Sale of Chametz
Although it is easy for most people to consume most of the non-Passover foods in their houses before Passover, there are some items that cause grievous financial loss.  Examples might be as follows:

• Fine liquor (grain-based, costly to replace and a shame to waste),
• The collected contents of one's spice cabinet (most commercial spices are dried for bottling using wheat, and thus contain chametz),
• The collection of bottles of condiments (like mayonnaise), spreads (like jam), sauces, and dressings in one's refrigerator (things spread onto bread likely have breadcrumbs in the jar or bottle from the spreading knife, and many condiments, sauces, and dressings contain chametz), and
• Any amount of foodstuffs for a family struggling with to keep food on the table.

In order to prevent grievous financial loss, these items may be isolated in one's house and sold to a non-Jew during Passover.
The procedure for selling one's chametz is as follows:

• Isolate these items in one pantry cabinet and one drawer of the refrigerator.
• Visibly and physically seal these areas - tape them closed, for example.
• Clean and prepare the rest of the kitchen as usual for Passover.
• Fill out the form to the right to name Rabbi Abby Jacobson as your shelichah (Jewish legal representative).  On the morning before first seder, Rabbi Jacobson will contract with a non-Jewish person to purchase all the chametz.  The person will pay a deposit of $1.  If that person does not come to pay you for your chametz items during the Passover holiday, then the sale will be declared null and void, and the items will return to your possession at 10:00 pm on the night that Passover ends.
• It is customary to give a small charitable donation for the service of having one's chametz sold.  Please consider clicking on the "Giving" tab at the top of the page to make a donation to one of the synagogue funds.