A useful halachic note.

[xiphias]

So, fellow Jews: have you ever sat there and thought, "Well, but HOW could I burn my chametz? It's not like bread and Chereos are actually all that inflammable."

I had a brainstorm.

190 proof grain alcohol is chametz.

Okay, there's a possibility that it's only kitnyot, if it's made from corn. But still.

Soak a piece of bread in grain alcohol.

Burns like a charm. If there was a problem, it was that I had to use about a quart of water after the thing was charcoal just to make CERTAIN it was out. . .

Comments

[learnedax.livejournal.com]

During Pesach, a Jew is not allowed to eat, derive benefit from, or own any chametz.

Hmm, I hadn't heard you couldn't derive benefit from it. How strict is that?
Because in a sense a deferred-payment contract of the type you describe could be considered to be holding derivatives on the chametz in question. You have, at least arguably, passed on ownership of the chametz, but you have a lien on it during pesach which is contracted to provide you either goods or money afterward. I'm not certain whether that should be valued as an active benefit during pesach or not.

On the other hand, you could just do a simple sale before pesach and buy the chametz back afterward. Or, if for whatever reason you want greater assurance of return, you could make a sale at a discount, the consideration for the discount being that within 10 days you have the option to buy the goods back at the full price. No derivative assets held during that week, a reasonable consideration for the contract, and ultimately a small payment to the buyer for their trouble. (Actually, that's kind of the same as the consideration, I would say.)

[seventorches.livejournal.com]

On the other hand, you could just do a simple sale before pesach and buy the chametz back afterward.

That's what he's doing.

[learnedax.livejournal.com]

No, it's not. The sale described is more complex, in as much as the transaction is not on paper complete during passover.

Now, of course that's a matter of formality - but so's the whole thing. If it wasn't he'd just have a friend keep them with no pretense of a sale.

[seventorches.livejournal.com]

The whole point to the exercise is that it's a real sale. If his car were chametz, he'd be halachically required to hand over the title when he sold it to me for a buck.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Maybe I described it poorly at the outset -- what you're describing in the second paragraph is exactly the contract that is written.