The Tzohar organization has come up with a solution to a very difficult problem that is facing countless members of the observant Jewish population this week, as the Pesach holiday draws closer.
Preparing for Pesach amidst the Corona crisis is presenting numerous challenges to people, particularly for those who will be spending the holiday alone and typically don’t prepare the food and meals on their own.
One of the halachic issues arises from a need to immerse certain new utensils in the mikvah prior to their first use. The Tzohar Rabbinical Organization has responded to this challenge with a halachic sale of these utensils that allows them to be used without this requirement.
According to Rabbi David Stav, Chair of Tzohar, “The reality is that in addition to the fact that many people will be making Pesach for the first time and buying all new dishes, there is the additional problem that even if people wanted to take them to the mikvah, they aren’t allowed,” he explained. “Our goal is to be able to address this challenge and ensure that we as a community are doing everything possible to reduce the need to leave home or, even worse, to impose unnecessary gatherings.”
The halachic solution that Tzohar has made possible and is available online is to sell the utensils to a non-Jew with the condition that they are to be used by the Jew. The sale remains in place until conditions allow for people to go to the mikvah. At that time Tzohar will buy back the utensils and they should be brought to the mikvah for immersion.
“Halacha has proven that it is designed to assist our people in the most trying of situations and this is certainly the case this year,” Rabbi Stav says. “Our sincere hope and prayer is that a happy and kosher Pesach will help usher in a new period of health for all our people.”