Reply To: Grocery that gets rid of all Chometz before Pesach

ubiquitin

If I (and my Rabbeim) disagree with getting the best tasting and cheapest snacks that still would not allow me to disrespect his concern that he does care about the taste and saving a few cents. The same thing works with Chumras.

When the Chachamim made the Knas they did not make an exception for if he “meant well” the halacha is that even if it was באונס the Knas would apply. My understanding of the reasoning for this is that if they would allow an exception then people would claim that it was באונס and their yetzer hara would make them give excuses due to the huge losses that he might incur. Now that the Chachamim made the Knas, it is not enough for him and his Rav to find a Kula, he will need to convince all his customers that it is Lechatchila.

That might be why the way the Chachamim made the Knas in the form of an Issur hanaah instead of saying that his Rabbi should give him a fine, is that this makes the public opinion matter instead of supervision by just one person who can potentially be too meikel out of pity for the individual or be bribed or misled.

Maybe the fact that 90% of the tzibur is happy to buy sold Chametz indicates that the sale is not so bad, but maybe the fact that (let’s say) 10% of the tzibur does not want to buy from the sold Chametz indicates that the sale is not so Lechatchila. The way the Knas works, in reality, is that the business that keeps Chometz over Pesach will lose customers as they will go to other Yidden or to Goyim. The better the heter is, the fewer customers will be lost.