DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

Click Here to Sponsor Daily Halacha
"Delivered to Over 6000 Registered Recipients Each Day"

      
(File size: 442 KB)
Pesah – If a Non-Jew Comes to One’s House During Pesah with Hames

If a gentile comes into a Jew’s home on Pesah with Hames, the Jew is not required to send him out of the home. A common example of such a case is a non-Jewish workman or electrician who comes to do repairs. If he brings Hames food with him, the Jew may allow him to remain in the home, and is not required to ask him to leave. Even though the Torah formulates the prohibition of Hames with the term "Lo Yera’eh" ("it shall not be seen"), the complete phrase is "Lo Yera’eh Lecha" ("it shall not be seen to you"), which our Sages interpreted as referring specifically to Hames which one personally owns. It is not forbidden to have in one’s home Hames owned by a non-Jew, and thus if a non-Jewish repairman shows up in one’s home on Pesah with Hames, he may be permitted to remain.

Nevertheless, it is preferable, when possible, to avoid this situation, as there is the risk that the non-Jew may leave crumbs on the table that may reach one’s food. Furthermore, the Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909), in his work Rab Pe’alim (2:55), cites authorities who held that the aforementioned Halacha applies only to raw Hametz dough. According to these Poskim, although one may allow a gentile to bring dough into his home on Pesah, one may not allow baked Hametz products in his home. It is thus preferable to avoid this situation, and to respectfully ask the gentile not to bring Hametz products into the home. If, however, a non-Jewish worker did bring Hametz into the home on Pesah, no violation has been committed, and the Jew should simply clean and ensure that no crumbs were left.

Summary: If a non-Jew will be coming to one’s home during Pesah, such as a workman who comes to do repairs, it is preferable to respectfully ask that he does not bring Hametz into the home, but strictly speaking, the non-Jew may be allowed to enter the home with Hametz, as long as one ensures to remove any crumbs that are left.

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
Can Eliyahu HaNavee Come On Shabbat?
Is It Permissible To Have A Seuda Inside A Bet Kennesset
Is It Permissible To Change Biblical Verses from Singular to Plural Form
Is It Required To Repeat The Beracha Of LiHitatef BiTzitzit If Removing The Talit For Just A Short While
Is It Required To Make The Beracha Of LiHitatef BiTzitzit Again If The 1st Talit Was Found To Be Pasul (Improper)
Is One Required To Stand For An Elderly Lady or Scholarly Woman
Is It Permissible To Simply Answer Amen and Rely On Another's Beracha Of LiHitatef BiTzitzit
Granting Precedence to a Jew When Hiring
Is It Permissible To Give A Non-Kosher Turkey To A Goy For Their Holiday
Yichud- 1) Must An Onen Follow The Laws of Yichud, 2) War and Yichud
Yichud- Is It Permissible For A Man To Be Alone With A Lady On An Express Elevator In A Skyscraper
Yichud- Is It Permissible to Be Alone with Mother, Father, Daughter, Son, Brother, or Sister
Tzineeut and The Proper and Improper Ways Of Socializing With Friends
How Could We Pray To G-d That Korbanot Be Accepted, When Today We Do Not Have Korbanot?
Some Laws Regarding Visiting or Seeing a Cemetery
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found