What is the big deal with the status of chametz once Pesach is over? Here's a fascinating piece by Rabbi Wein that addresses not just the halachic, commercial and legal considerations but also a spot of metaphysics.
Sale and repurchase
The legal sale of mechirat chametz is
of ancient origin, though it really only came into general use in the late Middle
Ages. Jews then were increasingly occupied in operating distilleries for the
production and distribution of liquor derived from chametz grain
and fermenting agents. Because of the heavy financial implications, the use of
a legal sale of the chametz to a non-Jew took hold and has
become de rigueur for Jewish individuals and companies in our time and
for the past many centuries.
While this solution avoids any problems regarding use and
benefit from chametz, stores and companies need to notify their
Jewish customers after Pesach that they in fact did sell their chametz before
Pesach, thus obviating any hesitation on the part of their Jewish customers in
purchasing chametz goods.
When solutions bring their own problems
As the economies of the world became more complex and
intertwined, our rabbinic decisors had to deal with new situations and
financial arrangements. What about Jews who own shares in public companies that
do business on Pesach with chametz goods? What about large
supermarket chains outside of Israel that sell their chametz before
Pesach but nevertheless continue to sell those products on a regular normal
basis in their stores on Pesach itself? Does this not render the sale of
their chametz to a non-Jew before Pesach a sham? In countries
that require that tax stamps be affixed to the sale documents, is this
necessary for the sale of the chametz to the non-Jew and the
reacquisition of the chametz after Pesach by the Jews as well?
Whose loss is it if the chametz became damaged or destroyed
during Pesach while technically under the ownership of the non-Jew?
Ultimately we need to know how real an apparently unreal
sale really has to be. All the questions we have just listed have been
thoroughly discussed and argued over by the great halachic decisors of the past
centuries. Needless to say, proper solutions to all these issues have been
found and implemented. It is an irony, but a very true one, that it is the very
rigidity of halacha and its absolute adherence to traditional norms
and constructs that allows it to be so flexible and fresh in addressing problems
of this nature.
A world of chaff
In Jewish kabbalistic and philosophical thought, chametz on
Pesach represents our evil inclination and immoral desires. The holiday of
Pesach is instrumental in making us more focused Jews and better people. But,
for this self-improvement mode to take hold within us, the chametz after
Pesach that still somehow remained within us must be removed from our midst.
The rabbinic decree regarding chametz after Pesach should not
be reduced to its simple, practical terms. Rather it should be elevated to its
highest spiritual form.
In a world of chaff, we should be the true kernel of
nourishing grain and, in a world of self-promotion and puffery, we should
continue to be the unleavened matzah with its low profile and
holy form. Perhaps this spiritual lesson is one of the very reasons that our
rabbis so emphasized the problems associated with the concept of chametz after
Pesach. The lessons of disciplined freedom that Pesach created within us have
to be reinforced and nurtured after Pesach too. The temptations of chametz on
Pesach are well known to all of us. The harm that undisposed of chametz after
Pesach can cause us should also be recognized and dealt with.
