21 Mar THE QUICK BEDIKAS CHAMETZ

I. Checking for
Chametz
According to Torah
law, we must get rid
of all of our chametz,
our leavened bread,
before Pesach.
However, this can be
accomplished either by
rendering it all ownerless or by disposing
of it. Rabbinic law requires us to do both
— bi’ur chametz, disposing of it, and bitul
chametz, rendering whatever remains in our
possession ownerless. Part of the process of
bi’ur chametz is bedikas chametz, checking
our homes for any remaining chametz on
the night before Pesach. Before we begin
checking our homes, we say the blessing of
“al bi’ur chametz.”
Contemporary practice raises a question
of whether that blessing is necessary. If it is
not necessary, it is not allowed because an
unnecessary blessing constitutes a berachah
le-vatalah. I would like to explore two forms
of doing bedikas chametz which lead to three
theories justifying the blessing, one of which
only allows it in specific circumstances.
II. Pre-Cleaning
Most people today clean their homes
thoroughly well before bedikas chametz
and therefore will not find any unexpected
chametz when they formally check for it.

This is not a new practice. Already in the
thirteenth century, Rav Mordechai Ben Hillel
of Germany writes that we must clean our
house before performing bedikas chametz
(Mordechai, Pesachim, no. 536). It seems
to have been a well-established practice in
his day. Earlier (no. 535), he mentions that
Rav Elazar Ben Nassan (Ra’avan, 12th cen.,
Germany) says that people who clean their
homes must still do bedikas chametz in the
proper time. In fifteenth century Austria, Rav
Yisrael Isserlein likewise says that many
people thoroughly clean their homes two or
three days before bedikas chametz (Terumas
Ha-Deshen 1:133). If so, why do they still
have to do bedikas chametz?
Rav Mordechai Ben Hillel gives two
answers. First, he says that we do not
differentiate between bedikah and bedikah
(ibid., no. 535). Meaning, we do not say that
some homes need bedikas chametz and some
do not. The rabbinic decree applies to all
homes equally. Additionally, you might still
find chametz in a crevice (ibid., no. 536). The
practical difference between the two answers
is a house that undergoes a rigorous and
thorough cleaning in which you are certain
that you will not find chametz in a crevice.
According to the first reason, this does not
matter because the obligation applies equally
in all situations. According to the second
answer, if there is no likelihood of finding
chametz, there is no obligation of bedikas

chametz in such a pre-cleaned house. Rav
Yisrael Isserlein (ibid.) quotes both answers
and requires a full bedikas chametz even if
the house has been cleaned days in advance.
III. Checking After Pre-Cleaning
Rav Moshe Isserles (Rema, 16th cen.,
Poland) says, based on Rav Mordechai’s
ruling, that we must pre-clean the house
before bedikas chametz (Gloss to Shulchan
Aruch, Orach Chaim 433:11). Despite that,
we must also do bedikas chametz. However,
later authorities note that people act very
leniently about bedikas chametz. Rav Chaim
Mordechai Margoliyos (19th cen., Ukraine)
quotes an earlier authority who says that
the thorough cleaning of houses in advance
explains why so many people only do a
cursory bedikas chametz (Sha’arei Teshuvah
to Orach Chaim 433:1). Rav Shlomo Kluger
(19th cen. Ukraine) suggests that if you
clean your house more than three days
before the time of bedikas chametz, you
have established a presumption that your
house contains no chametz and are exempt
from bedikas chametz (Chochmas Shlomo,
ad loc.). Somewhat similarly, Rav Yechiel
Michel Epstein (19th cen., Russia) says
that while in prior times, their pre-cleaning
may have left some chametz, in his day the
cleaning was so thorough that there is no
chametz to find; therefore, you only have to

do a cursory bedikas chametz (Aruch Ha-
Shulchan, Orach Chaim 433:13).

However, a simple reading of the Rema
indicates that even a pre-cleaned house
needs to undergo bedikas chametz. As
mentioned above, Rav Mordechai Ben
Hillel gives two reasons to require bedikas
chametz on a pre-cleaned house. Even if
there is no chance of finding chametz,
the rabbinic decree does not differentiate
between houses. Rav Yisrael Meir Kagan
(20th cen., Russia) likewise says that we
do not differentiate between houses when
it comes to bedikas chametz and therefore
even a pre-cleaned house must be
subjected to a thorough bedikas chametz
(Mishnah Berurah 433:45).
We find two approaches to bedikas
chametz. In an age when people generally
clean their houses thoroughly a few
days (sometimes weeks) before Pesach,
some require a full and thorough bedikas
chametz and some require a quick and
cursory bedikas chametz. According to the
first approach, we understand why we say
a blessing on bedikas chametz. According
to the second approach, how can we recite
the blessing? Don’t we really know that
the house has already been checked and
we are just going through the motions?
IV. A Blessing on a Quick Check
Rav Chaim Yosef David Azulai (ibid.,
par. 8) says that since there is debate
whether bedikas chametz is required in
a pre-cleaned house, you should not say
the blessing. Rav Zev Wolf of Zitl (19th
cen., Russia) says that we can only recite
a blessing if we follow the custom to hide
pieces of chametz for bedikas chametz

(Responsa Emek Halachah, Orach Chaim, no.
128). Once those pieces are hidden, the search
for chametz becomes obligatory and requires
a blessing. Rav Yechiel Michel Epstein (ibid.,
432:5) offers a different approach to why
the blessing is still necessary. We started
checking for chametz when we cleaned
the house originally. We will continue that
process of eating and disposing of chametz
through the morning before Pesach, when we
burn the remaining chametz. Therefore, we
are in the middle of the process of disposing
of the chametz, which is a legitimate time to
recite the blessing.
We have seen two approaches to bedikas
chametz. According to Terumas Ha-Deshen
and Mishnah Berurah, we must do a thorough
bedikas chametz on the night before Pesach and
therefore we recite a blessing on it. According
to the others, if we clean our houses early, we
do not have to do a full bedikas chametz on
the night before Pesach. According to Rav Zev
Wolf of Zitl, we say the blessing on the pieces
of chametz we hide. According to the Aruch
Ha-Shulchan, we say the blessing because we
are in the middle of a long disposal of chametz.
Among more recent authorities, we find a
slightly different approach to bedikas chametz
and its blessing. Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach
(20th cen., Israel) says that pre-cleaning a
house does not exempt it completely from
bedikas chametz (Halichos Shlomo, Pesach
5:1). Rather, you still have to go through the
entire house and confirm with family members
what was cleaned and look for areas that
might not have been cleaned from chametz.
This can be a relatively quick process but
still constitutes bedikas chametz and requires
a blessing. Rav Shmuel Kamenetsky (cont.,
US) seems to take a similar approach (Kovetz
Halachos, Pesach 6:22). While bedikas
chametz might have changed somewhat from
its initial enactment, we still have to check for
whatever chametz might be left, even if we
have to hide it ourselves.