Coronavirus Pesach

03.24.2020

Dear BDJ Family,

We hope that you and your family are doing as well as possible during these very trying times. Together, we will turn to and rely upon one another for support, guidance, and love. If you aren't yet taking advantage of our online davening and learning, please consider starting! These are enormously important ways to stay in touch and continue to be religiously engaged. 

Here is our list of Zoom classes together. Rabbanit Alissa will be Zoom-teaching her Haggadah shiur "Finding Hope in the Haggadah" on Tuesday, March 31st at 730pm, and she is running Daily Zoom Chat Check-Ins that provide a space to process our ever-evolving circumstances. 

You can also visit our Facebook page where you can find numerous Torah videos that we have posted over the last week, including Rav Yosef's Pesach Practicum from Sunday night (perfect for first-timers and as a refresher!). 

The primary purpose of this email is to provide Halachik updates regarding Pesach observance in this unusual year (we will be sending out Pesach Torah content in the coming days as well). Despite our best efforts, this email will invariably not be completely comprehensive. Please do be in touch with either of us with any questions that you have. 

But before getting to Pesach matters, we remind and urge everyone to NOT form backyard or street corner minyanim, and to make sure that you and everyone in your family is observing the physical distancing protocols. There were numerous violations over this past Shabbat, and it is a matter of literally highest Halachik urgency that we observe these protocols as we are being directed by our local governments and health agencies. This includes NOT gathering in local parks (even while keeping social distancing). 

We thank you for your partnership in protecting each other. Please see below for timely guidance on Pesach products and practice, which we hope will provide some relief and ease in your holiday planning: 

Grocery Items

One of the main concerns right now is that of minimizing time in grocery storesas we do all we can to stay out of - and to not be part of - gatherings of our fellow human beings. A leniency that we should take advantage of this year is that of using products that are already in our homes which are chametz-free (i.e. products which require no special Pesach certification for Pesach use). Although in normal years we would purchase these items new for Pesach, let's save trips and time in the store by using what we have. For example, a bottle of extra-virgin olive oil that you already have may be used-- just make sure to clean it off in case any chametz residue is on the outside of the bottle. 

In order to take advantage of this leniency:

• Familiarize yourself with the list of products that do not require Pesach certification. 
• The best local resource is pages 15 - 22 of Rabbi Eidlitz Pesach magazine.
• Also useful are pages 64-75 of the OU Pesach guide, and this document from the London Bet Din.  
• This leniency ONLY APPLIES to foods about which you have a high degree of certainty did not come into contact with chametz (i.e. that no chametz could have gotten inside them). 
• In addition, we have numerous volunteers who are happy to shop for items for you and drop them at your door. Please contact Josh Kahn at joshrkahn@gmail.com.

Pets

Because chametz is assur b'hana'ah (we are prohibited to derive benefit from it-- in addition to being forbidden to eat it), we must make sure that the food we feed our pets is either:

1. Less than 50% chametz, was purchased before Pesach, AND is not suitable for human consumption (please note that this is not automatically the case)

OR

2. Kitniyot  

However, THIS YEAR ONLY: If you are unable to procure pet food that fits these requirements, you may sell your pet as part of your Mechirat Chametz form and continue to feed them their chametz food. Be sure to list the pets and their food on the list of items that you are selling, and include this statement as well: 

"After the point of sale, and until the purchaser shall take the [TYPE OF PET] into her physical possession, she designates [YOUR NAME], and anyone they may subsequently designate, to feed them from the food he has acquired from them and to do anything necessary to care for the [TYPE OF PET]. No financial responsibility is assumed."

Tevillat Keylim

Another issue is the Tevillat Keylim, the immersion into the Mikveh of newly purchased metal and glass kitchen items. The Mikveh that we use for these purposes is closed of course. And we do not have access to the beaches in order to tovel in the ocean. Under these circumstances, there are two Halachik leniencies we may utilize:

1. Formally selling these items or giving them outright to a non-Jewish friend (or housekeeper or nanny) and requesting permission to borrow them from that person until you are able to buy them back and take them to the Mikveh.

OR

2. Declaring these vessels "hefker" (ownerless) until after Pesach. Since we now don't technically own these items, we are not (yet) required to immerse them. Here is the procedure:

• Declare in the presence of three people (on the phone or online) that you are declaring these items ownerless (hefker)
• These 3 people should ideally live locally (since one is serving in the role of being available to acquire it himself/herself, and 2 are serving as witnesses) and at least 2 of the 3 should be people who are not related to you or to each other. 
• When this crisis is over be sure to take the items to the Mikveh. 

Biur Chametz

Another concern is Biur Chametz, the burning of chametz on Erev Pesach. There obviously will not be a communal Biur Chametz this year, and if you do not have the capacity to burn the chametz yourself (e.g. on the BBQ in your backyard), please follow these procedures:

1. With regard to the 10 small pieces of bread that you find during Bedikat Chametz, simply flush these down the toilet (being careful not to clog your toilet).

2. Place any other remaining chametz (i.e. that you've not eaten or sold) into your garbage can, and specifically declare that both your garbage cans and any chametz that may be in them are ownerless. 

Mikveh

We continue to follow the guidelines of the LA Mikveh. Rabbanit Alissa is a source of halachic and pastoral support on this and is in touch regularly with poskim and medical experts on the evolving situation. The LA Mikveh guidelines currently require that all preparation be done at home. Please make sure to contact the Mikveh before immersing. We will try to frequently update our Coronavirus Mikveh section here as well. The beaches are currently closed, so we do not recommend attempting to immerse in the ocean. 

Social Isolation

Another major concern is over potentially dangerous social isolation during Yom Tov. We encourage you in the strongest terms to reach out to us if you are personally concerned about this issue. It is possible that your situation calls for specific Halachik leniences with regard to use of technology over Shabbat / Yom Tov. Also, please see the attached guide from HIR (The Bayit) on how to combat social isolation on Shabbat and Yom Tov. Another resource is this collaborative guide to doing Seder solo. 

In addition, we share the following recommendation from  the OU (please note that to observe a 14 day quarantine you would need to begin TONIGHT):

Individuals living alone or those absolutely unable to prepare for Pesach may choose to self-quarantine for 14 days, and then - if asymptomatic - may join with a welcoming local family that is similarly asymptomatic and that has been disciplined in staying home and limiting their interactions outside the home to the absolute minimum as described above. These guests may join one family only for the duration, without additional company, and must carefully observe the mandated standards of scrupulous hygiene and social distancing. The elderly and high risk must seek medical advice before considering this.

We pray that Hashem will give us the chizuk (strength), tikvah (hope), and zrizut (alacrity) to celebrate this Pesach with much needed joy and health. May we show up to this chag and look to the mitzvot that accompany it as sources of continuity which ground and comfort us-- situating us in a larger narrative of the Jewish people. As we make these preparations, let us imagine that we are shedding the slavery of anxiety, worry, and fear, and instead taking on the passion and faith of a people ready to serve God. True, we face the unknown, but just as it was for the Jews who followed God out of Egypt, the unknown is the beginning of redemption. Kein yehi ratzon.

Rav Yosef and Rabbanit Alissa