Sunday, March 13, 2016

Is Nullifying Chometz A Proper Biyur? - How To Get Drunk Without Drinking

Li-rfuas Eliyana Rina bas Eliezer Yaakov bi-soch shear cholei yisrael.
Li-zchus the TZADIK who gave in her name.

If a person takes a small amount of chometz and is nullifies it into a large amount of matza [before Pesach], is he fulfilling the mitzva of biyur chometz?

That is a HUUUUGE "ding-a-rye" [Spanish for "World-War"] in the Acharonim. Rebbi Akiva Eiger believed that it is not because he didn't actually destroy the chometz as is necessary. He just changed its halachic status. 

Howevah - many arugue. The Avnei Nezer [136/9] has a KNOCK-YOUR-SOCKS-OFF proof against him from a SEEMINGLY totally unrelated gemara in Menachos [48b]. See the gemara there from the bottom of 47b and you will understand better. The upshot is as follows. When one redeems a loaf of bread in the עזרה  of the בית המקדש in order to remove its kedusha, it is considered as if he has brought a loaf of  חולין bread into the עזרה. So we see, that even though he didn't actually bring the loaf of חולין into the עזרה, we still consider it as if he did because he brought the חולין into the עזרה [by redeeming it there from its kedusha]. 

So too, even though he didn't burn the actual loaf of bread, the fact that he transformed it into matza by means of bittul suffices to consider it as if he had burned the actual loaf. 

The same principal applies in both cases - changing its halachic status is considered as if one changed the nature of the actual food.     

ובלשון קדשו של גאון דורו זיע"א:

הנה דאף שלא הכניס הככר שהוא חולין שכבר הי' הככר במקדש תחילה, רק שהכניס חולין שבככר שבתחילה לא הי' חולין במקדש ועכשיו יש חולין, חשיב כמכניס הככר שהוא חולין. הכא נמי, אף שלא ביער הככר שהוא חמץ רק שביער חמץ שבו שעכשיו הוא מצה, חשיב כמבער הככר חמץ. 



SWEETEST FRIENDS!!!! 

You don't have to drink on Purim in order to get drunk. All you have to do is learn Avnei Nezer...