Bedikas Chametz in the Kanievsky Home
The Chazon Ish shortened the Steipler's all-night search for chametz, and Rav Chaim Kanievsky taught his grandson that his grandmother's peace of mind comes first.
One ruling of the Chazon Ish made life easier for the Kanievsky family. One time, the Chazon Ish found out that the Steipler, Rav Chaim’s father, stayed up all night searching for chometz. The Chazon Ish issued two directives to make the bedikah shorter: 1) When searching for chometz on the floor, one only needs to search for chometz the size of a kezayis; and 2) Perform a sale of chometz on the 13th, and then one doesn’t need to check the places that were sold.
Even with these rulings, the search for chometz in the Kanievsky apartment always took many hours. Rav Chaim emptied out many drawers to properly check them. He would then tell his grandson, “Please put everything back into the drawers. The mitzvah of bedikas chometz is only d’rabbanan. Causing distress to your grandmother is a Torah violation.” Indeed, when Rav Chaim was younger, he would return all the items himself to their proper place.