pesachfeatured in 30 works

Bedikat Chametz (Searching for Chametz)

beh-dee-KAT khah-METZ

A candlelight search for leavened bread conducted the night before Passover, turning a practical pre-holiday task into a formal religious obligation.

On the evening before Passover begins, Jewish families conduct a formal search through their homes by candlelight, looking for chametz — any bread or leavened products that must be removed before the holiday. The practice grows out of a genuine need: Passover law forbids owning or even finding chametz in the home, so the house must be checked carefully. But early rabbinic authorities transformed what could have been a private chore into a structured religious act, complete with a blessing recited before the search begins.

The Mishnah (compiled around 200 CE) already discusses when and how the search should be conducted, and subsequent Talmudic discussion refined the details — searching at night, using candlelight for visibility in corners, and declaring any unfound chametz legally void. Over the centuries, the ceremony developed a ceremonial quality: some families hide pieces of bread for children to find, making the search into a kind of ritual game while keeping its purpose clear.

Mystical writers later read deeper meaning into the practice, treating the removal of chametz as a symbol of clearing away pride or inner obstacles. This interpretation enriched the ritual for many, but the ceremony itself stands on firm legal ground: it is an expression of how seriously Jewish law takes Passover's requirement to be genuinely free of leaven.

How it traveled

Tosefta Pesachim
Eretz Yisrael (travels) · 190
explains
Mishnah Pesachim
Yavneh · 200
explains
Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael
Eretz Yisrael (travels) · 250
explains
Jerusalem Talmud Pesachim
Tiberias · 400
explains
Pesachim
Sura (Babylonia) · 500
explains
Sheiltot d'Rav Achai Gaon
Pumbedita · 750
explains
Halakhot Gedolot
Sura (Babylonia) · 760
explains
Teshuvot HaGeonim (Shaarei Teshuva)
Sura (Babylonia) · 900
explains
Machzor Vitry
Troyes (Champagne) · 1055
explains
Rif Pesachim
Kairouan · 1085
explains
HaMaor HaKatan on Pesachim
Lunel (Provence) · 1170
explains
Mishneh Torah, Leavened and Unleavened Bread
Fostat (Old Cairo) · 1180
explains
Tosafot on Pesachim
Troyes (Champagne) · 1230
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Kol Bo
Narbonne (Provence) · 1250
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Sefer Mitzvot Katan
Corbeil-Essonnes · 1263
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Haggahot Rabbeinu Peretz on Sefer Mitzvot Katan
Corbeil-Essonnes · 1280
explains
Meiri on Pesachim
Perpignan · 1300
explains
Abudarham
Seville · 1330
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Tur
Toledo (Castile) · 1335
explains
Ran on Pesachim
Barcelona · 1340
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Menorat HaMaor
Toledo (Castile) · 1391
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Terumat HaDeshen
Vienna · 1460
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Bartenura on Mishnah Pesachim
Jerusalem · 1482
explains
Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim
Tzfat · 1565
explains
Darkhei Moshe
Krakow (Cracow) · 1570
explains
Chokhmat Shlomo on Pesachim
Lublin · 1572
explains
Drisha
Lviv (Lemberg) · 1605
explains
Chidushei Halachot on Pesachim
Posen (Poznań) · 1612
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Tosafot Yom Tov on Mishnah Pesachim
Prague · 1613
explains
Bach
Krakow (Cracow) · 1631
explains

Key passages(20)

Tur, Orach Chayim 439:1↗applies

Tur · Yaakov ben Asher (Ba'al HaTurim) · 1300 CE