YeshivaThe torah world Gateway
Beit Midrash
- Sections
- Chemdat Yamim
- Bemare Habazak - Rabbis Questions
Answer: The gemara (Pesachim 4a) decides that when one rents a house from another Jew before Pesach, the one who has access to it on the night of bc is obligated in bc. So, since you are coming a few hours before Pesach, the hotel is obligated to do bc.
The gemara continues with a question – can one who starts renting on erev Pesach assume that the landlord indeed did bc? We rule that one may assume he did bc (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 437:2), but the renter must ask the landlord if he is available. So, ostensibly, if the hotel did not report they did bc, you should inquire.
There are a few reasons, though, why this might not be necessary. Arguably, the hashgacha on the hotel includes an assurance that the rooms were properly checked. While this is true in some hotels, there are definitely arrangements where the mashgiach is responsible for the kitchen, whereas non-rabbis are responsible for other proper halachic operation of the hotel. Just like in the gemara’s case one needs to ask a fine landlord whether he did bc, perhaps here too you must ask. Therefore, it is difficult to give clear guidance about unspecified locations.
Another sometimes valid point of leniency is that at some hotels, you may have difficulty receiving a credible answer. Will the receptionist know? Will you be able to get hold of the relevant person on this hectic day? Therefore, it may be equivalent to what the gemara calls "he is not around to ask." While it could be more practical to ask in advance whether the hotel does a halachic bc on the rooms, if he did not, perhaps one there can rely on the assumption they did.
Bemare Habazak - Rabbis Questions (652)
Rabbi Daniel Mann
679 - Ask the Rabbi: Stock Market Talk on Shabbat
680 - Ask the Rabbi: Bedikat Chametz for Guests at a Hotel
Load More
But can a chambermaid’s cleaning without a candle and perhaps not on the night of the 14th of Nisan count in lieu of bc? If one checks without the halachically prescribed lighting, he does not have to redo the bc (Shulchan Aruch, OC 433:1 and Mishna Berura 433:6). Also, most of us rely on the serious cleaning we do in the days leading up to Pesach but not with the characteristics of bc, and then do only a cursory bc, which would not uncover most of the chametz if it still existed. This is based on effectively creating places that are assumed to be chametz free (see Living the Halachic Process III, D-15).
Remember, that the mitzva of bc was not supposed to fall upon you (outside the one you likely will do at your home – see Living the Halachic Process II:D-14). It is just that there is a possibility that your concern about chametz may make it necessary. The gemara (Pesachim 8a) posits that one does not need to check outdoor areas frequented by chametz-eating animals because he can assume there will not be chametz there. The birds do not fulfill the mitzva of bc for us; they create a place which is excluded from the need of bc. For our purposes, the chambermaid is no worse than the birds. Even if she is not Jewish and cannot be an agent to fulfill the mitzva, she can still eliminate the likelihood of chametz.
It is therefore fine to not do bc when you come. (Coming in the afternoon of erev Pesach, when chametz is useless, makes things slightly but not fully more lenient – see Magen Avraham 437:3; Tosafot, Pesachim 2a. Further discussion is beyond our scope). If one wants to be machmir and do bc, fine (it can be done in a minute). However, the opinion (see Piskei Teshuvot 437:1) that if the hotel did not do "bc," one should do one with a beracha is wrong.
Bemare Habazak - Rabbis Questions Ask the Rabbi: Forgot to Remove Tefillin Before Musaf of Rosh Chodesh
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
fast navigation
The Land of Israel LGBT'S IN ISRAEL
The question was asked, how can one make Aliyah with the LGBT parades?
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 7 - Five Accumulative Proofs of G-d
As a preparation for the Kuzari's classic proof of G-d from the mass-revelation at Sinai, we start here with 5 other directions to strengthen our belief which also contribute to what the Kuzari will present as well.
Ein Aya Muscle & Meaning: The Dual Nature of Gevurah (Physical Strength)
Is physical strength and fitness a necessity or an ideal? Although it if often totally overlooked among topics of Judaism, Rav Kook writes that it clearly is also a necessity to deter the many enemies of Israel, but even in Y'mot HaMashiach, in the Messianic era, to a certain extent, it's ideal continues even after our enemies will have been finished off.
Chukat "HOW ENTEBBE STOLE THE BICENTENNIAL
The Difference Between Historic & Eternal"
As we approach America's 250th birthday, it's worth remembering her 200th Bicentennial birthday, on Jul. 4th 1976, when Israel "stole the show" by shocking the world & miraculously saving 101 hostages in a foreign continent. As Pres. As Pres. Trump decides which countries get priority in his new Middle-East, it's worth reminding him of the difference between historic events and eternally historic ones. This obviously connects with this week's parsha, as well!
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 6 - The Parable of the King of India
The advantages of testimony over circumstantial evidence or philosophical speculation.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 5- "Proofs of G-d"
This may be the most important class of the entire book, where we finally get to the Jewish proof of the existence of G-d and truth of the Torah. We should follow His own direction where He tells us how to get to Him: through the Nation of Israel: Jewish history, Jewish prophets (and today, prophecies fulfilled), and national reward & punishment towards Am Yisrael.
Ein Aya One Humanity, One Creator, One Jerusalem
Rav Kook innovatively and beautifully explains this aggadeta where our sages say that after Jerusalem was destroyed her cinnamon fragrance is only found locked in a particular kingdom's treasury.
