Lakewood Posek: No issue with leaving Chometz in Township-owned Trash Bins during Pesach

[FROM TLS ARCHIVES] Rabbi Shmuel Felder Shlita, one of Lakewood’s leading Poskim, tells TLS that Lakewood residents may leave Chometz in their trash bins to be picked up during Pesach.

Rabbi Felder explained that leaving Chometz in the bin would not constitute being in possession of Chometz, since the bins are owned by the Lakewood Township.

A Township official tells TLS that the $49 fee paid for the bin is not a rental fee, buf a delivery fee. The township actually retains ownership of the bins.

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20 COMMENTS

  1. I think the keywords here are “picked up” – meaning left on the street. If it’s on your property it may be a problem… At least that’s what the posek I asked told me.

    Each should ask their own Rav.

  2. Do the bins have to be in the street or can they be on your property ?
    Please don’t reply unless your a Rabbi or heard from a Rabbi.
    I’m not interested in your Lumdus – I need a psak.

  3. What about if the cover is a little open, and you can see the chametz inside?
    And what if you can smell the chametz (like leftover pizza)? Should we just leave it there the entire pesach?
    What about the ch’shash that the garbage can can tip over and teh chametz will fall back into your reshus? Or is it already hefker?

    @#3 – Every rabbi uses lomdus to reach his/her psak.

  4. @jaxophone it can also apply to Jackson if the cans are owned by the company that picks up the garbage as the cans don’t belong to you. Also, the $49 fee the township charges you is a deposit if the can gets destroyed. If you whose to have the township take the can back they will refund the money to you. Therefore those cans don’t either belong to you.

  5. Rabbi Felder writes in his Kuntris on Pesach that it is preferable to leave the bins on the street and not on your property, however, in the case of privately owned streets one can rely on the more lenient opinion and keep the cans on his property as well.

  6. How about not being OCD. Even if it were in your רשות, once you’ve said “כל חמץ ושאור שיש ברשותי, שראיתיו ושלא ראיתיו, שביערתיו ושלא ביערתיו, יבטל ויהא כעפר הארץ”, the חמץ is no longer owned by you. Which means it isn’t part of the sale of your חמץ.

  7. Yid, your right a lot of פסקים are arrived through Lumdus, but that is when the posek known the הלכות and is comparing a specific case to a specific הלכה. Lumdus alone is not תורה. But is just a thought.

Comments are closed.