Matzah that Folds While Baking

1. When a section of the matzah folds over during baking so
   that one part clings to the other, it is forbidden to eat it. In addition to
   the folded part, the matzah around the folded part the width of a normal sized
   thumb is also removed. The folded part is forbidden because it may not have
   baked properly. If the matzah folded but the folded parts did not actually
   stick together, there is no prohibition, even when the folded parts are so
   close together that they almost stick together. Nevertheless, if the inner
   surfaces of the fold did not form a crust, the folded section is prohibited.

2. If the matzah folds over before baking while the dough is
   formed into matzos so that the folded parts stick together and become one, the
   custom is to be lenient. The matzah may be eaten. The reason we are lenient is
   that, in any case, there are those who hold that our matzos are so thin that
   there is no reason to suspect that folded sections would not be properly
   baked. Even though we are machmir when the matzah folds in the oven,
   there is no reason to be concerned when the matzah folded and formed a single
   unit before it was baked.

3. In any doubtful case of a matzah that folded over in the
   oven, we are lenient, for the entire matter is only a chumrah. So, for
   example, we are not concerned with the possibility that broken pieces of
   matzah may have come from the part of the matzah that was adjacent to a fold
   and should have been removed. Also, if, when removing the section of a matzah
   that is adjacent to a fold, a piece falls into other matzos and cannot be
   identified, we should, it seems, be lenient.

The Prohibition of Benefiting from Chometz

1. The Torah prohibits deriving benefit from chometz on erev
   Pesach from the sixth hour of the day, i.e., the midpoint of the day. The rabbis
   forbade deriving benefit from chometz one hour before that. Their prohibition
   also applies to the chometz of a gentile. According to this, the later poskim
   wrote that when passing a gentile bakery a person should avoid the pleasant odor
   of the bread that is being baked, for the odor of bread is one of the ways that
   we benefit from it. Ordinarily, we say that fragrance is insubstantial and we
   would not concern ourselves with it. But because even the slightest amount of
   chometz is prohibited, the pleasant fragrance of fresh baked bread is also to be
   avoided. Another reason given for avoiding the fragrance of fresh baked bread is
   that it might induce a person to eat it. In any case, a person who lives near a
   gentile bakery is not required to change is residence to avoid the fragrance,
   for it is impossible for him to avoid it and he has no intention of enjoying it.

2. One of the components of fish food is chometz, and even if it
   is sold to a gentile, it is forbidden to use it. Therefore, owners of aquariums
   should find a substitute food for their fish that does not contain chometz. They
   also must remember to sell the all-year-round fish food along with the rest of
   their chometz.

3. We hold that bitul chometz should be done by the fifth
   hour, for once the sixth hour comes, it is forbidden to benefit from the chometz
   and is no longer considered a person’s property. Nevertheless, a person who
   has not done bitul chometz by then may and should nevertheless do it
   until the midpoint of the day. By doing bitul at that time a person
   avoids violating the prohibitions of the Torah if there is any chometz in his
   possession on Pesach, though he will still violate the rabbinical prohibitions.

4. Even though it is forbidden to derive benefit from chometz,
   it is permitted for storekeepers and bakery owners to collect payment on Pesach
   for chometz sold before Pesach. This is not considered benefiting from chometz,
   and the money they receive is not considered to be exchanged for chometz because
   he has no claim on chometz but only on the money owed.