Apr 4, 2013
Interesting Psak: Buying Fresh Chametz After Pesach Still Prohibited
What seems like it could be a very common problem happened in Bnei Braq the other day and is being treated as if it has never happened before.
A bakery opened shortly after the conclusion of Pesach, baked fresh bread and sold it. The next day some people discovered that one of the owners was in the United States of America for Pesach.
They asked Rav Sariel Rosenberg, rav of the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood of Bnei Braq and son in law of Rav Nissim Karelitz, that because they bought the chametz, even though it was produced after Pesach in Israel but for the owner in America it was still Pesach, did they transgress the prohibition of chametz on pesach. Again, it was not Pesach in Israel, the bread was only baked after pesach, but the owner being in America could obviously not yet have bought back his chametz and if he did he owned chametz on Pesach which he would not be allowed to sell and buyers would not have been allowed to eat.
After much deliberation, Rav Rosenberg paskened that the buyers had transgressed the prohibition of benefiting from prohibited chametz.
(source: Kikar)
It seems like it should be a fairly common problem. Is this the first time a bakery owner went abroad for Pesach? Usually when people travel abroad, if they inform the rabbi through whom they sell their chametz, they will be told to sign a different contract to cover the discrepancy in hours and dates and would then be aware not to open the bakery before a specific time, as per the unique contract. The repurchase of chametz for such a person (it is a lot of people, and is not so uncommon) might only happen the next day.
Anyways, the article does not say what he suggested they do regarding tshuva for the issur transgressed, nor does it say if he required them to kasher any dishes as a result of it.
A bakery opened shortly after the conclusion of Pesach, baked fresh bread and sold it. The next day some people discovered that one of the owners was in the United States of America for Pesach.
They asked Rav Sariel Rosenberg, rav of the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood of Bnei Braq and son in law of Rav Nissim Karelitz, that because they bought the chametz, even though it was produced after Pesach in Israel but for the owner in America it was still Pesach, did they transgress the prohibition of chametz on pesach. Again, it was not Pesach in Israel, the bread was only baked after pesach, but the owner being in America could obviously not yet have bought back his chametz and if he did he owned chametz on Pesach which he would not be allowed to sell and buyers would not have been allowed to eat.
After much deliberation, Rav Rosenberg paskened that the buyers had transgressed the prohibition of benefiting from prohibited chametz.
(source: Kikar)
It seems like it should be a fairly common problem. Is this the first time a bakery owner went abroad for Pesach? Usually when people travel abroad, if they inform the rabbi through whom they sell their chametz, they will be told to sign a different contract to cover the discrepancy in hours and dates and would then be aware not to open the bakery before a specific time, as per the unique contract. The repurchase of chametz for such a person (it is a lot of people, and is not so uncommon) might only happen the next day.
Anyways, the article does not say what he suggested they do regarding tshuva for the issur transgressed, nor does it say if he required them to kasher any dishes as a result of it.
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You would never have to kasher ke'ilim for חשעל"פ
ReplyDeleteacc to the way you report the story, it also seems like nobody bothered to call the owner and ask him any questions. maybe he had a shaliach buy the chametz back for him, etc etc.
ReplyDeleteShaya - you cant criticize the psak for not taking into account a possibility that you have no idea if it happened like that or not, or even if they took it into account or not.
DeleteI related the details mentioned in the article. More than that, facts of the case and considerations of the dayan, I have no idea of.
There are other issues as well. It seems to have been a partnership - why was their presence in Israel not enough to save the chametz? maybe he sold his portion to them?
Rafi you are well aware of the kashrus alerts that go out routinely and b'shitta without making verification phone calls, on the justification that if any consumer can walk up and suspect a problem - it should be reported as a problem, and it's the business' business to make sure they aren't open to suspicion. (I don't agree with it, but the point it that at least some of these "whistle-blowers" don't feel they need to do all that research.)
DeleteThere's a very easy solution (and I'm wondering why the Rabbonim haven't figured it out and established it as a new halacha yet). Very simply, from the time Pesach ends (at any given location), wait exactly 24 hours before creating new chametz foods. That will eliminate the possibility that any Jew in the world (even a person who is located 23 time zones behind you) owns any part of the chametz creators business while it is still Pesach for that Jew. Simple, elegant, universal solution.
ReplyDelete10 key reasons foe shlissel challah
ReplyDeleteYeah, I am against it too.
DeleteDiscussion of the basic issue here goes back to the nineteenth century.
ReplyDelete