PESACH 2004 - Kashering the Kitchen for Passover

Oven: cleaned carefully with oven cleaner, turned onto "broil" for roughly 35 minutes. Please call the Rabbi if you want to kasher the broiler itself for Pesach. A self-cleaning oven is self-kashering. Allow 2 hours of self-cleaning for this purpose.

Stove top: surface, grates and jets cleaned well; any part of the range surface onto which you might place something should be covered; there is a custom to let the jets burn for 10 minutes after they have been cleaned.

Counter tops: If they are of kasherable material (stainless steel or stone) kashered by having boiling water poured over them. If not, should be covered for Pesach.

Sinks: If stainless steel, kasher by pouring boiling water over it. If not, the preferred procedure is to line sink (with contact paper) or to use a sink insert.

Cabinets, drawers, fridge, and freezer: that will be used to store Pesach food should be carefully cleaned so that no "chametz" remains. No covering is necessary, though some people do have the custom of lining shelves and drawers.

Table tops: should be carefully cleaned and then covered (with a Pesach tablecloth) throughout the holiday.

Flatware, etc.: that you will be kashering via "hag'alah" should not be used for 24 hours prior to kashering.

Regarding cleaning in general - The rule of thumb is as follows: the objective is to remove from our house (and offices and cars) any chametz that we might otherwise accidentally discover and be tempted to eat on Pesach. That is to say, all places where chametz might exist in edible form and quantity need to be cleaned out. The remainder (that might be, for example, under the clothes dryer or wedged in the crack between two tiles on the kitchen floor) is covered by "bittul". Without a doubt, we have a generations-old custom of giving the house a good cleaning before Pesach. But we should understand what the objective is, and keep in mind that there are many mitzvot (among them is spending time with our spouse and children, visiting/calling people who are sick, learning the Hagadah in preparation for the seder) that are of higher priority than hunting down microscopic crumbs in the lint filter.

Foods: Please remember that milk and eggs should be purchased before Pesach, (only "Cholov Israel" should be purchased on Pesach) and that pet food as well cannot be chametz.

Chag Kasher V'samayach!