Didn't clean home for Pesach, can a frum person stay there?

DefyGravity

Mon, Mar 27 2006, 2:24 pm

If you didn't clean you home for pesach (because you're going away for the entire chag), can a frum person stay in your home?

Just curious, because this situation recently came up. It would just make things easier if I could say,"No, we didn't clean the house for pesach, so you can't stay here."

hisorerus

Mon, Mar 27 2006, 2:54 pm

It has to be cleaned, period. It has to be checked for chometz, period. How much depends- different Rabonim pasken differently.

If someone is staying in your home, YOU may need to check it for chometz.

lucky

Mon, Mar 27 2006, 3:01 pm

GR wrote:

hisorerus, what about people who go away and sell their homes? they dont have to clean.

The question is about someone actually being in the uncleaned home for Pesach.

chocolate moose

Mon, Mar 27 2006, 3:02 pm

I have housesat for an uncleaned house (maybe they cleaned one room to be mekayim the inyan, I don't know.

And I wwent in the kitchen to water the plants. AND bread was left out.

And this was a big rabbi, he knew I was doingit.

hisorerus

Mon, Mar 27 2006, 3:08 pm

We had to clean our home, and do bedikas chometz before leaving it for someone else. (We obviously just closed off the kitchen, etc., but we were told we needed to clean and search.) That's why you should ask your Rav, because I have heard others who do differently.

shalhevet

Mon, Mar 27 2006, 3:10 pm

SaraG wrote:

And I wwent in the kitchen to water the plants. AND bread was left out.

And this was a big rabbi

Maybe they forgot it there. This sounds a bit dangerous (yes, I'm still worried about our halacha discussions ...) to bring this story as proof. If you'd said a "big rabbi" said it was OK to leave bread out in a house someone was going to be staying at then that might be more of an inyan (I wouldn't say proof) I have a feeling that if you leave your house more than 30 days before Pesach you don't have to check.

amother

Mon, Mar 27 2006, 3:56 pm

hisorerus wrote:

You cannot make a blanket statement like that. We go away for the whole Pesach and our rav said only one room had to be cleaned and checked. We didn't touch anything else.

Also, one Pesach I stayed in someone's uncleaned apartment. I asked a shaila in that case too and the person had no obligation to do anything extra because I was there and I it was no problem for me to be there since it wasn't my chometz.

The moral is: everyone ask your own shaila!

chocolate moose

Mon, Mar 27 2006, 3:56 pm

If it's not the right thing to do, it's pretty weird. I thought so then and I think so now!~

The fact that he's a big rabbi just compounds the weirdness. B/c they expected me to use their kitchen!

amother

Mon, Mar 27 2006, 4:31 pm

What if s/o is living w/ you and they arent frum and they wont clean for pesach and won't let you clean their room either? Anyone ever deal w/ this? I know I need 2 ask a shaila, but I wonder if I'm alone in this sit.

didan

Mon, Mar 27 2006, 4:36 pm

B"H

You definitely need to ask a Shaila, there are many other particulars, such as if you both own particular things that you want to sell and the other person doesn't, among others.

DefyGravity

Mon, Mar 27 2006, 4:51 pm

Ladies, thanks for all the answers.
I'm just going to tell her that I don't feel comfortable having people that I don't know stay in my house for over a week when I'm not home. I think that's reasonable.

jewgal84

Mon, Mar 27 2006, 10:23 pm

If you sell your home, there should be nothing wrong with a Frum Person staying there. He doesn't own the chametz, and the halcha is that one can't own chametz on Pesach.

If you want to be more machmir, ie: as far as seeing the chametz etc, you can always cover up your pantries.

(He should find where to eat his meals)

queen

Tue, Mar 28 2006, 9:56 am

Defy- Our Rov said you are NOT allowed to stay in a house which was not cleaned/and they are just "selling" the house/chometz.

(In order to make it possible for someone to stay in your home, you'd have to close off all the chometz areas and even then- have to ask a shaila as to exactly how to do it)

hope this helps!
Smile

realeez

Mon, Apr 24 2006, 5:40 pm

I know this is too late for this year, but my rav addressed this issue in his halacha shiur he gave to women.

He said that anytime ppl cometo him and say that they want to sell the entire house, he says that they must understand that the [gentile] can come in and look around and technically speaking make a party there b/c it is his on Peasch. As soon as he says that, the people freeze and don't like that at all. He said that is what you are saying for the sale and if it is not OK with you then you can't sell your house. He also said that you can't sell your house and then have your friend stay there. That is a mockery of the sale.

His opinion is that people made pesach cleaning into spring cleaning and have all sorts of Chumras they took upon themselves to clean when really, except for the kitchen, to clean a room, it really just needs a good vacuum and a run through. Then to get out of the chumras, they rely on kulahs!

amother

Mon, Apr 24 2006, 8:06 pm

I stayed in someone's house for Pesach who did NOT clean it. It was a two way deal - they were looking for someone to housesit, we were looking for somewhere to stay in the neighborhood - so we made a match. There was no problem OK'ing this sitch with a Rabbi. It felt weird to see candy and stuff sitting around but I guess what feels weird and what is Halachically forbidden are not always the same!