Daily Chidush: Hilchot Pesach Part 2

0:00Hello, this is part two of the Halachot of Pesach. As we said, in regards to the chametz, the most important chametz to get rid of is the chametz inside us. To not go over the entire issue again, but just to give you a perspective and a story, there was one guy that was a very big gavtan, a very prideful person, very arrogant. One day he arrives at the shul and the rabbi sees this guy with his head in the sky and a nose even higher. And he says to him, "Ah, Pesach is coming up. I know you don't keep it, but b'ezrat Hashem, one day you'll do teshuva." The guy says, "No, no, no, what are you talking about, rabbi? I keep Pesach." He goes, "No, you don't keep Pesach. Of course you violate Pesach." He goes, "No, rabbi, what are you talking about? I keep Pesach. How could you talk to me this way?" He says, well, you know, in Pesach we have to get rid of the chametz. And, you know, we say that part of getting rid of the chametz is burning the chametz. And, you know, whatever we haven't found and we don't know of, we say a bracha that states that whatever chametz that I know of or don't know of is considered dust and ashes. But when you say it, there's no way that you can mean it. He says, why would you say that, Rabbi? He goes, because we say the same blessing for ourselves to Hashem every single day.

1:19We say, "Hashem, consider us like dust and ashes. We are only dust and ashes, Hashem. And, you know, we shouldn't have any pride. There's no reason for us to be prideful." So just like you don't mean it every day when you pray, you probably don't mean it during Pesach. So the Rabbi had a very clever way of teaching this guy a little bit of Mussar to bring him back to earth. Because, again, it's a very, very important time to do Teshuva. It's Pesach because, again, we have to be reminded, when we were in Egypt... The ones that survived, as we said in our lecture, some say it was only one out of five survived, and there's actually a Midrash in Me'am Loez that says one out of 500,000 Jews survived Mitzrayim and actually reached Mount Sinai and received the Torah. One out of 500,000, that means two out of every million. And those two, the few million that actually survived, we're still in the 49th level of tumah, the 49th level of impurity. When you really think about how bad it was, if they were in the 49th level of impurity, which is one level away, one sin away from being the worst kind, the 50th level, the unrecoverable level, you know, where were the ones that stayed behind? So again, this shows us that part of the whole

2:39celebration of Pesach. It's not just a celebration; obviously, we have to be happy, we have to get together with family, but it's also a time for us to celebrate Hashem giving us another chance, Hashem giving us a chance to do teshuva. As it says in Parashat Bo, in Sefer Shemot, chapter 12, verse 19, for seven days the Leaven may not be found in your houses. For anyone who eats leavening, that soul shall be cut off from the assembly of Israel, whether a convert or a native of the land. You shall not eat any leavening. In all your dwellings shall you eat matzot. So here we see an outright verse in Exodus from Hashem telling us not only that we're obligated to eat matzot, but also that we're not allowed to eat chametz. And why? Because anyone who eats chametz during Pesach is liable for karet. Whether they're a convert or they were born Jewish, Hashem is specifically telling you it's irrelevant. What does He mean whether they're a convert? A convert is considered 100% Jewish. Why is He mentioning a convert here? He says because right now, just as people from Egypt decide to convert, they’re still new. And they may want to use this as an excuse: “No, I’m new to Judaism. I just did teshuva. I just converted.” No, no, no, my friend. You know, I’m telling you outright. You're not allowed to eat chametz. You're not allowed to eat chametz. This is a significant matter.

4:01It's a big deal if you violate it. Why? Because it's a simple rule not to follow. So as far as chametz, we've talked extensively about it, but just to add a couple of points about it to finish off the chametz part, and then we'll go over into another issue. The chametz is not going to be allowed after the fourth hour of the day, according to the sages, after the fourth hour of the day on Friday. After the fourth hour, you are no longer, by the fifth hour technically, you are no longer allowed to sell the chametz. You must burn it. So obviously, everyone that has chametz that they want to keep—if it's closed packaging of expensive liquor, closed packaging of expensive food that you don't want to throw out and you want to sell it to a non-Jew—you can do it, but you must do it before that time. Once that time comes. On Friday, you are no longer allowed to sell it. You must burn it. You must destroy it. You cannot keep it in your house. You cannot keep it anywhere else. You must destroy it. It could be a million-dollar bottle of whiskey. You're not allowed to keep it. So again, make sure that you go to your local rabbi and sell your chametz. Whether you are at home or you're traveling, you still need to sell your chametz. So that's something that we all must do.

5:16Another thing is, as I mentioned earlier today, you have to make sure that you brush your teeth because sometimes something can get stuck there, and you could have chametz in your mouth the whole holiday, and this is a sin, a very big sin, just not worth making. So make sure that you are not in any position where you have any chametz in your possession, not inside and not outside. Moving on into other issues, the packaging of all goods and food that you buy must have an obvious seal of approval that it's kosher for Passover. Don't take any chances on it. It's not worth it. No food is that good to sell yourself for it. So make sure that all food that you buy is 100% kosher for Passover. And be reminded that if you keep something chametz on Pesach without selling it and without burning it, you're not allowed to use it after Pesach because you're not allowed to even enjoy something that was forbidden on Pesach if you didn't do this mitzvah of actually selling it. So again, if you made a mistake... the chametz on Pesach without selling it and without burning it, you're not allowed to use it after Pesach because you're not allowed to. You're not even allowed to use and enjoy something that was forbidden on Pesach if you didn't do this mitzvah of actually selling it. So again, if you made a mistake

6:30and you forgot to sell your chametz, and that chametz was there after Pesach, and after Pesach, obviously, chametz is allowed. But that specific chametz is no longer allowed. So you must sell it. Moving on to the next thing, as far as kosherizing the pots, pans, and utensils. You must kosher them because all of these pots, pans, and utensils absorb the non-kosher food for Pesach, non-kosher for Pesach. Obviously, if it's non-kosher food in general, then you have a bigger problem of kashrut, but we're talking about people that are eating, obviously, kosher, and you have non-kosher for Pesach food. So if the pot or pan was used purely for wet food, like food that has sauces, then it needs to go through a process called hagalah, which is putting it through boiling water, but this is not to be done by you just throwing some water on it. You should take it to someone that's a professional that has a very, very large pot. ...that could literally fit any pot in it. These boiling waters require gloves, and it's, you know, a big ordeal. It doesn't cost much, but the point is that in many cases, it's free. But the bottom line is that you have to do it; you can't just do it yourself. This is for any pot or pan that used, you know, wet food. On the other hand, if this pot or pan was used in an oven or a grill...

7:58You know, and make dry food in it, then it requires libun. Libun is burning. So you have to take it usually to the same place, the same rabbi that does the hagalah will do the libun. It will burn to make sure that all of the non-kosher for Passover food that was absorbed into the pot or pan, or the utensil is no longer in it. Again, to the average person, this seems a little bit extreme, but trust me when I tell you, it's definitely worth it to not take this risk and just do it. This is what Hashem commanded. It's not just something that we made up recently. So all of this should be done by a professional. As far as the types of plates and cups and stuff that need to be kosherized, The glass for Sephardim, glass doesn't need anything other than you just wash it and clean it because glass does not absorb anything. But Ashkenazim actually are machmirim on this specific issue and they actually require hagala, which is putting the glass, if you want to use it for Passover as well as the rest of the year, before Pesach, you have to go through the hagala. If it's plastic, wood...

9:16bone, or metal that was used only for cold food, then it just needs washing. Okay. But if it was used for hot food, and hot food absorbs. So, for example, if you ate a steak or chicken cutlet on it, then you have to do the, if you're Sephardic, nothing, you just wash it. If you're Ashkenazi, you have to do the Hagalah. If it was a, um, You know, if it was just cold food, like cold cuts and salads and things of that nature, then you just need to wash it regardless of whether you're Ashkenazi or Sephardic, but always double-check with your local rabbi because certain communities sometimes are machmirim on certain things. When it comes to porcelain, clay, or ceramic, these cannot be kosherized for Pesach. As a matter of fact, another chiddush for anyone that's converting, or anyone that's baal teshuva, that used to eat non-kosher food on it, any type of non-kosher food, whether it's a non-kosher chicken, non-kosher steak, or pig, or camel, or whatever other food is out there in this world, if you ever ate non-kosher food on this ceramic, porcelain, or clay plate,

10:37you are never allowed to use it again. You must throw it out. There is a Pesach that says that it can be kosherized from kosher food to Pesach, but never from non-kosher food. For kosher food to Pesach, if you ever want to go through this headache, you have to put it in water, new water, over three days in a row. And it's only if it was always used for cold food. So this is not really relevant for most people. I don't think anybody would really need to use their plates that are ceramic. You could just use glass or metal or something else. But the point is, the chiddush here is that if you ever ate non-kosher food on a ceramic, porcelain, or clay plate, it can never be kosherized. You must throw it out. This is the same. We learned this actually from Sotah. The sotah, the woman that was accused of cheating on her husband, was going to drink this special water that had Hashem's name in it. The ink of Hashem's name was dissolved in this clay cup. And the reason why is because the sages teach us that just like there's no way to kosher a clay vessel that has had impurity in it. There's no way to kosher a marriage that has had cheating in it. So if the woman cheated, she would drink the water and she would die. If she didn't cheat, she would get a blessing and all of her sons would become big tzaddikim and so on. But the point here is that we learn...

11:56A clay that has had impurity in it. There's no way to kosher a marriage that has had cheating in it. So if the woman cheated, she would drink the water and she would die. If she didn't cheat, she would get a blessing and all of her sons would become big tzaddikim and so on. But the point here is that we learn... that the ceramic clay or porcelain cannot be kosherized. This is part of Hashem, this is literally in the Torah. As far as tables and countertops, all you need to do is just put some on a table, just put a cover, you know, just a cover for the table. There's no need to do anything else. Tabletops and counters, just put hot water, you know, wash it with really, really hot water. And that's enough to do it because generally people don't eat off of the counter or tabletop. But just hot water is enough. Also, because the tabletops and counters generally don't absorb the food. As far as tables and countertops, all you need to do is just put a cover on the table. There's no need to do anything else. Tabletops and counters, just wash them with really, really hot water. That's enough because, generally, people don't eat off the counter or tabletop. Also, the tabletops and counters generally don't absorb the food.

12:59To finalize on the last couple of things, you have on Erev Shabbat, no melacha, no form of work whatsoever, is allowed to be done starting the afternoon, meaning that you're not allowed to finish work an hour before Pesach. You must finish work before the afternoon, and at that point, you're no longer allowed to do any melacha. That is not related to Pesach. So yes, you are allowed to drive, but you're only allowed to drive to the store to buy things for Pesach. You're not allowed to go to Home Depot and buy things to fix your house next week. You're not allowed to go to a customer. Once the afternoon starts on Friday, that's it. The holiday, in essence, for you begins. You're only allowed to do melachot. You're only allowed to do things that are relevant to Pesach. The source for this is in the Gemara, the Oral Torah, Masechet Pesachim, page 50b. Anyone who does a non-relevant melacha on the afternoon of Pesach Eve will never see blessing from it and will lose it in a strange way. This is what the Torah says. This is in Masechet Pesachim, page 50b. So again, even if you close a deal, that's $50 million, you know, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon on Pesach Eve.

14:16you can rest assured that there's going to be no blessing from it. So you might as well just delay it till after Pesach. Don't worry, Hashem is in control. You're not going to lose the deal. Also, the next thing is, there's no eating of matzah on the afternoon of Pesach. There's no eating of matzah. You're not allowed to eat matzah during the day of Pesach. So Friday, no matzah whatsoever until the seder. So even though you're not allowed to eat chametz, ...anymore, you're also not allowed to eat matzah. You're allowed to eat everything else—chicken, steak, meat, potatoes, everything else—but specifically matzah. You're only allowed to start eating matzah on the seder, just during the seder. That's when you're allowed to start eating it. The only time you're allowed to eat matzah is if the matzah was fried or cooked, meaning if you're putting it, if you know how to do it, where you throw it into your omelet, which is very, very tasty... You put some matzah in a bunch of different sauces or different ingredients in it, and it's part of the meal, that's fine, but it's being cooked. But matzah by itself, matzah with chocolate, matzah with jelly, matzah, you know, that is not allowed until the seder. Also, you're not allowed to eat a big meal or anything that's mezonot, any cakes or cookies, three hours before nightfall.

15:38which is generally when night falls, we have the prayer, and then we have the seder. So you're not allowed to have a big meal. You're allowed to eat small meals, but nothing that's mezonot, no cake, cookies, or anything that's been baked. But why? Because you're supposed to arrive at the seder hungry. This is very, very important because, again, the matzah you eat at the seder requires you to eat a lot of matzah. So... You have to eat 30 grams of matzah four times, and 30 grams of maror. So this is a lot of food, by the way, especially if you have just the traditional matzah, the square matzah. That's a lot of matzah. So, in order to eat all of that matzah and fulfill that mitzvah, you have to eat a lot of matzah. Also, there's a minhag that the firstborn... fast on Friday, on the day of Pesach Eve, fast all the way until the Seder. The way that they fulfill this mitzvah without fasting is by listening, by going to a seudah, going to a meal of a mitzvah. It's either a meal of when someone finishes a part of the Gemara, a siyum masechet, completes a tractate of the Gemara, or goes to a meal of a brit milah,

17:03or any type of meal, like a wedding, on that Friday, which generally the only things that are done on Friday, on Erev Pesach, are usually a Siyum Masechet, because no one wants to fast. So ask your local synagogue if someone is finishing a tractate of the Gemara, because if you're a firstborn, you'd have to fast that day, or at least that's the minhag. You're not obligated, but it's generally a thanks to Hashem for not killing the firstborn Jews at the time of this holiday. Men must also attend this meal that they're having for this Yom Tov, but women should attend it if it's possible. However, there's more leniency from the sages for women because women generally have to prepare for the meal. So if it's not possible for them, the husband would usually go, bring them part of the meal home, and they could eat it at home. But generally, it's better if the women actually go. It doesn't take very much time. A person shopping for meat. that's shopping for meat for the holiday, cannot say, again, cannot say that this meat that he's buying is for Pesach. Why? Because it sounds, according to the sages, like he's saying that he's preparing a korban, preparing a sacrifice, which is not permitted since we do not have the Beit HaMikdash. This is also the root of why we're not allowed to have the lamb shank, the zeroa, that many Sephardim have,

18:30Unfortunately, I mean, until this day, they eat a Zeroa, they eat a lamb shank on Pesach Eve. This is not allowed because it's, in essence, a form of a Korban, a form of an offering, a resemblance to it. So this is not allowed. You're allowed to eat it in the afternoon, but you're not allowed to eat it during the evening. So if you're buying meat in general, Enjoy your meat, but do not say this meat is for Pesach. The last couple of things to finish off. Before Pesach, before the Seder, everyone has to go to Beit Knesset, pray a nice prayer of Arvit, which is a celebratory prayer. It's a very nice prayer. It's different than the traditional prayers we have during the week, especially since it's Friday, which is Shabbat, as well as... So, this is an opportunity for you to get closer and closer to Hashem before you even get home.

19:34One of the things that a lot of people do during Pesach afternoon is prepare the olive-sized matzah, which is supposed to be 30 grams, but four times, because you have to eat four times 30 grams throughout the evening, and also two maror, that's 30 grams each. So usually, most people, to make sure that they fulfill the mitzvah in a precise way, spend the afternoon cutting pieces and weighing them to make sure that they are 30 grams. exactly, and they’re fulfilling the mitzvah. So, everyone during the Seder gets their portion. Throughout the night, they’re eating exactly what needs to be eaten. This is a big mitzvah, and the biggest part of the mitzvah, as we mentioned earlier today, is that you have to tell the story of the Exodus to the kids, to the wife, to yourself, to your guests. Your kids come first, your wife after, obviously, and then your guests. Do not focus on your guests only. You have to focus on your own family first. The chesed starts at home first, not with the neighbors and the people you see once every three years. So make sure that you have studied chesed,

20:45everything you can about the story of Exodus, as I said, you should learn from the Shiurim we've made, the Shiurim Rabbi Mizrahi made, the Shiurim Rabbi Ephraim Kachlon made, about the Parashot that we made, Parashat Bo, Parashat... all of the Parashot that actually have to do with this holiday. Shemot, which is the first book of Exodus, then you have Va'era, then you have Parashat Bo, you know, these are the... specifically those three are the ones that have to do with this... holiday. A lot of miracles, a lot of wonderful things, a lot of amazing stories. We spent a lot of time studying to make sure that we bring you new Chidushim. So go and watch the Shiurim. It's a few hours' effort for a lifetime of reward because if you give your family, your kids, your wife, your husbands, and your friends a good Pesach full of stories, they'll remember that Pesach forever. Pesach with just food, they'll forget you two days later and maybe even complain. So remember, this is for Hashem, and it's not only for Hashem because Hashem needs it; it's because we need it. So, Be'ezrat Hashem, everyone has a kosher Pesach, an amazing Pesach, and remembers that the whole purpose of Pesach is to remember why we were even saved in the first place. If we're giving Hashem a reason to...

22:10If we gave him a reason back then, we need to give him a reason now. So, B'ezrat Hashem, each one of us gives him a reason on Pesach and every day after to continue saving us, to continue giving us miracles, and to continue fulfilling all of the promises He made to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. Kol Tuv.