Chapter 3. The Laws of Hag‘alah of Utensils

Instructions for those performing hag‘alah and for the public

Ideally
A. One who is able should preferably buy new utensils and not perform hag‘alah on old utensils from chametz for Pesach [1] .

Within twenty-four hours
B. One may not perform hag‘alah on a utensil that was used within 24 hours prior to the hag‘alah [and ideally, the cleaning of the utensil should also be done 24 hours before the hag‘alah] [2] , and some are careful not to use it for 3 days before the hag‘alah [3] .

A utensil that is not clean
C. One may not perform hag‘alah on a utensil if it is not completely clean, that is, if it has dirt or rust that has tangible substance [4] .

Utensils with folds and crevices
D. Utensils that have folds or crevices cannot be effectively kashered by hag‘alah, and they require light libun at the place of the folds or crevices [5] .

A pot with handles
E. A pot that has handles: if the handles can be removed, they must be removed and kashered by hag‘alah. If they cannot be removed, libun is required at the places of the crevices; and since many times it can be damaged by libun, there is no remedy for it. Likewise, knives made of two parts that have crevices at the point of connection require light libun, as above [6] .

Their use is with cold foods/liquids
F. Goblets whose use is with cold liquids, even if they have folds, may be treated leniently through hag‘alah; and according to the Shulchan Aruch, since their primary use is with cold liquids, rinsing is sufficient. Even for Ashkenazim, if it is known with certainty that they did not come into contact with hot chametz [or with chametz soaked for the requisite time], rinsing is sufficient [7] .

Teflon utensils
G. One may not perform hag‘alah on Teflon utensils, ceramic-coated utensils, or any other coating [8] .

Baking trays
H. Baking trays cannot be kashered, and there is no remedy for them [9] .

Plastic utensils
I. One may not perform hag‘alah on plastic utensils that absorbed taste in a kli rishon or by pouring from a kli rishon.

Glass utensils
J. One may not perform hag‘alah on glass utensils — crystal [10] ; therefore, regarding glass cups used for chametz, for Ashkenazim they are forbidden, while for Sepharadim, since their primary use is with cold liquids, rinsing them is sufficient.

Several utensils together
K. When performing hag‘alah on several utensils together, one must be careful that they do not touch one another; therefore, one should not place too many utensils in at once. When performing hag‘alah on several utensils, one must shake the basket well inside the water [11] .

In a utensil that is kosher for Pesach
L. When performing hag‘alah on utensils from chametz for Pesach, they should be kashered in a utensil that is kosher for Pesach. Therefore, if the utensil is not kosher for Pesach, one must first kasher the utensil in which the hag‘alah is to be performed. The manner of hag‘alah, as well as the methods of hag‘alah for one who wishes to use on Pesach the utensil in which he performed hag‘alah on other utensils, will be explained below in section 14 [12] .

-- Details of the laws of hag‘alah of utensils and utensils that cannot be kashered by hag‘alah --

A utensil that was used for chametz
M. As stated, the utensils should be kashered by hag‘alah in a utensil that is kosher for Pesach. Therefore, if the hag‘alah utensil is a chametz utensil, it should be kashered for Pesach in the following manner: fill the utensil with water and place it on the fire until the water boils and bubbles rise. Since the water must overflow a little to the sides, one should take a chametz electric kettle whose water is boiling and bubbling and pour into the pot until the water overflows a little to the sides. Then one may perform hag‘alah in it on the chametz utensils [13] , as explained in the following section.

The manner of hag‘alah
N. When performing hag‘alah on the chametz utensils inside a utensil prepared for that purpose as above, one must wait until the water boils and bubbles rise, and then insert into it the utensils that require hag‘alah, leave them there for approximately two seconds, and remove them. After performing hag‘alah on chametz utensils, one should rinse them in cold water; they may also be rinsed under the tap. The rinsing is not indispensable. If one wishes to use on Pesach the utensil in which he performed the hag‘alah, after he has performed hag‘alah in it on all the utensils, he should perform hag‘alah on it again, as explained above in section 13; and there is no difference whether the kettle from which he pours is a chametz kettle or a Pesach kettle [though a chametz kettle is preferable] [14] .

[1] See Pesachim (30b) and Mishnah Berurah (siman 451, se’if katan 19).
[2] Mishnah Berurah (siman 452, se’if katan 20).
[3] Bi’ur Halachah (ibid.).
[4] Shulchan Aruch (siman 451, se’if 3) and Mishnah Berurah (se’if katan 22).
[5] Shulchan Aruch (ibid. and se’if 4).
[6] Shulchan Aruch (ibid., se’if 12 and se’if 1).
[7] Ibid. (se’if 25 and se’if 6).
[8] Ibid. (se’if 4). Since we are stringent that hag‘alah is not effective for plastic, and the law of Teflon is like that of plastic. And anything that is almost never used with oil requires severe libun.
[9] Ibid. (se’if 24) and in the glosses of Chatam Sofer (Yoreh De’ah, siman 113).
[10] Shulchan Aruch (siman 451, se’if 26).
[11] Shulchan Aruch (siman 452, se’if 3).
[12] Ibid. (se’if 1).
[13] Ibid. (se’if 6).
[14] Shulchan Aruch (ibid., se’if 1 and se’if 7) and Mishnah Berurah (se’if katan 8).