Q. When one travels to a.Pesach Hotel, where the rooms have been totally cleaned, is there a purpose on placing the ten pieces of bread? Does one have to do bedika if he is only staying the one night before Pesach (the night of bedikas chometz) and will be traveling in the morning and staying in another location for Pesach?
A. Question 745 indirectly addresses this question: “Shulchan Aruch (O.H. 437: 1) rules that if someone rents a house before Pesach, if he takes possession (by receiving the keys) before the beginning of the fourteenth day of Nisan and eve of Pesach (the night prior to the seder night.) he has to search the rented premises with a brocho. However in regards to an hotel room Poskim disagree if he is obligated to search for chometz, as this is not an ordinary property rental, since he can be easily transferred to another room and management also maintains an extended control of the premises (Kinyan Torah 1: 120.) Another reason is that the rooms are cleaned everyday and do not have a chazaka or presumption of containing chometz. Other Poskim maintain that the room should be searched with a brocho, if possession took place before the fourteenth (Sidur Pesach Kehilchoso 12: 8, Piskei Trshuvos 427: 1).
Horav Shlomo Miller's Shlit”a opinion is that they should be searched without a brocho unless the guest brings with him pieces of chometz (one of them should be more than a kezais) to be hidden before the bedika by someone else. (It is recommended to utilize the same pieces of chometz found on the search at home, see prior question). All luggage, bags, the pockets of clothing and the car (if there is), should also then be searched If he arrived after the time when the prohibition began or during Chol Hamoed, some Poskim maintain that he should do a bedika (Piskei Teshuvos ibid.) with a brocho. Horav Shlomo Miller's Shlit'a opinion is to search without a brocho”
In general Poskim disagree about the need of placing the ten pieces of bread. Rema rules (O.H. 432: 2), and the Mishna Berura (ibid 13) explains and maintains in the name of the Achronim, that even if one did not find any chometz at all, it is not a brocho in vain, since he did the perform the required bedika after all. According to them the placing of the ten pieces of bread is basically a minhag.
However, Machazik Brocho (432: 10, Emek Halachah O.H. 128, Sdei Chemed, Nitei Gavriel – Pesach 1: 8; 2, and others maintain that in our days when all houses are cleaned and have a chazaka of not having any chometz, it is obligatory to place the ten pieces of chometz to avoid a brocho levatala).
In regards to the second question, if one is only staying the one night before Pesach (the night of bedikas chometz) and will be traveling in the morning and staying in another location for Pesach, Horav Shlomo Miller’s Shlit’a opinion is that he does not have to do bedika.
Rabbi A. Bartfeld as revised by Horav Shlomo Miller Shlit’a
Important Numbers
