{"id":5494,"date":"2011-03-04T03:04:35","date_gmt":"2011-03-04T01:04:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=5494"},"modified":"2026-03-15T10:34:34","modified_gmt":"2026-03-15T08:34:34","slug":"04-03-04","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/04-03-04\/","title":{"rendered":"04.\u00a0How One Fulfills the Mitzva of Eliminating <strong>\u1e24ametz<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>We clear the <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong> out of our homes in two ways: in thought and in deed, that is, spiritually and in practice. The removal in thought is done through nullification (<strong>bitul<\/strong>) of the <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong>, declaring it ownerless and considered as mere dust. We do this nullification because we violate the prohibitions of <strong>bal yera\u2019eh<\/strong> and <strong>bal yimatzei<\/strong> only with <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong> that belongs to us and that we consider valuable. One who nullifies his <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong> and considers it to be as dust does not violate any prohibitions on its account. Similarly, if he declares it ownerless, he commits no violation on its account.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to <strong>bitul<\/strong>, we also eliminate our <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong> in fact. The evening of the 14th, we search the entire house for <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong>, and on the day of the 14th we eliminate it from our homes.<\/p>\n<p>Although each method independently is sufficient to fulfill the requirements of Torah law, the Sages required that we remove the <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong> using both methods, to be on the safe side. Thus, we annul the <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong> verbally and clear it out of the house physically.<sup><a href='#_te01ftn3_6' id='_te01ftnref3_6' class='aup1'>[6]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<p>On one hand, the Sages did not want to rely on the nullification alone, lest some Jews not annul the <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong> wholeheartedly and subsequently keep it in their homes to eat after Pesa\u1e25. Since they did not annul the <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong> wholeheartedly, they violate <strong>bal yera\u2019eh<\/strong> and <strong>bal yimatzei<\/strong> by keeping it at home (Rashi, <strong>Pesa\u1e25im<\/strong> 2a). Moreover, the Sages were concerned lest, if <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong> remained in the house, people might eat it by mistake. Therefore, they also required its physical removal from the home (<strong>Tosafot<\/strong> <strong>ad loc<\/strong>.).<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, the Sages did not want to rely on the search alone, lest some Jews not manage to find all the <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong> in their homes but then find it on Pesa\u1e25. In that event, there is a chance that they might wait briefly before burning it \u2013 because they would feel badly for a moment about losing their <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong> \u2013 and, in that moment, they would violate the prohibitions of <strong>bal yera\u2019eh<\/strong> and <strong>bal yimatzei<\/strong>. By nullifying the <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong> before Pesa\u1e25, however, they would not violate the prohibitions, even if they hesitated a little before burning it (MB 434:6).<sup><a href='#_te01ftn3_7' id='_te01ftnref3_7' class='aup1'>[7]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<div>\n<hr size=\"1\" \/>\n<div>\n<a href='#_te01ftnref3_6' id='_te01ftn3_6'>[6]<\/a>. According to most <strong>poskim<\/strong>, on the Torah level, one method of destroying the <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong> is sufficient: either by nullifying the <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong> or by searching for and destroying the <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong>. The Sages decreed that one must use both methods, as I wrote above (1:1), in the name of Ran and as cited in <strong>Beit Yosef<\/strong> \u00a7432. However, it seems that according to <strong>Tur,<\/strong> the Torah\u2019s primary method is <strong>bitul<\/strong>, and the Sages added that one must also search for and destroy all <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong>, because of the reasons presented above.<\/p>\n<p><a href='#_te01ftnref3_7' id='_te01ftn3_7'>[7]<\/a>. According to MA 434:5, citing <strong>Tur<\/strong>, if one thoroughly checks his house and yet still an olive-sized piece of <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong> remains, he violates the prohibitions of <strong>bal yera\u2019eh <\/strong>and<strong> bal yimatzei.<\/strong> (This is why, in his view, the primary elimination of <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong> at the Torah level is <strong>bitul<\/strong>.) However, according to Rambam, Rosh, and the other Rishonim, anyone who checks his house properly, even if he does not manage to find every last bit of <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong>, does not violate any prohibitions for unintentionally having <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong> in his house, since he did a proper and thorough inspection. Only if he finds <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong> in his house on Pesa\u1e25 and intentionally leaves it in his house because he wants the <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong>, would he violate any prohibition. Moreover, according to <strong>Taz<\/strong>, even <strong>Tur<\/strong> is of this opinion, as I have written above.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We clear the \u1e25ametz out of our homes in two ways: in thought and in deed, that is, spiritually and in practice. The removal in thought is done through nullification (bitul) of the \u1e25ametz, declaring it ownerless and considered as mere dust. We do this nullification because we violate the prohibitions of bal yera\u2019eh and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-03-the-mitzva-of-getting-rid-of-hametz"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>04.\u00a0How One Fulfills the Mitzva of Eliminating \u1e24ametz - Peninei Halakha<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/04-03-04\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"04.\u00a0How One Fulfills the Mitzva of Eliminating \u1e24ametz - Peninei Halakha\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We clear the \u1e25ametz out of our homes in two ways: in thought and in deed, that is, spiritually and in practice. 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