Burning the chometz

How do you do it?

When I was young, my father would take a metal pail. We’d throw in some papers, start a fire, and toss in the chometz. Half the time was spent spritzing it with lighter fluid so the fire wouldn’t go out.

Then I got a bit older, and in yeshiva I was told not to put lighter fluid on it, as that could render it unfit to eat, so you weren’t burning the chometz. (I never understood that – isn’t the whole point to render it unfit to eat?)

Most years I go away for Pesach and don’t make my own fire, so I don’t have to worry about it. This year, though, I will be home, and need to burn the chometz myself.

I bought some charcoal. I’m going to fill a heavy-duty pan with some charcoal, and put a small grate right on top of the coals. Then I’ll light it up, and once it’s going, put the chometz on the grate. This way it won’t touch the coals and be rendered unfit to eat, but it should be burned to a crisp. Because I’m using coals, the fire shouldn’t go out for a long while.