The following questions were posed to Sar HaTorah Rav Chaim, zt”l.
Rav Chaim wrote a letter regarding the publication of questions posed to him. He wrote that he answered off the cuff and does not accept halachic responsibility for the answers. Here, in particular, these questions were translated from Hebrew and may have lost some nuances in translation. They were originally published under the titles: Divrei Siach and Moedi HaGaon Rav Chaim. Therefore, the point of this article is to engender discussion.
Some have the custom to refrain from eating matzah from Rosh Chodesh Nissan. May someone with that custom eat matzah that is not kosher l’Pesach?
There are those that say it is permissible.
May one eat kosher l’Pesach matzah meal cake on Erev Pesach?
Yes.
If someone accidentally recited a blessing on matzah on Erev Pesach, may he take a bite?
No. He should recite, “Baruch shem k’vod malchuso l’olam ved.”
My son, who is not yet 13 years old, finished learning a mesechta. Does his siyum permit a bechor to eat on Erev Pesach?
If he understands what he learned, it seems so.
Does one have to learn a mesechta with Rashi to make a siyum?
No, as long as he understands what he learned.
A group of people finished learning a mesechta; each participant learned a different perek. Does that siyum help for Erev Pesach?
Possibly.
Does a siyum on Mesechta Tamid (a very short mesechta) count for Erev Pesach?
No. (Elsewhere, Rav Chaim said in time of need, it does.)
Should one use a candle for bedikas chametz?
Yes. In a time of need, it is possible to use a flashlight.
Can the person himself who is performing the bedika place the ten pieces of bread?
Yes.
Should one be careful not to burn milk and meat together?
Some say that one should be careful.
The Rashash in Shabbos (66) says that one should use wood to burn chometz. Do we follow this?
It is a mitzvah to do so.
Should one brush his teeth on Erev Pesach to clean them from chometz?
Certainly.
I eat machine matzah and gebrochts. My wife’s family does not. Does she have to follow my custom?
There are some customs of her husband that a wife must adopt. These aren’t them.
A person has a limited quantity of mehudar matzah that is set aside for the night of the seder. Is that matzah muktzeh machmas chisaron kis on Shabbas HaGadol?
It seems that one should be stringent.
Does hataras nedarim work for the custom not to eat gebrochts?
Yes
There are two people eating at a table who only eat handmade matzah on Pesach. There is another person eating at the same table who only eats machine matzah on Pesach. Do they combine for a zimun for bentching?
It seems that they do not combine. If it is a mere chumra not to eat the other type of matzah, then they do combine.
Someone whose family only ate handmade matzah on Pesach: is he allowed to eat machine matzah?
He should not change his custom.
Is one forbidden to say on the last day of Pesach “I will eat chometz tonight”?
Possibly.
Are Pesach utensils muktzeh on Shabbos during the year?
Possibly.
Is there any prohibition to degrade food that one plans on burning?
It’s possible that there isn’t, and this requires further study.
Is one permitted to read the captions under pictures in a Hagaddah on Yom Tov?
For a mitzvah, our custom is to be lenient.
May one use grape juice for the four cups of wine at the Seder?
Yes.
May someone who can’t drink wine or grape juice use grapefruit juice for the four cups?
Yes
Does an American father visiting his Israeli son in Israel have an obligation of teaching his son about the Exodus on the second day of yom tov?
Yes.
Does a host have to specifically give his matzos to his guest so that he/she can acquire them before he/she fulfills the mitzvah with them?
No. (The Sfas Emes suggested that one should.)
If a child is not able to eat a kezayis of matzah or marror in the proper amount of time, should he still be instructed to recite the brachos of al achilas matzah and al achilas marror?
Yes.
May one use the lenient shiurim of Rabbi Avraham Chaim Naeh for children drinking the four cups?
No.
The halacha states that one should not eat after the afikomen. Does that prohibition extend the whole night?
Yes.
If one can only fulfill some of the mitzvos of the Seder night, which ones take precedence?
The ones that are d’Oraysah.
If someone finds it difficult to recline while drinking the four cups and eating the matzah, can he ask his father who is present at the Seder not to give him permission to recline in his presence? (Although permission to recline is usually assumed, if the father clearly says he does not give permission, it would be forbidden.)
It is not appropriate to do that.
Is one permitted to say “v’sein beracha” 90 times on the first day of Pesach, to accustom himself to the textual change? Would that be considered forbidden preparation on yom tov?
It is unclear.
Should one recite “Seder Korban Pesach” on Erev Pesach if he would be learning otherwise?
It is a good custom to do so.
It is reported that the Chazon Ish sold the absorbed tastes in pots and pans. How can such a sale be binding – it is like selling air?
The Chazon Ish did not sell his pots and pans at all. He just put them away.
According to the Gra, there is a mitzvah of eating Shmurah Matzah all Pesach. Does one need to have in mind when he eats that he intends to fulfill the mitzvah?
Maggid shiur and Rebbe at Yeshiva Ateres Shimon in Far Rockaway. He leads the Daf Yomi chaburah at Eitz Chayim of Dogwood Park in West Hempstead, and writes “Delving into the Daf” each week for The Jewish Home.
