How Soon After Pesach May One Eat the Chametz Which He Had Sold?

Many people have the practice after the end of Pesach not to immediately eat the Chametz in their homes which they had sold, and to instead wait until the Rabbi through whom they had sold the Chametz purchases the Chametz back from the non-Jew. In truth, however, this is not necessary. When the non-Jew purchases the Chametz before Pesach, he makes a small down payment, committing to pay the full price later, after Pesach, but of course, the Chametz is then purchased back from the gentile right after Pesach. Most sale contracts used by Rabbis today include a clause stating that if some of the sold Chametz is eaten after Pesach, the value of that Chametz will simply be deducted from the amount which the gentile legally owes. Therefore, Chacham Bension Abba Shaul writes that one may make use of the Chametz immediately after the conclusion of Pesach, and does not have to wait for the Rabbi to purchase the Chametz back from the non-Jew. Chacham Bension adds that if this clause was not included in the contract, then one should wait before using his Chametz until the Rabbi purchases the Chametz back from the non-Jew. Other Poskim, however, maintain that even in the absence of an explicit cause, it can be assumed that the non-Jew who owns the Chametz does not mind if the Jew partakes of some of the Chametz, the value of which will be then deducted from the amount he needs to pay. In Israel, one should not eat Chametz until 72 minutes past sundown on the last day of Pesach. Since eating Chametz on Pesach constitutes a Torah prohibition, it is proper not to eat Chametz until the final day of Pesach has ended even according to the view of Rabeinu Tam, who maintained that the Halachic day ends only 72 minutes after sunset. Outside Israel, where an additional day of Yom Tov is observed by force of Rabbinic enactment, this is not necessary, since on this extra day, eating Chametz is not forbidden by Torah law. As soon as the Yom Tov ends, one may partake of the Chametz.

By Rabbi Eli Mansour