25 Mar PESACH IN A HOTEL: HALACHIC GUIDELINES AND PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS

One who leaves his
home for the days of
Passover may sell
his house, including
all its contents to a
non-Jew in the
Mechirat Chametz, thus being exempt from
cleaning the house and checking for chametz
on the night of Bedikat Chametz. Such a
person may fulfill the mitzvah of Bedikat
Chametz in the room that he rents for the
holiday, or he may leave one room in his
house unsold, clean it, and perform the
Bedikat Chametz there. It is important to
inform the Rabbi performing the sale of
Chametz that the entire house is being sold.
Explanation: A person who sells his house to
a non-Jew for the Passover days does not
need to clean and inspect his house, as the
house will not be his during that time, nor
will he be staying there, as noted by the Ohr
Letzion (ח״ג פו עמוד(. He also emphasized
that one should not miss the important
mitzvah of Bedikat Chametz, and therefore
should check with a beracha, either at his
home or at the place where he will be for
Pesach, such as the hotel room.
Another option is to fulfill the mitzvah of

Bedikat Chametz in one’s car. Since people
usually travel with their cars, and the car
must be cleaned for Pesach anyway, one can
perform the mitzvah of checking for chametz
in the car with a lampor the phone light and
recite the blessing. It is not necessary to use a
candle in the car since it is difficult to check
properly with a candle in such a confined
space, and it could be dangerous.
One who sets out on a journey before the
night of Bedikat Chametz (the 14th of
Nissan) and does not intend to sell their
home to a non-Jew should thoroughly clean
their home and perform Bedikat Chametz
without a bracha.
Explanation: The Shulchan Aruch (Orach
Chaim 436:1) states: “One who sets out from
land to sea or joins a caravan and will not be
leaving someone in their home to perform
Bedikat Chametz—if this occurs within
thirty days before Pesach, they are required
to check (Rema: but they do not recite a
bracha on the Bedikat Chametz). If it occurs
more than thirty days before Pesach, they are
not required to check (Rema: and when
Pesach arrives, they should nullify their
chametz). However, if they intend to return
before Pesach, they must check before

departing.” If one goes to a
hotel, before entering his room on
Pesach Eve, it is suggested to leave
the luggage outside the room in
order to perform the Bedikat
Chametz while the room is empty.
The Bedikat Chametz in the hotel
room should be done with a candle
and a blessing.
Explanation: It is clear that one
must clean any place considered to
be his home for the holiday or any
place where he will be staying,
including a hotel room, as the Gaon
Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach writes in
.(ח“ב סימן נח אות יז) Shlomo Minchat t”Shu
It’s important to note that the hotel room
should first be thoroughly inspected, as the
cleaning team in the hotel does not perform a
detailed cleaning to remove all crumbs. After
a proper inspection, one is nearly certain to
find food behind closets or under beds.
Some hotels provide alcoholic beverages in
the room that are not kosher for Passover, or
snacks that are chametz. If this is the case,
one should close them in a drawer and label
the drawer, indicating that the items belong
to a non-Jew. If they are in the refrigerator
and the guest does not need to use it, the
refrigerator should be taped shut, and there is
no need to inspect it, as long as it is marked
as belonging to a non-Jew. If the hotel
charges for these items upon checkout one
should ask the management to remove them
before Pesach.
אשרי האיש פסח) Elyashiv Rav :Explanation
י ,נד פרק (‘wrote that as long as the guest did
not purchase the drinks or snacks, he is not
obligated to remove them from the room. If
the items are in a fridge that he will not use,
there is no need to inspect the fridge,
although it is in the room. He also added that
if the hotel is owned by a Jew, the managers
should be informed that the guest did not
check the contents of the refrigerator, and it
is their responsibility to ensure it is done.
holds) יג אות פ״כ ח״א פסח) Gavriel Nitei The
that the drinks and snacks must be removed
from the room before Pesach to prevent the
possibility of eating them by mistake. The
Shulchan Aruch (ס״ב תמ סימן (states that one
is obligated to separate chametz with a
partition of ten tefachim, while the Chazon
the if that held) הובא בחוט שני עמוד קה) Ish
items belong to a non-Jew (such as the
contents of a closet or fridge), it is sufficient
to tape it shut and mark it as belonging to the
non-Jew.
If the hotel is Jewish-owned, the owners are
responsible for inspecting all areas of the
hotel, except for the rented rooms. The
Shulchan Aruch HaRav (תלז סימן (states that
if the 14th of Nisan falls before the keys are

handed over to the tenant, the landlord is
obligated to inspect the hotel. The landlord
must also check areas such as the kitchen,
dining room, corridors, basements, and other
places that remain in their possession and are
not rented out. They do not have to perform
the inspection themselves, but must ensure
that it is done on the night of Bedikat
Chametz.
There is a dispute among the early Rishonim
whether one violates the prohibition of
Chametz even if the Chametz does not
belong to him but he is responsible for it in
case of loss. Therefore, in a place where they
charge for food and beverages placed in the
room if they are missing upon departure, one
should ask the management to remove them
before Pesach to avoid responsibility.
If one arrives at a hotel on Erev Pesach
before the fifth halachic hour and realizes
that he forgot to sell his chametz through a
rabbi, he may call a rabbi and appoint him as
his agent over the phone. If this is not
possible, he may sell his chametz through a
reputable website. If that, too, is not an
option, he should find a non-Jew and sell the
chametz to him.
Explanation: Anyone leaving home for
Pesach should ensure to sell their chametz
through a rabbi before departure, especially
if they also intend to sell their home to avoid
the obligation of bedikat chametz. If one
forgot, they may appoint a rabbi as their
agent to sell it via a phone call. The Or
LeTzion (vol. 3, p. 108) rules that no formal
act of acquisition is required to appoint the
rabbi as an agent—verbal appointment
suffices, as explained in the Shulchan Aruch
(Choshen Mishpat 182:1).
If time permits, one may also sell the chametz
through a reliable website. If none of these
options are available, they should find a local
non-Jew and sell the chametz to them. In
most cases, this can be arranged through a
hotel staff member, as they are generally
willing to accommodate guests’ requests.
However, ideally, one should not rely on this
option, as the halachot of selling chametz to
a non-Jew are complex, and it is preferable to
conduct the sale through a rabbi.