Question:
We plan to be travelling to my inlaws for Pesach and will be leaving our house a few days before yom tov. In such a case how would we perform the mitzvah of Bedikas Chometz? Do we have to check at home and at my inlaws?
Answer:
If one is renting at the time of bedikas chometz the following guidelines apply1. If the owner/landlord has the keys at the time of the Bedika, then the owner is obligated in Bedika. 2. If the renter has the key to the house at the time of Bedika (14th at the time of Tzes HaKochavim) and
he has made a halachic acquisition such as paying with cash, then he’s obligated to do Bedikas Chametz himself. 3. However, if the renter has the key to the house but didn’t do a halachic acquisition, many say that the owner is obligated and some say that the renter is obligated. Certainly to remove all doubt, the owner or renter can be appointed as a shaliach by the other and fulfill the obligation of Bedika. 4. A person who rents a house for Pesach, the areas which one will put one’s food utensils and actual food
should be checked perfectly well. The rest of the house should be checked well, however, if there are areas which are private areas and the renters are not supposed to open (explicitly mentioned or implicitly understood) the renters do not have to Bedika on those areas.
In the case of someone staying in a hotel, the following applies:
1. If one arrives in the hotel before the 14th at night and plans on staying Pesach, then one should
perform Bedika in the room with a Bracha. Some maintain that one should check without a Bracha. 2. If the room is cleaned well one should bring Chametz into the room before doing Bedika. 3. If one arrives in the hotel on the day of the 14th, if the hotel did a Bedika on the 14th at night one doesn’t need to do Bedika, however, if the hotel didn’t do Bedika, one should do so with a Bracha. 4. If one is a guest in the hotel only for the 14th and plans on leaving before Pesach one should still do
Bedika but without a Bracha.
The following apply to a student who stays in a dorm away from home:
1. If a student is leaving his dorm or apartment within 30 days of Pesach, even if he isn’t returning
on Pesach, he has an obligation to do Bedikas Chametz the night before he leaves, without a
Bracha, but with a candle or flashlight, and then do Bitul. One shouldn’t eat, work, or learn prior to performing this Bedika, just like one who performs Bedika on the 14th. 2. If a student in a dorm is in thie dorm on Pesach, he is obligated to perform Bedika in his dorm room and
if it’s done on the 14th at night it should be done with a Bracha. However, some hold that the Bedika should be made without a Bracha. 3. However, if the Yeshiva decides to sell all the rooms to a goy for Pesach, then there’s no obligation to
perform Bedika.
If one is staying at a friend or relative for Pesach and has a room where he will be staying, he should participate in the Bedika by listening to the Bracha on the Bedika and then checking the room that he will be staying in.
One has to do Bedika in his office (if he brings food there), however, he does not have to do it on the night before Pesach, but rather one should do on the night before he leaves the office before PesachBedik. |