Can someone clarify?

amother

Wed, Apr 10 2024, 6:15 pm

What exactly chometz is and to what extent we have to work to get rid of it?

Can I use my laptop over pesach if it always stays on our table with food around and we eat while using it? Siddurim?

What about wiping down other inedible things we use?

ra_mom

Wed, Apr 10 2024, 6:27 pm

amother OP wrote:

The halacha is not to own or eat chometz. (And remember that dust isn't chometz, but crumbs that get near food is an issue.)

If you have a laptop that you eat over during the year, that needs to be used on pesach:

1. Clean it properly with a can of air duster spray, to get out as much loose chometz as possible from the keyboard and all the crevices.

2. Don't use the laptop near food on pesach, so you don't risk something getting into your KLP food. Set up your workspace on a surface away from food.

Same with siddurim. If you generally use them over crumby tables, shake out the siddurim to the best of your ability, and then don't use them on tables over pesach (daven on the couch, get separate siddurim for pesach to bentch with at the pesach seuda, or just use the hagaddos at the table (very helpful that they have bentching, and can be used all Y"T).

bakingmom

Wed, Apr 10 2024, 6:31 pm

Chometz is a mixture of one of the five grains (wheat, berley, oat, rye, spelt) that has been mixed with water and fermented for longer than 18 minutes. The real issue is chometz that is bigger than a kezayis, that is edible so crumbs etc are theoretically not a problem to own on pesach, as we nulify them before when we say kol chamira.

HOWEVER - and this is the big one - the concept of batel beshishim applies before pesach but does not apply on pesach, therefore if there is any concern that crumbs could get mixed in with your pesach food, it would not get cancelled out by the pesachdik food and it would turn your pesach food into chometz. Therefore if you have crumbs in your laptop that you will use at your DR table, the crumbs could then get into your pesach food. If you will be careful to use your laptop well away from food, and wash your hands etc very well after using it in case you did some chometz on your hands, it wont be a problem.

Thats how I learnt halacha, but ask your LOR for what YOU should do.

theoneandonly

Wed, Apr 10 2024, 7:42 pm

Halacha is you can't have chometz larger than a k'zayis in the house (some hold if it's an entire object, like a whole cheerio, you can't have it in the house even though it's smaller than a k'zayis.)
However you can't eat even a crumb of chometz. So if you have crumbs in your laptop either: take it out of the kitchen and don't have it near food or eat near it the entire pesach, or clean it so no loose crumbs may fall into the food you are eating on pesach.