Pesach" to cater to observant Jews.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thespruce.com/guide-to-kosher-travel-4050383|title=Get Out of Town: Your Guide to Kosher Travel|first=Miri|last=Rotkovitz|date=May 6, 2016|access-date=April 10, 2017|website=The Spruce|archive-date=April 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170410220818/https://www.thespruce.com/guide-to-kosher-travel-4050383|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Interpretations for abstinence from leaven or yeast ====
Some scholars suggest that the command to abstain from leavened food or yeast suggests that sacrifices offered to God involve the offering of objects in "their least altered state", that would be nearest to the way in which they were initially made by God.<ref name="Bokser">Bokser, Baruch M. (1992) "Unleavened Bread and Passover, Feasts of" in ''The Anchor Bible Dictionary'', ed. David Noel Freedman (New York: Doubleday), 6:755–765</ref><ref name="Greenberg">Greenberg, Moshe (1974) "Lessons on Exodus". New York</ref> According to other scholars the absence of leaven or yeast means that leaven or yeast symbolizes corruption and spoiling.<ref name="Bokser"/><ref name="Sarna">Sarna, Nahum M. (1986) "Exploring Exodus". New York</ref>

There are also variations with restrictions on eating matzah before Passover so that there will be an increased appetite for it during Passover itself. Primarily among [[Chabad]] Chassidim, there is a custom of not eating matzah (flat unleavened bread) in the 30 days before Passover begins.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/260800/jewish/The-Laws-Concerning-the-Thirty-Days-before-Passover.htm|title=The Laws Concerning the Thirty Days before Passover|website=www.chabad.org|access-date=April 1, 2020|archive-date=August 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806062740/https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/260800/jewish/The-Laws-Concerning-the-Thirty-Days-before-Passover.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Others have a custom to refrain from eating matzah from Rosh Chodesh Nissan, while the [[halacha]] merely restricts one from eating matzah on the day before Passover.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jewishpress.com/judaism/halacha-hashkafa/eating-matzah-before-pesach/2012/03/29/|title=Eating Matzah Before Pesach|first=Rabbi J. Simcha|last=Cohen|date=March 29, 2012 |access-date=April 1, 2020|archive-date=November 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108120339/https://www.jewishpress.com/judaism/halacha-hashkafa/eating-matzah-before-pesach/2012/03/29/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Kitniyot ====
[[Kitniyot]] ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: קִטְנִיּוֹת, ''qitniyyot''; literally "small things") refers to legumes, rice, maize, and other foods that are similar to grains. [[Ashkenazi Jews]] historically refrain from eating kitniyot on Passover, despite there not being a clear commandment to include them in the category of chametz.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is Kitniyot? |url=https://www.kashrut.com/Passover/Kitniyot/ |access-date=April 7, 2023 |website=www.kashrut.com}}</ref> Since the 19th century, the [[Reform Judaism|Reform movement]] has permitted eating kitniyot, and in 2015 the [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative movement]] followed suit.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sanchez |first=Tatiana |date=April 21, 2016 |title=Passover to include new food options this year |url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/lifestyle/people/sdut-passover-kitniyot-jews-2016apr21-story.html |access-date=April 7, 2023 |website=San Diego Union-Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref> [[Sephardic Jews|Sephardi Jews]] have always permitted eating kitniyot on Passover.

==== Gebrochts ====
Gebrochts ([[Yiddish language|Yiddish]]: געבראקטס, <small>[[Literal translation|lit.]] </small>'broken', also known as [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: מצה שרויה, <small>[[Romanization of Hebrew|romanized]]:</small> ''matzah shruya'', <small>[[Literal translation|lit.]] </small>'soaked matzah') refers to [[matzah]] that has absorbed liquid. Some [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic Jews]] avoid gebrochts as well, to avoid the possibility that a clump of flour that was never properly mixed with water (and thus is still susceptible to leavening) may come into contact with the liquid.<ref>[http://www.oukosher.org/index.php/common/article/keeping_up_with_passover_trenditions/ Keeping Up with Passover Trenditions by Bayla Sheva Brenner] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330063056/http://www.oukosher.org/index.php/common/article/keeping_up_with_passover_trenditions/|date=March 30, 2012}} - ¶ 6: Hundreds of Passover Innovations – Oy Gebrocht!</ref>

=== Sale of leaven ===
[[File:מכירת חמץ בית הנשיא לרב הראשי הספרדי של ירושלים (2).jpg|thumb|The former [[President of Israel]] [[Reuven Rivlin]] sells the leaven of the [[Beit HaNassi]] (the official residence of the president), to [[Shlomo Amar]],  the [[Sephardi Jews|Sephardic]] [[Chief Rabbinate of Israel|Chief Rabbi of Israel]] and the [[Rishon LeZion (title)|Rishon LeZion]], in order that Amar will later sell it to a non-Jew.]]
{{see also|Chametz#Sale of chametz}}
[[File:Leavened foods concealed behind plastic at Jerusalem supermarket during Passover.jpg|thumb|right|''Chametz'' foods blocked from purchase during Passover in a Jerusalem supermarket|alt=A narrow supermarket aisle, under strip fluorescent lighting, with sections blocked off by white plastic sheeting]]
[[Leaven]] or ''chametz'' may be sold rather than discarded, especially in the case of relatively valuable forms such as [[liquor]] [[distillation|distilled]] from wheat, with the products being repurchased afterward. In some cases, they may never leave the house, instead being formally sold while remaining in the original owner's possession in a locked cabinet until they can be repurchased after the holiday. Modern observance may also include sealing cabinets and drawers which contain "Chametz" shut by using adhesive tape, which serves a similar purpose to a lock but also shows evidence of tampering. Although the practice of selling "Chametz" dates back many years, some Reform rabbinical authorities have come to regard it with disdain – since the supposed "new owner" never takes actual possession of the goods.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://louisjacobs.org/jewish-holidays/the-laws-of-pesach/|title=The Laws of Pesach|first1=Louis|last1=Jacobs|first2=Michael|last2=Rose|date=March 23, 1983|access-date=April 10, 2017|website=Friends of Louis Jacobs|archive-date=April 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170410213942/http://louisjacobs.org/jewish-holidays/the-laws-of-pesach/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The sale of ''chametz'' may also be conducted communally via a [[rabbi]], who becomes the "agent" for all the community's Jews through a halakhic procedure called a ''kinyan'' (acquisition). Each householder must put aside all the ''chametz'' he is selling into a box or cupboard, and the rabbi enters into a contract to sell all the ''chametz'' to a non-Jew (who is not obligated to celebrate the commandments) in exchange for a small [[down payment]] (''e.g.'' $1.00), with the remainder due after Passover. This sale is considered completely binding according to Halakha, and at any time during the holiday, the buyer may come to take or partake of his property. The rabbi then re-purchases the goods for less than they were sold at the end of the holiday.<ref>[http://www.torahlearningcenter.com/jhq/question169.html Pesach questions and answers] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928143423/http://www.torahlearningcenter.com/jhq/question169.html |date=September 28, 2007}} by the Torah Learning Center.
Retrieved on March 31, 2018</ref>

=== Separate kosher for Passover utensils and dishes ===
[[File:Kieliszek pesachowy, MŻ 45 (3).jpg|thumb|upright|Passover glass, [[History of the Jews in 20th-century Poland#Interwar period 1918–1939|interwar period Poland]]]]
Due to the Torah injunction not to eat ''chametz'' (leaven) during Passover,<ref name="bibleverse||Exodus|12:15|HE"/> observant families typically own complete sets of serving dishes, glassware and silverware (and in some cases, even separate dishwashers and sinks) which have never come into contact with ''chametz'', for use only during Passover. Under certain circumstances, some ''chametz'' utensils can be immersed in boiling water (''[[Hagalah|hagalat keilim]]'') to purge them of any traces of ''chametz'' that may have accumulated during the year. Many [[Sephardi Jews|Sephardic]] families thoroughly wash their year-round glassware and then use it for Passover, as the Sephardic position is that [[glass]] does not absorb enough traces of food to present a problem. Similarly, ovens may be used for Passover either by setting the self-cleaning function to the highest degree for a certain period, or by applying a [[blow torch]] to the interior until the oven glows red hot (a process called ''libun gamur'').<ref name="WSJblowtorch">{{Cite news |last= Lagnado |first= Lucette |title= As Passover Nears, These Rabbis Are Getting Out Their Blowtorches |page= A1 |newspaper= The Wall Street Journal |location= New York |date= April 18, 2011 |url= https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704628404576264751651607740 |access-date= August 8, 2017 |archive-date= August 25, 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170825112734/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704628404576264751651607740 |url-status= live }}</ref>

=== Search for leaven{{anchor|Formal search for chametz}} ===
{{main|bedikat chametz}}
{{Wikisource|1=Translation:Talmud/Seder Moed/Tractate Pesachim/2a|2=Talmud's introduction to checking for chametz and defining ''or'' (literally, "light") (Tractate Pesachim 2a)}}

On the night of the fourteenth of [[Nisan]], the night before the [[Passover Seder]] (after nightfall on the evening before Passover eve), Jews do a formal search in their homes known as ''[[bedikat chametz]]'' for any possible remaining leaven (''[[chametz]]''). The [[Talmud]]ic sages instructed that a search for ''chametz'' be made in every home, place of work, or any place where ''chametz'' may have been brought during the year.<ref name="ArtScroll Pesach Machzor">{{cite book|last1=Gold|first1=Avie |last2=Zlotowitz|first2=Meir |last3=Scherman|first3=Nosson |title=The Complete ArtScroll Machzor: Pesach|date=1990–2002|publisher=Mesorah Publications, Ltd|location=Brooklyn, New York|isbn=0-89906-696-8|pages=2–3}}</ref> When the first Seder is on a Saturday night, the search is conducted on the preceding Thursday night (thirteenth of Nisan) as [[Eve of Passover on Shabbat|''chametz'' cannot be burned during Shabbat]].

The [[Talmud]] in [[Pesahim]] (p.&nbsp;2a) derives from the [[Torah]] that the search for ''chametz'' be conducted by the light of a candle and therefore is done at night, and although the final destruction of the ''chametz'' (usually by burning it in a small bonfire) is done on the next morning, the blessing is made at night because the search is both in preparation for and part of the commandments to remove and destroy all ''chametz'' from one's possession.<ref name="ArtScroll Pesach Machzor" />

==== Blessing for search and nullification of hametz ====
Before the search is begun there is a special [[Berakhah|blessing]]. If several people or family members assist in the search then only one person, usually the head of that family recites the blessing having in mind to include everyone present:<ref name="ArtScroll Pesach Machzor" />

:Blessed are You, Hashem our God, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with his commandments and has commanded us concerning the removal of chametz.

{{langx|he|ברוך אתה י-הוה א-להינו מלך העולם אשר קדשנו במצותיו וצונו על בעור חמץ|bāruḵ attā aḏonāy Elohēnu meleḵ hāʿolām ʾəšer qiddəšānu bəmiṣwāṯāw wəṣiwānu ʿal bəʿor ḥāmeṣ}}

The search is then usually conducted by the head of the household joined by his family including children under the supervision of their parents.

It is customary to turn off the lights and conduct the search by [[candle]]light, using a feather and a wooden spoon: candlelight effectively illuminates corners without casting shadows; the feather can dust crumbs out of their hiding places; and the wooden spoon which collects the crumbs can be burned the next day with the hametz. However, most contemporary Orthodox authorities permit using a flashlight, while some strongly encourage it due to the danger coupled with using a candle.

Because the house is assumed to have been thoroughly cleaned by the night before Passover, there is some concern that making a blessing over the search for hametz will be in vain (''bracha l'vatala'') if nothing is found. Thus, 10 morsels of bread or cereal smaller than the size of an olive are traditionally hidden throughout the house to ensure that some 'hametz will be found.

Upon conclusion of the search, with all the small pieces safely wrapped up and put in one bag or place, to be burned the next morning, the following is said:

:Any chametz or leaven that is in my possession which I have not seen and have not removed and do not know about should be annulled and become ownerless like the dust of the earth.<ref name="ArtScroll Pesach Machzor" />