ביאור חמץ - מרחבי המשמעות של תופעת החמץ

Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; howbeit the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses; for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. And in the first day there shall be to you a holy convocation, and in the seventh day a holy convocation; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done by you. And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt; therefore shall ye observe this day throughout your generations by an ordinance for ever. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even. Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses; for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a sojourner, or one that is born in the land. Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.’

Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the LORD. Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee, in all thy borders.

They need not fear that a weasel may have dragged [chametz] from one room to another or from one place to another, for if so, [they must also fear] from courtyard to courtyard and from town to town, and there would be no end to the matter.

Rava said: If one saw a mouse enter a house with a loaf of bread in its mouth, and he entered after the mouse and found crumbs, the house requires additional searching, due to the fact that a mouse does not typically generate crumbs. Therefore, it cannot be assumed that these crumbs are from the loaf snatched by the mouse. And Rava also said: If one saw a child enter with a loaf in his hand, and he entered after the child and found crumbs, the house does not require additional searching, because a child typically generates crumbs, and one can therefore assume that the crumbs are from that loaf. Although the rulings in these cases were clear to Rava, Rava raised a dilemma with regard to a related case: If one saw a mouse enter with a loaf in its mouth, and he saw a mouse leave with a loaf in its mouth,what is the halakha? The Gemara elaborates: Do we say that this mouse that entered is that same mouse that left and there is no more leaven left in the house? Or perhaps it is a different mouse. The Gemara adds: If you say that this mouse that entered was this one that left, another dilemma arises: If one saw a white mouse enter with a loaf of bread in its mouth and a black mouse leave with a loaf of bread in its mouth, what is the halakha? Do I say this is certainly a different mouse, or perhaps the black mouse took the loaf from the white mouse? The Gemara continues to suggest variations on this case: And if you say that mice do not take from each other, as one mouse is generally not significantly stronger than another, if one saw a mouse enter with a loaf of bread in its mouth and a marten leave with a loaf of bread in its mouth, what is the halakha? Do I say that the marten certainly took it from the mouse, as it is larger and stronger? Or perhaps it is a different loaf, for if it is so, that the marten took the loaf from the mouse, the mouse itself would also be found in its mouth, as the marten would presumably take not only the loaf of bread but the mouse as well. And if you say that we accept the contention that if it is so, that if the marten took it from the mouse the mouse itself would be in its mouth, in regard to a case where one saw a mouse enter with a loaf of bread in its mouth and a marten leave with both a loaf of bread and a mouse in its mouth, what is the halakha? Do I say that this is certainly the same mouse and loaf, or perhaps even this conclusion can be disputed: If it is so, that this is the same mouse, the loaf would have been found in the mouse’s mouth rather than in the marten’s mouth. Consequently, this must be a different loaf of bread. Or perhaps the loaf of bread fell from the mouse’s mouth due to its fear and the marten took it separately. No satisfactory answer was found for these dilemmas and the Gemara concludes: Let them stand unresolved. Rava raised a dilemma: If there was a loaf of bread on a high beam in the ceiling, does one need to climb a ladder to take it down or is this effort not necessary? Do we say: The Sages did not obligate one to exert himself that much in his search for leaven, and since the loaf of bread will not fall on its own he will not come to eat it? Or perhaps it can be claimed that sometimes the loaf may fall and he will come to eat it, as objects placed high up occasionally drop. And if you say with regard to a loaf of bread on a beam, sometimes it will fall and he will come to eat it, in a case where the loaf was in a pit, does one need to use a ladder to bring it up, or is this effort not necessary? The Gemara explains the two sides of the dilemma: Here the loaf will certainly not come up on its own, and one can therefore let it remain where it is; or perhaps there is still a concern that sometimes he might go down into the pit to perform some requirement of his, and he will come to eat it. The Gemara continues to discuss the various permutations of this case. And if you say that sometimes one goes down into the pit for some requirement of his, and he will come to eat it, with regard to a loaf that was in the mouth of a snake, is it necessary for him to bring a snake charmer to take the loaf out of the snake’s mouth, or is this effort not necessary? Once again the Gemara explains the two sides of the dilemma: Do I say that with regard to his own body the Sages obligate one to exert himself and search everywhere, but with regard to his money the Sages do not obligate one to exert himself, i.e., he is not required to spend money in order to destroy leaven? Or perhaps, the legal status of his money is no different than that of his body, as one must remove leaven wherever he finds it, in any way he can? This series of dilemmas is also left answered and the Gemara concludes: Let them stand unresolved.