How to Clean for Passover (in 10 Days or Less)

Chabad.org ^ | Every year before Passover | Rosally Saltsman

[richardtavor]

Here’s the general rule:

It is praiseworthy to be stringent on Passover. In fact, the Arizal states, “One who is careful about the most minuscule amount of chametz on Pesach is guaranteed not to sin the entire year.” It is partially based on this that many are extra stringent. Nevertheless, keep in mind that dust isn’t chametz (“leaven”). The main purpose of cleaning and searching for chametz is to remove any of it that one may come to inadvertently eat or derive benefit from during Passover.

This obligation of getting rid of chametz does not extend to inedible chametz, or tiny crumbs or particles of chametz that are soiled or spoiled. So the key areas to focus on are things that may come in contact with food, since we are forbidden to eat anything with even a trace of chametz.

Here’s what you DON’T have to do:

Anything coming under the heading of spring cleaning (e.g., organizing your clothes, going through every letter you’ve ever received, looking at your master’s thesis, washing the curtains, windows and bathtub) does not have to be done for Passover. (Wash your curtains before Rosh Hashanah instead!) Ditto for painting, house repairs and washing your car from the outside. (Do check your car for chametz. I once had the unfortunate experience of finding pretzels in a puzzle box in the trunk of my car—after Passover.) Walls and paintings also do not have to be cleaned. The exception is where your little ones smeared cookies or crackers on the walls behind your dining-room table and your cooking surfaces. If you’re not making the Seder and don’t need the use of a large oven, give it a superficial cleaning, tape it up, and buy a Passover toaster oven and/or microwave. You don’t have to have a clear laundry basket to sit down at the Seder. You will need to have plenty of clothing to last the entire holiday, but you don’t have to wash every sweater and pillowcase. It’ll wait for you.

Here’s what you SHOULD do:

Sell all the chametz in your house, real or imagined, so if you do find some during or after the holiday, it wasn’t yours anyway and you’re fine. The day before bedikat chametz (the search for chametz), sweep and wash your floors (not like surgery is going to be performed on them, just to get them basically clean). If you have carpets, vacuum them and empty the vacuum bag. Everywhere that food has touched and is going to be in contact with food over Passover has to be cleaned, or made unfit for a dog to eat. So if you can’t get to every nook and cranny in your kitchen or dining room with a toothpick or a toothbrush—or you can’t bear the thought of even trying—spritz the area with some chemical/poisonous substance like Windex. Books people ate cookies over have to be shaken out. You do not have to clean your blinds with a toothpick or your couch with a toothbrush. Buy everything new that you can, and keep it for Passover from year to year—towels, tablecloths, clothes, toys, books. The more you buy, the less you have to clean. Put everything else in your closet, tape it up and say, “See you in eight-and-a-half days.” The dining-room table and chairs have to be cleaned with cleansing products. That shouldn’t take more than an hour. (Really, it shouldn’t!) The kitchen is the real challenge. But that shouldn’t take more than one day of cleaning, and another half day of koshering and changing over the dishes. I actually like cleaning the fridge because it gets so white and shiny, and it’s the only time of year I see it that way. (Just before it’s hidden under aluminum foil.) After you’ve touched your last bite of chametz, or maybe even before, wipe down (with Windex or a similar substance) all of the things your fingers touch while eating a meal, or right afterwards—like light switches in the kitchen or dining room, doorknobs or buttons on the fridge or stove, keyboards, etc.—to make sure that any residue has been removed. Delegate! Get the kids involved, your best friend, your husband’s accountant. Anyone willing to lend a hand.

A final word:

Remember, we are not trying to recreate the feeling of slavery. We are trying to prepare for a holiday that celebrates freedom. While it’s nice to sit down to a Passover Seder in a house where everything is clean and shiny, it’s even nicer to sit down to a Seder and stay awake for it. Reschedule your superfluous spring cleaning to the fall, and Passover cleaning will not wind up to be such a crummy job.

Happy Passover!

[richardtavor]

Chametz (also spelled "hametz" or "chometz") is any food product made from wheat, barley, rye, oats or spelt that has come into contact with water and been allowed to ferment and “rise.” We are seeing the effects now of the coronavirus, which could be considered 'sort of' like chametz - since it grows like sin, out of control, and thus must be eradicated.

Isn't it interesting that because of Passover, the State of Israel will probably be the cleanest, disease free country on earth. Jews did not experience the horrors of the bubonic Plague that occurred around 1350. From "Jewish Currents", written on January 9th, 2014: “[I]t was alleged that Jews were suffering and dying from the Black Plague at a much lower rate than Christians. It is not clear if this was actually true, but there are several theories explaining the apparent phenomenon. One theory suggests that Jews buried their dead much more quickly than Christians and in separate cemeteries, thus making their deaths less visible. Another theory speculates that Passover was responsible for saving a great portion of the Jewish population. According to Dr. Martin Blaser, as reported by the New York Times, the clearing of hametz (leavened bread) from homes ahead of Passover deprived rats of food and shelter, helping to stymie the disease’s spread. He adds that the plague peaked in the spring, around the time that Passover would have fallen.” https://jewishcurrents.org/january-9-jews-black-death/

Many Jews were killed in pograms and mass killings because they did not suffer at the same rates as the rest of the world, and it was assumed that either they were demons or witches, or somehow caused the "Black Death". Again, Passover will be an example of preparation that will prevent disease, and will be an example to the rest of the world.

[yldstrk]

Also Jewish people wash their hands all the time.

[jjotto]

Religious Jews, you mean.

[Boogieman]

Some Passover-related humor:

Miracle: Coronavirus Passes Over Houses With Chick-Fil-A Sauce Smeared On Door Posts (Babylon Bee)

[BTerclinger]

“Remember, we are not trying to recreate the feeling of slavery. We are trying to prepare for a holiday that celebrates freedom.”

BOOM!

PS- 8 day holiday of Pesach (Passover) starts the evening of Saturday. March 27. As of right now, I am betting that public Seders are not happening.

[BTerclinger]

bwa-ha-ha-ha!

[richardtavor]

There will be some, I am sure, but much reduced in size. Most will do Seders in their homes, with family, as has always been done, even in the worst of times.

[richardtavor]

I saw that. LOL..

[richardtavor]

Actually, even most non religious Jews celebrate Passover. Much like Christians who only go to church on Easter. One of the best Seders I ever went to was with a gentleman who often ate BBQ Pork sandwiches when we went for BBQ...He told me he didn’t really worry about that kosher stuff, but loved the ceremony of Pesach...

[jjotto]

They ritually wash hands multiple times a day?

https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/607403/jewish/Meal-Hand-Washing.htm

[richardtavor]

Yes. At least 3 times per day. The first thing you do in the morning is to thank God for giving you another day after waking. The second thing you do is to say a blessing and wash your hands. The 3rd thing is to thank God for your “orfices and cavities” not being blocked (in other words, your bodily functions). Always wash before every meal and say the blessings, etc. So,at the very mimimum, at least 5 times per day...and that has been the case for 2700 years.