Selling an Entire Room That Contains Chametz

If a person sold an entire room containing Chametz to a non-Jew, according to Rav Elyashiv, he must re-affix the Mezuzah when he buys it back after Pesach. Even though the Jew acquired the room with the Mezuzah in place, this is a problem called "Ta’aseh V’lo Min Ha’asuy"-i.e. the Jew must actively place a Mezuzah and not have it come to him passively. Therefore, the contract of sale specifies that the room itself is not sold, but rented to the non-Jew. If a person included wines in his sale to the non-Jew, there is a question whether they become forbidden as "Yayin Nesech." If they were totally sealed, there is no problem. Even if they were opened, Yalkut Yosef states that there is no problem if the wine remained in the Jew’s house and the non-Jew did not have access to it. If someone is Chas V’shalom hospitalized unconscious or comatose and cannot sell his Chametz or appoint an agent, Hacham Yishak Yosef rules that it is proper for a family member to do the sale for him. Even though he did not give explicit permission, it is a valid sale, since it is his benefit that his Chametz not become forbidden after Pesach, analogous to Hashevat Aveda-returning lost property.

 By Rabbi Eli Mansour