Published Spring 2015<\/em><\/p>\n The\u00a0 Torah <\/i>\u00a0forbids a Jew to own\u00a0 chometz <\/i>\u00a0on\u00a0 Pesach <\/i>.\u00a0\u00a0In order to dissuade people from owning\u00a0 chometz <\/i>\u00a0on\u00a0 Pesach <\/i>, there is a rabbinic injunction not to eat or benefit after\u00a0 Pesach <\/i>from\u00a0 chometz <\/i>\u00a0which was owned by a Jew during\u00a0 Pesach <\/i>.\u00a0\u00a0Such\u00a0 chometz <\/i>\u00a0is known as chometz <\/i> \u00a0sheovar\u00a0olov\u00a0haPesach <\/i>, and it remains\u00a0forbidden\u00a0permanently.1<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n For this reason, one should not buy\u00a0 chometz <\/i>\u00a0from a Jewish-owned store immediately after Pesach <\/i>, unless the owner sold all\u00a0 chometz <\/i>\u00a0that he owned before\u00a0 Pesach <\/i>\u00a0to a non-Jew for the duration of\u00a0 Pesach <\/i>, and did not acquire any further\u00a0 chometz <\/i>\u00a0during\u00a0 Pesach <\/i>.\u00a0\u00a0The laws of mechiras <\/i>\u00a0 chometz <\/i>\u00a0(selling\u00a0 chometz <\/i>\u00a0to a gentile for\u00a0 Pesach <\/i>) are\u00a0complex,\u00a0therefore the sale must be made by a competent rabbi or\u00a0 kashrus <\/i>\u00a0authority.<\/p>\n If a Jewish-owned store did not sell its\u00a0 chometz <\/i>\u00a0for\u00a0 Pesach <\/i>, may one buy\u00a0 chometz <\/i>\u00a0from that store a few weeks after\u00a0 Pesach <\/i>?\u00a0\u00a0It is difficult for the consumer to ascertain whether the chometz <\/i>\u00a0was in the store on\u00a0 Pesach <\/i>\u00a0and is therefore forbidden, or whether it came into the store after\u00a0 Pesach <\/i>\u00a0and is permitted.\u00a0\u00a0Since\u00a0 chometz <\/i> \u00a0sheovar\u00a0olov\u00a0haPesach\u00a0 <\/i>is a rabbinic injunction, one can be lenient if there is a reasonable doubt as to whether or not the chometz <\/i>\u00a0was in the store on\u00a0 Pesach <\/i>.\u00a0\u00a0(This is because we apply the principle that \u201c safek <\/i> derabbanan\u00a0lekula <\/i>\u201d \u2013 we are lenient when it is uncertain whether or not a rabbinic restriction applies).2<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n Supermarkets generally have a two week turnaround time.\u00a0\u00a0It should be assumed that all chometz <\/i>\u00a0sold in the two weeks after\u00a0 Pesach <\/i>\u00a0was already in the store on\u00a0 Pesach <\/i>.\u00a0\u00a0Other stores, especially smaller ones, may have a longer turnaround time.\u00a0\u00a0The turnaround time for alcoholic beverages is longer than that of products in supermarkets.\u00a0\u00a0Liquor stores generally maintain inventory for six or seven weeks.\u00a0\u00a0One should wait until after\u00a0 Shavuos <\/i>before purchasing liquor from such a store. A Jewish-Owned Store That Sold Its\u00a0 C <\/i> hometz <\/i>\u00a0To\u00a0A Non-Jew For\u00a0 Pesach <\/i><\/b><\/p>\n As mentioned above, a Jew who owns a store can sell his\u00a0 chometz <\/i>\u00a0to a non-Jew for the duration of\u00a0 Pesach <\/i>.\u00a0\u00a0If the Jew is observant and does not sell\u00a0 chometz <\/i> \u00a0 <\/i>to customers during Pesach <\/i>, there is no doubt that he really intended to sell his\u00a0 chometz <\/i> \u00a0 <\/i>to the non-Jew before Pesach <\/i>.\u00a0\u00a0However, if the owner is not observant and does not close his store for\u00a0 Pesach <\/i>, it can be argued that he considers the sale of\u00a0 chometz <\/i>\u00a0to be a legal fiction and does not have real intent to sell the\u00a0 chometz <\/i>.\u00a0\u00a0Nevertheless,\u00a0 Rav <\/i>\u00a0Moshe Feinstein\u00a0 zt\u201dl <\/i> \u00a0paskens <\/i>\u00a0that, bedieved <\/i> ,\u00a0 <\/i>the sale is valid because legally the\u00a0 chometz <\/i>\u00a0no longer belongs to him.3<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0However, other\u00a0 Poskim <\/i>\u00a0are stringent.4<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Even\u00a0 Rav <\/i>\u00a0Moshe agrees that\u00a0 chometz <\/i>\u00a0that the Jewish owner purchased during\u00a0 Pesach <\/i>\u00a0is not included in the sale and cannot be eaten after Pesach <\/i>.<\/p>\n A Store Owned By A Non-Jew\u00a0Or\u00a0By A Person That May Or May Not Be Jewish<\/b><\/p>\n If a privately-held store is owned by a non-Jew, one may buy\u00a0 chometz <\/i>\u00a0from that store immediately after\u00a0 Pesach <\/i>.\u00a0\u00a0However, a consumer may not know whether the owner is Jewish or non-Jewish.\u00a0\u00a0If the store is located in an area where the majority of people are non-Jews, he may assume that the owner is not Jewish.\u00a0\u00a0Unfortunately, even if the owner has a Jewish sounding name, the rate of intermarriage in America is such that the name may no longer provide an indication as to whether or not the person is Jewish.<\/p>\n Some food stores are owned by a number of partners, or by shareholders who each have stock in the company.\u00a0\u00a0If non-Jewish partners or shareholders own a majority of the business, there is no concern of\u00a0 chometz <\/i> \u00a0sheovar\u00a0olov\u00a0haPesach <\/i>.5<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n A Store That Receives\u00a0 Chometz <\/i>\u00a0From\u00a0A Jewish Distributor<\/b><\/p>\n How does a supermarket get the food that it sells?\u00a0\u00a0A distributor brings the food from the manufacturer to a warehouse, from where it is sent to individual supermarkets.\u00a0\u00a0If the distributor is Jewish, and he owned the\u00a0 chometz <\/i>\u00a0during\u00a0 Pesach <\/i>, that food would be forbidden after\u00a0 Pesach <\/i>.\u00a0\u00a0Even if the supermarket is owned by non-Jews, the food would still be forbidden after\u00a0 Pesach <\/i>, as it was owned by a Jew during\u00a0 Pesach <\/i>.<\/p>\n C&S Wholesale Grocers is a wholesale distributor of food and grocery store items.\u00a0\u00a0It is a privately held company, and is the largest wholesale grocery supply company in the United States.\u00a0\u00a0It currently serves about 5,000 stores in 15 states (including California, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania).\u00a0\u00a0Its customers include Safeway, Target, A&P, Stop & Shop, Giants, Ralphs,Foodtown, and Winn-Dixie.\u00a0\u00a0However, the STAR-K does not have information as to which specific products are distributed by C&S, nor which specific stores are serviced by them.<\/p>\n The company was founded in 1918 by Israel Cohen and Abraham Siegel.\u00a0\u00a0Rick Cohen is the current chairman and CFO, and is the third generation of the family to lead the company.\u00a0\u00a0It is assumed that he is Jewish.\u00a0\u00a0In the past, a prominent rabbi arranged a\u00a0 mechiras <\/i> \u00a0 <\/i> chometz <\/i>for C&S distributors.\u00a0\u00a0However, as mentioned above, according to\u00a0 Rav <\/i>\u00a0Moshe Feinstein\u00a0 zt\u201dl <\/i>this sale would not include the\u00a0 chometz <\/i>\u00a0that C&S acquired during\u00a0 Pesach <\/i>.\u00a0\u00a0Recently, another prominent\u00a0 Posek <\/i>\u00a0has been selling the entire company to a non-Jew for the duration of Pesach <\/i>, so that any\u00a0 chometz <\/i>\u00a0bought during\u00a0 Pesach <\/i>\u00a0would also belong to that non-Jew.\u00a0While this sale is to be welcomed, it is not without\u00a0 halachic <\/i>\u00a0difficulties, and some feel that the sale of a multi-million dollar corporation for the duration of\u00a0 Pesach <\/i>\u00a0is\u00a0 halachically <\/i>questionable.<\/p>\n Stores which receive goods from C&S may also work with other non-Jewish distributors, and it is very difficult to determine whether any particular product was distributed by C&S or by another company.\u00a0\u00a0As mentioned above,\u00a0 safek <\/i> \u00a0chometz\u00a0sheovar\u00a0olov\u00a0haPesach\u00a0 <\/i>is permitted, and this would include goods which may or may not have been owned by C&S during Pesach <\/i>.\u00a0\u00a0However, if a person has the option of shopping at a store which does not receive goods from a Jewish distributor that may have owned\u00a0 chometz <\/i>\u00a0on\u00a0 Pesach <\/i>, it is commendable to do so until four weeks after\u00a0 Pesach <\/i>.6<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n There are more than 35,000 supermarkets in America, and it is not possible to know who owns them or distributes to every one of them.\u00a0\u00a0A local Orthodox rabbi should be consulted for guidance regarding local stores and supermarkets, as well as resolution of any\u00a0 halachic <\/i>issues.<\/p>\n A&L Foods is a Jewish-owned distributor of kosher food.\u00a0\u00a0A&L Foods sells their\u00a0 chometz <\/i>\u00a0to a non-Jew through the STAR-K and does not buy or sell any\u00a0 chometz <\/i>\u00a0during\u00a0 Pesach <\/i>.<\/p>\n Buying Bourbon<\/b><\/p>\n The\u00a0Sazerac\u00a0Company is a privately held alcoholic beverages company, and is the largest distilling company in the United States.\u00a0\u00a0Although it produces a variety of alcoholic drinks, the primary focus of its business is bourbon.\u00a0\u00a0Although there is some discussion in the Poskim <\/i>, the general consensus is that the prohibition of\u00a0 chometz <\/i> \u00a0sheovar\u00a0olov\u00a0haPesach <\/i>applies to bourbon.\u00a0\u00a0To the best of our knowledge, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the\u00a0Sazerac\u00a0Company is Jewish.\u00a0\u00a0Although the\u00a0Sazerac\u00a0Company recently began selling some of its\u00a0 chometz <\/i>\u00a0for\u00a0 Pesach <\/i>, it will be eight to ten years before that bourbon comes to market.\u00a0\u00a0The\u00a0Sazerac\u00a0Company\u00a0ages\u00a0bourbon for years before selling it, so all their bourbon should currently be considered\u00a0 chometz <\/i> \u00a0sheovar\u00a0olov\u00a0haPesach <\/i>\u00a0and is not recommended year-round.7<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n 1.<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 Mishna <\/i> \u00a0Berura <\/i>\u00a0448:25.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n 2.<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0See\u00a0 Igros <\/i> \u00a0Moshe O.C. <\/i>\u00a04:96, which distinguishes between small and large Jewish-owned stores.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n 3.<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 Igros <\/i> \u00a0Moshe O.C. <\/i>\u00a01:149, 2:91, 4:95.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n 4.<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 Maharam <\/i> \u00a0Shick\u00a0O.C. <\/i>\u00a0205,\u00a0 Sdei <\/i> \u00a0Chemed <\/i>\u00a0vol. 7 page 352.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n 5.<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 Zeicher <\/i> \u00a0Yitzchok\u00a0siman <\/i>\u00a08.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nIf one accidentally purchases\u00a0 chometz <\/i> \u00a0 <\/i>immediately after\u00a0 Pesach <\/i>\u00a0from a store that sells chometz <\/i> \u00a0sheovar\u00a0olov\u00a0haPesach <\/i>, one may not derive benefit from that\u00a0 chometz <\/i>. However, one may return it for a refund as the sale is a\u00a0 mekach <\/i> \u00a0ta’os <\/i>, a mistaken sale. Returning the product does not constitute deriving benefit.<\/p>\n
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