Why Don't Some People Sell Chametz Gamor?

I have heard people say they “don’t sell chametz gamor”. Why not?

A common method for relinquishing ownership of chametz before Pesach is to sell it, typically through an agent, to a non-Jew. The chametz remains in the house, in a closed-off area that has been rented to its new owner. After Pesach the agent repurchases the chametz on your behalf (and the rental period ends).

Some poskim have questioned the validity of a large-scale sale, as it appears to be insincere. Nonetheless, most poskim consider mechiras chometz halachically valid, and this has become the mainstream practice for Klal Yisrael for the past few centuries. Nonetheless, there are those who are machmir and do not rely on this device for food that is obviously chametz and prohibited on a Biblical level (see Aruch Hashulchan (Orach Chaim 448:13). Instead the chametz is eaten before Pesach, burned, or otherwise destroyed.

For an article on the topic of chametz gamor and to download a PDF product chart please see https://oukosher.org/passover/articles/chametz-when-to-peddle-when-to-purge/

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.