Care throughout the year: It is proper for a person to remember about Pesach throughout the year, and on even the very night that Pesach concludes he should start preparation for the coming Pesach, by taking care that chametz (leavened food) should not be scattered in places which will be hard to check on the night before Pesach. Similarly, one should not eat chametz over an open book, in order to prevent crumbs falling inside the pages, which would be extremely difficult to find and remove while searching for chametz before Pesach.
The Zohar states that one who is wary on Pesach even of food which only has a slight possibility of being chametz, his body is protected from the yetzer hara, his soul is exalted, and it is said of him, “evil cannot dwell with him.” Based on this, the Ari״zal is quoted saying that someone who is careful even about a smidgen of chametz, is assured that he will not sin the entire coming year.
Pesach products: One should not buy any product for Pesach without certification from a reputable and responsible Rabbinical organization that it is kosher for Pesach.
All products which are intended to be used on Pesach, whether in one’s house or in a store, should be kept in designated locations where no flour, dust, or chametz can fall upon them. One should be careful not to place Pesach products in a place where there is a possibility that they could get mixed or exchanged with chametz. One must be especially attentive in a house with young children.
Storeowners and managers must be very careful to separate the shelves with chametz items from the shelves with merchandise that is kosher for Pesach and mark them clearly. A jumble of items would be liable to make the public err, which could cause great mishaps. Therefore, before Pesach one should put all the chametz in storage, so that no chametz is left in the store. To merely cover the chametz on the shelves with paper or cloth is insufficient, as the covering could be torn or moved and consequently people are liable to buy it and use it on Pesach, under the impression that it is kosher for Pesach. The responsibility for such blunders will be squarely placed on the shoulders of the storeowners and managers.
Medicines: The kashrus agencies have lists of medicines which are kosher for Pesach, and in most cases the doctor can prescribe one of them as a substitute for ones which are not kosher for Pesach.
If one must take a chametz medicine on Pesach for which there is no substitute, then one should buy empty capsules that are kosher for Pesach, insert the medicine into the capsules and swallow them. The rationale for this is that frequently the chametz is in the sweetened coating surrounding the actual medicine, and by inserting it in the capsule, one receives no pleasure from the chametz.
Chametz medicines may be kept in the medicine cabinet but taking them is prohibited. In exceptional circumstances, a competent Rabbi should be consulted.
Citric acid and alcohol: If they have no certification then they must not be used on Pesach, since they are occasionally derived from chametz. It is true that food deemed inedible for a dog is not considered chametz, and citric acid and alcohol go through such a stage in the course of manufacturing, nevertheless during usage they are "considered " as a food and indeed are suitable for edible human food, accordingly they are prohibited if they are derived from chametz.
Spices: Ground spices should be bought only from places which one is sure that they have checked that the spices contained no chametz whatsoever before grinding, and that there were no traces of grain or flour at the mill. One cannot rely on the leniency that rules that mere traces of chametz from before Pesach are annulled.
Eggs: Generally speaking, there are no problems with eggs. Nevertheless, if egg cartons are not clean, then one should pay attention that no chametz or flour is stuck to the eggs. In Eretz Yisrael, all the eggs are stamped. During Pesach time, special ink that is kosher for Pesach is used, and an asterisk is added to help identify this.
Lipstick and toothpaste: Require certification for Pesach. They cannot be used on Shabbat and Yom Tov.
Pictures: Framed pictures which contain sheaves or grains, or decorative trays hanging on the wall which have been used with chametz, should be taken down and stored away before Pesach, lest they be used during Pesach.
Rye pillow: One should not use a pillow stuffed with rye on Pesach. It should be stored with chametz items and sold to a gentile.
Poisoned wheat: Poisoned wheat grains are used to kill rodents and the like. Although the person who placed them would have more pleasure by their being eaten by the rodents than by their remaining intact, nevertheless, since he wishes them to remain intact until they are consumed, they cannot be considered annulled, and therefore cannot be kept.
Utensils that were used with chametz, which will not be used during Pesach: There is no necessity to kosher them from the chametz that they have absorbed, but they certainly should be scrubbed well so that no particles of chametz are left. This should be done before the beginning of the sixth hour on the eve of Pesach. They should be stored in a place which one does not expect to enter during Pesach. It is advisable to keep them in a closed, locked room, and to conceal the key until after Pesach.
It is preferable (l’chatchila) not to store the chametz utensils in the kitchen, if one does store them in the kitchen, it is not enough to merely attach a label to the cabinet with the word “Chametz.” Instead (or in addition), one should tape shut the cabinet with tape that is strong enough that it cannot be opened easily, so that if one forgets and tries to open it to take a utensil on Pesach, one will remember before managing to open it.
If one did not scrub and clean the chametz from one’s utensils before Pesach, then they must be cleaned on Pesach (if one did not sell chametz which is stuck to his utensils — see next paragraph). If one did not clean them on Pesach, either, then he must clean them after Pesach.
Even those who sell all their chametz to a gentile must clean their chametz utensils, since no gentile is interested in buying the chametz that is stuck to utensils, and the utensils themselves were not part of the sale. Therefore, they must be scrubbed and cleaned well.
Utensils which one wishes to use during Pesach: If they were used with chametz, they must be kashered from the chametz that they absorbed. New utensils need only tevilah (immersion in mikveh), if purchased from a gentile, either person or company.
Chametz owned by a gentile situated on Jewish premises: It is permitted to rent a room to a gentile during Pesach, even though one knows that the gentile will bring chametz there. This is because the Jew is not receiving any money for the use of the premises with chametz; the gentile must pay the rent in full even if he does not bring any chametz to the premises.
One who needs gentile domestic help must admonish the workers not to bring chametz into the house during Pesach. One reason is so that people will not think that the Jew is feeding his workers chametz during Pesach. Also, the crumbs of chametz could scatter throughout the house. However, it is permissible for workers to buy their own chametz and eat it in their own private room.
It is permitted to give a gentile money to buy food for his own personal use, even if one knows that he will buy chametz with it. However, it is forbidden to pay his bill for chametz in a restaurant.
In factories it is common that all the workers eat together. A Jewish worker must not eat on the same table with someone (even a gentile) who is eating chametz. This applies even if they are eating on separate tablecloths or placemats.
Chametz on the day before Pesach: If a food containing chametz was found before nightfall, providing that the chametz is less than one-sixtieth of the food, it is considered nullified. Therefore, if one grain of wheat is found in a chicken’s innards or a cooked dish before nightfall, one must throw away the grain immediately, and may eat the rest even on Pesach. If, however, the chametz is more than one-sixtieth of the food, the entire dish is prohibited.
One should not throw grains into a fowl coop or in a moist place within thirty days of Pesach, lest one forgets to destroy them.
Chametz on Pesach: On Pesach it is forbidden to eat or derive any benefit from chametz, even from a mixture with a miniscule amount of chametz. Therefore, if chametz is found in the food, all that food is forbidden. However if only a grain of the five species (wheat, barley, oats, rye and spelt) was found in the food, a competent Rabbi should be consulted.
One should not use water that was drawn from a well in which grains were found. However, if no other water is available, then one may use it after filtering. However, if a piece of bread was found in the water, the water may not be used for any purpose whatsoever, even if filtered.
If one finds chametz in his house on Chol Hamo’ed, he should immediately remove it and burn it or flush it down the toilet. However one should not recite the bracha of al bi’ur chametz when destroying it, since he already annulled it on the day before Pesach. When one picks up the chametz in order to remove it, he should have in mind that he does not wish to acquire it.
If one finds chametz on [A] Yom Tov or [B] on Shabbat of Chol Hamo’ed or [C] on Shabbat which coincides with the eve of Pesach after the hour by which it should have been destroyed: in all of the above cases, it is forbidden to move the chametz, because it is muktzeh. Therefore it should be covered by a container until the end of Shabbat or Yom Tov and then promptly burnt. When one burns it, one says the bracha without Hashem's Name and Melech ha’olam.
If one found chametz in the freezer on Shabbat or Yom Tov, he should cover it with a towel which is comparable to covering it with a container. At the conclusion of Shabbat or Yom Tov, he should destroy it.
If one finds chametz on Shabbat or Yom Tov at a time when it is already forbidden and cannot burn it, it is preferred to say, “Ribono shel olam, I am not burning the chametz because our sages forbade moving it as it is muktzeh, and You commanded me “and you shall surely do all which they instruct you” and thus I am fulfilling your commandments.” By saying this, one makes clear that he does not want to transgress the commandment to not have chametz in his premises, since he wants to destroy it as soon as possible.
It is forbidden to pick up chametz lying in the public domain during Pesach, even if one has no intention of acquiring it. If, though, there is a risk that children may eat it, then one should pick it up with the intention that he does not want to acquire it and place it elsewhere.
Chametz after Pesach: When the last day of Pesach falls on Friday, it is forbidden to eat chametz on the subsequent Shabbat.
It is forbidden to eat or derive any benefit (e.g., sell to a gentile) from chametz that was kept in Jewish possession during Pesach. However, after Pesach, it is permissible to use utensils that absorbed chametz (i.e., chametz was cooked in them) during Pesach.
After Pesach, when buying chametz that was produced before Pesach, one should take care to only buy items that were owned by a gentile during Pesach, i.e., from a Jew or Jewish store that sold their chametz, or a store owned by a gentile. If a Jewish store did not sell its chametz to a gentile, then one should not buy chametz there for a while, until new stock is for sale.
If chametz was mixed with other items in a proportion smaller than one sixtieth, whether on, before, or after Pesach, the chametz becomes annulled after Pesach and it is permitted to eat or use the mixture.
Matzah after Pesach: Those who follow the Shulchan Aruch recite hamotzi on Matzah which remains from Pesach until the fourteenth of Iyar, whilst during the rest of the year until the coming Pesach mezonot is recited. Those who follow the Rema recite hamotzi on Matzah all year-round. Since there are various opinions within the Sephardic authorities, it is proper to eat the Matzot that remain after Pesach only in a meal with bread, and to recite hamotzi on the bread. A Sephardi who eats Matzah all year-round only within a meal after reciting hamotzi on bread will be blessed for his praiseworthy behavior.
SELLING OF CHAMETZ
One who keeps his chametz in his premises during Pesach transgresses the prohibition of maintaining chametz every minute. It is prohibited to derive any benefit from such chametz, even if he annulled it before Pesach. Therefore, one who has a large amount of chametz and cannot destroy it all has the option of selling to a gentile before Pesach.
Selling of chametz must not be considered a superficial religious rite, rather the seller must genuinely decide that he is making a genuine transaction. He should not undersell, the acquisition must be done in a halachically correct way, and he should also receive a down payment from the gentile. After Pesach, he requests from the gentile the remainder of the payment. When the gentile responds that he does not have the money, he should then offer to buy the chametz back at an appropriate price. It must not be seen as a game, but as real business. Insomuch as there are a multitude of laws concerning sale to a gentile, one should not arrange the sale privately, rather one should do it through a recognized Rabbinate, or through a Rabbi who is an well-versed in such matters. Even if the seller of the chametz does not own the house, he is entitled to rent it to the gentile for the necessary time span.
The chametz to be sold a gentile should not remain on Jewish property. The best scenario is that the gentile moves the chametz onto his personal premises. However, if this is not possible, then one must rent the room in which the chametz will be stored to the gentile. Even if the person selling the chametz is not the owner of the house (for example, he is renting it), he is empowered to rent out the apartment to a gentile for several days.
The halachah is that the sale is valid even if the place where the chametz is situated does not belong to the seller, for example, if the seller has rented it. However, since such a case complicates the sale, it is better to avoid the option of selling.
If it is impossible to rent the entire room where the chametz is stored to the gentile because one needs to use part of the room during Pesach, one should make a partition in the room, and rent to the gentile the area occupied by the chametz as well as the right of way through the house to reach the chametz.
If one is away from home before Pesach and is relying on his wife to sell and search for chametz, it is best for him to say explicitly that he empowers her to sell the chametz and rent out the room. However, even if he did not say so explicitly, she is permitted to sell the chametz and search for it, as well as saying the bracha before the search.
Containers made of metal, glass and some other substances, require t’vilah when acquired from a gentile. When selling chametz in such a container one should be sure not to sell the container with it, if not, after Pesach when he rebuys everything from the gentile, he will be obligated to immerse it again (without a bracha). Instead, one should lend the container to the gentile, thus ensuring that the chametz will be in the container of the buyer.
After Pesach, one should take care not to derive any benefit from the chametz of a Jew who is suspected of not selling his chametz to a gentile.
There is no obligation to sell dry beans or sugar that is not kosher for Pesach, and there is certainly no obligation to sell kitni'ot (which some people eat on Pesach itself). Still, someone who is stringent upon himself and sells all items without proper Rabbinical supervision for Pesach will be blessed.