I’m just taking a break from my yearly Pesach cleaning to write a blog about …what else? Pesach cleaning. When people see Jews clean out their homes in the weeks and days before Passover, much of what we do can be mistaken for spring cleaning.
But calling all Balabustas (Jewish homemakers) Pesach cleaning is NOT Spring cleaning! Because if you treat Pesach cleaning like spring cleaning, it is just too much!
We can’t remove every crumb from the bedroom, nor are we required to.
Every year I try to review notes from a very sane lecture on Pesach Cleaning given by Rabbi Yehoshua Apel in Jerusalem. While it may be difficult for Jewish women to get away in the weeks before Passover to go to a lecture, these lectures actually save time.
So why do we clean for Pesach? To remove chametz, which is any leavened material, such as bread, rolls, bagels cake. We are also supposed to remove any yeast, baking powder or leavening agents as well as products made with grains. While legumes and rice are not considered chametz, Eastern European Jews have the custom not to eat these on Passover.
There is a prohibition against eating chametz (even a crumb) during Passover. This is quite strict, which is why we clean our kitchens and dining rooms of crumbs. And there is another prohibition against owning chametz, or having any chametz visible in our homes.
Now the following points are those I have found very useful to review:
1. the Prohibition for seeing or owning chametz applies to a minimum amount, a kazyis, which is approximately a piece of bread. Therefore, you do not need to get rid of every single crumb in bedrooms or places where you don’t eat food! You do not need to scrub the walls or get to every single corner. The very minimum someone can do in this case is to check the bedroom to make sure there is not chametz the size of a piece of bread. While it is also a good idea to get rid of crumbs to make sure they aren’t ingested accidentally, that is a stringency. And cleaning dirt…well, that’s spring cleaning, and best reserved for another time, not days before Pesach.
2. the prohibition against eating chametz applies to even a crumb. Therefore, you should clean very very well any areas where you will be cooking or eating.
3. You do not need to worry about chametz in places that are impossible to reach.
4. Chametz a dog wouldn’t eat is not considered chametz (i.e if it is covered in Clorox)
I spent the first few years making Pesach worrying about scrubbing the bedroom walls and the bathroom. While this is great in terms of cleanliness, it is really a waste of time before the holiday when there is so much to do.
People often wonder if they can rely on someone who doesn’t observe Passover to clean their homes, since many housewives do need help during this time, particularly if they work. The concern is that someone who isn’t accustomed to worrying about minute crumbs, even if they are an expert cleaner, might not be ready to clean for Pesach. Here’s the advice I was given: if you want to hire a cleaning lady to help you, one who does not observe Passover, have her clean the bathrooms, the bedrooms, the porch and places you won’t be eating and don’t need to worry about crumbs so much. Then you go and check after the cleaning for large pieces of chametz. But personally, I want to clean my own dining room and kitchen for crumbs.
There, that’s my Pesach cleaning rundown.
Happy cleaning and have a kosher and happy holiday.