Dear Rabbi Simon,
Can you please remind me and those travelling over Pesach, does one have to clean the home etc if one’s travelling before Yom Tov and not returning until after the Chag? Also, what happens to bedikat chametz?
Many thanks,
Daniel
Dear Daniel,
One who will be away for all of Pesach should adopt either of two approaches:
a. Arrange to sell your hametz in the usual fashion. In order to fulfil the requirement to search your home for hametz (since you will be there within 30 days of Pesach), it is sufficient to designate a limited space, eg bedroom, and check for hametz the night before your departure. No berachah is necessary.
b. Arrange to sell your hametz on the 13th of Nissan so that when the zeman hiyuv bedikah arrives the hametz is no longer yours.
Each option has its merits.
Rabbi Rashi Simon