{"id":5505,"date":"2011-03-04T04:01:25","date_gmt":"2011-03-04T02:01:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=5505"},"modified":"2021-03-21T09:09:45","modified_gmt":"2021-03-21T07:09:45","slug":"04-04-01","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/04-04-01\/","title":{"rendered":"01.\u00a0The Time for <strong>Bedikat \u1e24ametz<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As we learned in the previous chapter, one who possesses <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong> on Pesa\u1e25 transgresses two prohibitions: \u201cno <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong> of yours shall be seen\u201d (Shemot 13:7), and \u201cthere shall be no <strong>se\u2019or<\/strong> found in your homes\u201d (<strong>ibid<\/strong>. 12:19). In order not to violate these Torah prohibitions, one must eliminate all <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong> from his possession. According to the Torah, it is possible to dispose of the <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong> by nullifying it verbally, because when one nullifies the <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong> in his possession, it becomes like dust, no longer belonging to him, and consequently, it does not cause him to transgress the prohibition of <strong>bal yera\u2019eh <\/strong>and <strong>bal yimatzei<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Nonetheless, the Sages ruled that we must not rely on this nullification (<strong>bitul<\/strong>) alone; rather, one must also physically remove <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong> from his possession, for two reasons: First, they feared that people would nullify <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong> insincerely, intending to benefit from it after Pesa\u1e25, and this would result in their transgressing the prohibition of <strong>bal yera\u2019eh <\/strong>and <strong>bal yimatzei<\/strong>. Second, they feared that after nullifying his <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong>, one might see an enticing piece of pastry and eat it, forgetting that it is Pesa\u1e25. The Sages therefore ordained that, in addition to <strong>bitul \u1e25ametz<\/strong>, one must search out <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong> in order to eliminate it from his possession.<\/p>\n<p>At first glance, the appropriate time for <strong>bedikat \u1e25ametz<\/strong> should be just before midday on the day of the 14th of Nisan, the deadline for removing <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong>. However, the Sages ordained that we search for <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong> at nightfall of the 14th, because during the day people are busy with their affairs, and if one waits until the day of the 14th to do <strong>bedikat \u1e25ametz<\/strong> he is liable to forget it altogether. Furthermore, candlelight is especially effective for checking the cracks and crevices of the house. But during the day, candles do not illuminate well, since sunlight prevents the eye from focusing on the weaker light of the candle. Therefore, the Sages instituted <strong>bedikat<\/strong> <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong> at nightfall of the 14th, because at night, people are usually at home and candlelight is effective at this time (SAH 431:5).<\/p>\n<p>Since people normally pray <strong>Ma\u2019ariv <\/strong>at the beginning of the night, they should do so prior to the <strong>bedika<\/strong>, as a more frequent mitzva takes precedence. They should then proceed quickly to <strong>bedikat \u1e25ametz<\/strong> (MB 431:8). One who is accustomed to praying with a <strong>minyan<\/strong> later in the evening should search for <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong> at <strong>tzeit ha-kokhavim<\/strong> (the appearance of three distinct stars) and then pray at his usual hour.<\/p>\n<p>The obligation to search for <strong>\u1e25ametz<\/strong> rests upon the male head of the household, but if it is difficult for him to do so because he is weak or does not see well, he should appoint his wife or another adult family member to search in his stead. Regarding this mitzva there is no difference between men and women, and one should choose someone reliable to perform a <strong>bedika <\/strong>properly and responsibly (see AHS 437:7). If the head of household is capable of performing a proper <strong>bedika <\/strong>but is compelled to come home late that evening, he should appoint someone to perform the <strong>bedika <\/strong>in his stead at the regular time at the beginning of the night. If there is no one to perform the <strong>bedika <\/strong>in his home at the set time, then <strong>be-di\u2019avad <\/strong>he should perform the search himself when he gets home.<sup><a href='#_te01ftn4_1' id='_te01ftnref4_1' class='aup1'>[1]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n<div>\n<hr size=\"1\" \/>\n<div>\n<a href='#_te01ftnref4_1' id='_te01ftn4_1'>[1]<\/a>. Some have suggested that one who wishes to engage in the search himself should appoint one of his family members to search the house at the proper time and leave one room unchecked; when he returns later that night he can search the unchecked room. He should be sure to ask them to remind him to check the room when he returns, or if he does not return, to check the room themselves (<strong>Piskei Teshuvot <\/strong>431:5). However, it seems to me that if there is someone in the house who can perform the search instead, it is better to appoint this person as a <strong>shali\u2019a\u1e25 <\/strong>to search the entire house at the set time. This issue is dependent upon a fundamental question: did the Sages decree that the <strong>bedika<\/strong> should be conducted specifically at the beginning of the night, or is the entire night acceptable for <strong>bedika<\/strong> since the candlelight is more visible at night, but in order to prevent a person from forgetting to check, they forbade working and eating before the <strong>bedika<\/strong>? According to most <strong>poskim<\/strong>, the primary time for the <strong>bedika<\/strong> is at the beginning of the night. This is the opinion of <strong>Taz, Pri \u1e24adash, <\/strong>Gra<strong>, <\/strong>and SAH in 431:5. Conversely, Rema and <strong>Mekor \u1e24ayim<\/strong> maintain that the <strong>bedika<\/strong> can be done throughout the entire night. Thus, according to them, one may be more lenient about postponing the <strong>bedika<\/strong> as long as there is someone who will remind him to check later on. I have written in accordance with the view of most <strong>poskim<\/strong>, and in the next section, I have written that it is proper to refrain from eating even casually once the time for <strong>bedikat \u1e25ametz<\/strong> has arrived, so as not to delay the <strong>bedika<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As we learned in the previous chapter, one who possesses \u1e25ametz on Pesa\u1e25 transgresses two prohibitions: \u201cno \u1e25ametz of yours shall be seen\u201d (Shemot 13:7), and \u201cthere shall be no se\u2019or found in your homes\u201d (ibid. 12:19). In order not to violate these Torah prohibitions, one must eliminate all \u1e25ametz from his possession. According to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-04-bedikat-chametz-the-search-for-hametz"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>01.\u00a0The Time for Bedikat \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\/04-04-01\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"01.\u00a0The Time for Bedikat \u1e24ametz - Peninei Halakha\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As we learned in the previous chapter, one who possesses \u1e25ametz on Pesa\u1e25 transgresses two prohibitions: \u201cno \u1e25ametz of yours shall be seen\u201d (Shemot 13:7), and \u201cthere shall be no se\u2019or found in your homes\u201d (ibid. 12:19). In order not to violate these Torah prohibitions, one must eliminate all \u1e25ametz from his possession. According to [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/04-04-01\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Peninei Halakha\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-03-04T02:01:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-03-21T07:09:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/04-04-01\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/04-04-01\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8822293bfa4f7cd35b44a3c311851b63\"},\"headline\":\"01.\u00a0The Time for Bedikat \u1e24ametz\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-03-04T02:01:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-03-21T07:09:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/04-04-01\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":855,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"04 - Bedikat \u1e24ametz, the Search for \u1e24ametz\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/04-04-01\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/04-04-01\\\/\",\"name\":\"01.\u00a0The Time for Bedikat \u1e24ametz - Peninei Halakha\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-03-04T02:01:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-03-21T07:09:45+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/04-04-01\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/04-04-01\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/04-04-01\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"\u05d3\u05e3 \u05d4\u05d1\u05d9\u05ea\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"01.\u00a0The Time for Bedikat \u1e24ametz\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"Peninei Halakha\",\"description\":\"HaRav Eliezer Melamed\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Peninei Halakha\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/10\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/logo-ph-.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/10\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/logo-ph-.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":64,\"caption\":\"Peninei Halakha\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8822293bfa4f7cd35b44a3c311851b63\",\"name\":\"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4839847e1f630d0e0f5d54879b51b427c551b51611b74d6558e54ff6e69ce498?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4839847e1f630d0e0f5d54879b51b427c551b51611b74d6558e54ff6e69ce498?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4839847e1f630d0e0f5d54879b51b427c551b51611b74d6558e54ff6e69ce498?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ph.yhb.org.il\\\/en\\\/author\\\/shlomit12\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"01.\u00a0The Time for Bedikat \u1e24ametz - Peninei Halakha","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/04-04-01\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"01.\u00a0The Time for Bedikat \u1e24ametz - Peninei Halakha","og_description":"As we learned in the previous chapter, one who possesses \u1e25ametz on Pesa\u1e25 transgresses two prohibitions: \u201cno \u1e25ametz of yours shall be seen\u201d (Shemot 13:7), and \u201cthere shall be no se\u2019or found in your homes\u201d (ibid. 12:19). In order not to violate these Torah prohibitions, one must eliminate all \u1e25ametz from his possession. According to [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/04-04-01\/","og_site_name":"Peninei Halakha","article_published_time":"2011-03-04T02:01:25+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-03-21T07:09:45+00:00","author":"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/04-04-01\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/04-04-01\/"},"author":{"name":"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8","@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/8822293bfa4f7cd35b44a3c311851b63"},"headline":"01.\u00a0The Time for Bedikat \u1e24ametz","datePublished":"2011-03-04T02:01:25+00:00","dateModified":"2021-03-21T07:09:45+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/04-04-01\/"},"wordCount":855,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/#organization"},"articleSection":["04 - Bedikat \u1e24ametz, the Search for \u1e24ametz"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/04-04-01\/","url":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/04-04-01\/","name":"01.\u00a0The Time for Bedikat \u1e24ametz - Peninei Halakha","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2011-03-04T02:01:25+00:00","dateModified":"2021-03-21T07:09:45+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/04-04-01\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/04-04-01\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/04-04-01\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"\u05d3\u05e3 \u05d4\u05d1\u05d9\u05ea","item":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"01.\u00a0The Time for Bedikat \u1e24ametz"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/","name":"Peninei Halakha","description":"HaRav Eliezer Melamed","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/#organization","name":"Peninei Halakha","url":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/08\/logo-ph-.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/08\/logo-ph-.png","width":300,"height":64,"caption":"Peninei Halakha"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/8822293bfa4f7cd35b44a3c311851b63","name":"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4839847e1f630d0e0f5d54879b51b427c551b51611b74d6558e54ff6e69ce498?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4839847e1f630d0e0f5d54879b51b427c551b51611b74d6558e54ff6e69ce498?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4839847e1f630d0e0f5d54879b51b427c551b51611b74d6558e54ff6e69ce498?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"\u05e6\u05d5\u05d5\u05ea \u05d4\u05d0\u05ea\u05e8"},"url":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/author\/shlomit12\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5505"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5505\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}