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Assuming one is permitted to sell chometz gamur, Is one permitted to simply cover sold chometz with a sheet or a garbage bag for the duration of Pesach or is an actual mechitza of 10 tefachim needed? An example of the former is covering a shelf in a refrigerator or freezer or placing chometz in a small cabinet that is less than 10 tefachim high.

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    Why do you think you would need a mechitza?
    – andrewmh20
    Apr 9, 2017 at 13:21
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    Seems like that would be the case. See shulchan Aruch 440:2 and mishna brurah there. Apr 9, 2017 at 13:23
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    Best to edit that into the question
    – andrewmh20
    Apr 9, 2017 at 13:25
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    It's probably best to ask the rabbi you're selling with.
    – MTL
    Apr 9, 2017 at 13:50
  • Pretty sure this is a famous shaila +1 kudos for asking1 Apr 9, 2017 at 19:47

2 Answers 2

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See SA OC, 440, 2:

ואם אינו חייב באחריותו - אינו חייב לבערו, אפילו אם כבוש תחת ידו, כגון שהוא גר תושב ושרוי עמו בחצר. וצריך לעשות לפניו מחיצה גבוה י' טפחים כדי שלא ישכח ויאכלנו. {מגן אברהם. משום דלא בדילי מיניה כולי שתא משא"כ בשאר איסורים א"צ מחיצה דבדילי מינייהו: } ‏

הגה: ונכרי שהניח חמץ בבית ישראל בלא רשותו - כופה עליו כלי (ריב"ש סימן ת"א). ודוקא ביום טוב, אבל אם הוא קודם יום טוב - צריך לעשות מחיצה (עיין לקמן סימן תמ"ו סעיף א').‏

If there is chamets of a non Jew in the house of a Jew, and the Jew disclaims any liability, he needs after all to make a mechitsa of 10 tefachim, because chamets is different from last prohibited foods, since people does not pay attention to chamets in last periods of the year.

The leniency to cover it with a vessel is for Yom Tov only. But in Chol Hamoed, we needs mechitsa, see Mishna Berura sk 15, and Magen Avraham sk 5.

For selling, see Mishna Berura in diman 436, sk 22. He mention selling for rooms, it seems cleat that the property needs to be well delimited.

The din of mechitsa is for bedile inshe (people avoid to put in). Id est the reasoning is about an accessible place with a symbolic separation. If you tells about inaccessiblie places, the reasoning of dissuasing symbol doesn't begins at all, as for a big mapolet.

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  • Curious how you understand that - the whole issue he has with using a kli is purely because you may come to use the kli - NOT that it doesn't make a sufficient mechitza, with that logic if should come out that if one covered it with say a garbage bag or sealed it in a. Is or used yellow "chametz caution" tape it should be sufficient as a reminder. Apr 9, 2017 at 20:22
  • @Draizy-Levi Pine well, you are saying that there are mechitsa equivalents, may be! but the terminology of your question was not clear enough for me, sorry. If a keli is pasyed on the ground e.g. the chamets is isolated enough. I see!
    – kouty
    Apr 9, 2017 at 20:35
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Kitzur Shulchan Aruch (114:4) writes:

אִם אֵינוֹ יָכוֹל לְהַשְׂכִּיר לוֹ כָּל הַחֶדֶר, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהוּא צָרִיךְ גַּם כֵּן לְהִשְׁתַּמֵּשׁ בּוֹ, יַעֲשֶׂה מְחִצָּה לִפְנֵי הֶחָמֵץ, וְיַשְׂכִּיר לוֹ אֶת הַמָּקוֹם שֶׁעַד הַמְּחִצָּה, וְיִכְתֹּב כֵּן בְּתוֹךְ הַשְּׁטָר

If he is unable to rent him the entire room, because he too needs to use it, he should make a mechitza in font of the chametz, and he should rent to him the space until the mechitza, and he should write thus in the shtar.

The reason is, because the chametz may not be in the house of the Jew (ibid 2):

הֶחָמֵץ שֶׁהוּא מוֹכֵר לְאֵינוֹ יְהוּדִי, צָרִיךְ שֶׁלֹּא יְהֵא בְּבֵיתוֹ שֶׁל יִשְֹרָאֵל

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