From: I. M. Burns

Dear Rabbi

I am living with my parents now and they do not keep mitzvot nor Shabbat nor the holidays. They are respectful but they just don’t know and can’t be bothered to learn. Passover is coming up. I am trying to arrange with them to go out to a kosher Hotel for the first two nights (including the Seder – hope that works out) but as far as cleaning for Passover I don’t know what to do. My parents may or may not want to clean up, and even if we try to, I’m convinced they will bring chametz [leaven] in at some point (knowingly or not). What should I do?

Dear I. M. Burns,

The Torah prohibits owning chametz on Passover. This is derived from the verse, “Nothing leavened may be seen in your possession” (Ex. 13:17). This prohibition applies only to chametz which you own. It does not apply to someone else’s chametz even if it’s in your house (Pesachim 5b). Assuming that your parents own (or rent) the house and assuming that all the chametz in the house belongs to them, it is their responsibility to get rid of the chametz, not yours.

Of course, chametz which you personally own must be removed from your possession before Passover. Also, any of your personal belongings in which you might put chametz require a pre-Passover search. For example, pockets and knapsacks should be checked for forgotten candy bars or half-eaten sandwiches. But since you are a “guest” in your parents’ home — i.e., you have no ownership or legal rights over your room — you wouldn’t say the blessing when searching for chametz.

Rabbi Zalman Nechemia Goldberg, shlita, was consulted about your case and he said that a child may stay at his parents’ home for Passover even if they haven’t removed their chametz. The best scenario would be if you could agree with your parents to keep the house chametz-free. That way, your parents will be doing a mitzva, and also, neither you nor your parents will accidentally eat any chametz. But this must all be done in a way that causes no friction between you and your parents and conveys no disrespect to them whatsoever.

Sources:

• After the Return, Rabbi Mordechai Becher and Rabbi Moshe Newman, p. 80