Chametz After Pesach - Supermarkets

QUESTION: There is a non-Jewish owned supermarket in my neighborhood. I know that one of the managers of the store is Jewish. Does this pose a problem, or may I purchase chametz there after Pesach?

ANSWER: Shulchan Aruch (OC 440:1) writes that a Jew may not accept responsibility for watching the chametz of a non-Jew in the Jew’s home on Pesach, even though he does not own the chametz. If the Jew did accept responsibility, he is obligated to return or destroy the chametz. If he failed to do so, the Mishnah Berurah (440:5) writes that, according to many opinions, the chametz becomes forbidden after Pesach. However, this is only true when the chametz is watched in a Jewish home. If one watches chametz that is located in the home of a non-Jew, the chametz would not become forbidden. In our case, since the supermarket belongs to a non-Jew, the chametz is considered to be in a non-Jew’s home. Even though the Jewish manager is responsible to watch the chametz, this would not make the chametz forbidden after Pesach, because the chametz is on non-Jewish premises.

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The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.