Expert: Ovadiah ben Avraham - 3/26/2007

Question
QUESTION: The Torah says that "No chametz can be found in all our dwelling place...

-So can you tell me if the halachah for "blocking off the Chametz in a cupboard and selling it to a Rabbi is still within the Torah's mandate...afterall it is STILL in the person's possession right?  I don't understand.
ANSWER: This is a legal fiction which I disagree with. I might entertain the idea for someone whose livelihood depended upon it, but even then frown on the practice.

Do you have a Rav? Are you Baal Teshuva?

Shalom!

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I do have a RAV, but I was told to seek the Chabad website for more information and the details on Pesach.  Legal fiction?

Answer
R,
I certainly don't mind your questions, but sometimes there is no substitute for a more personal touch.

A legal fiction is a way of working around a prohibition. One example is the 1 in 60 rule which says that is the concentration of a prohibited substance is less than 1/60, it is no longer prohibited. In the case of Passover, selling one's prohibited substances to a non-Jew via a Rabbi or Shul and then having the Gentile renig on the transaction after Passover is over is a legal fiction. In all cases, I disagree strongly with legal fictions. In this case, better to plan and eat your chametz before the Holy Day, or give them to charity, is the best approach.

Shalom!