cleaning
Michele Chabin, Religion News Service 3-30-2012
Ultra-Orthodox Jews rinse kitchenware in steaming, boiling water to make it kosher. Photo by David Silverman/Newsmaker
During the month leading up to Passover, which this year begins April 6 at sundown, Chevy Weiss, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish mother with five kids and a demanding career, scrubs and vacuums almost everything in her Baltimore home.
In keeping with their strict interpretation of Jewish law, which forbids Jews from possessing and consuming chametz (fermented grains) during the eight-day festival, Weiss and her husband, Yoel, clean every one of their five children's toys by hand, with bleach.
While some families clean items in a washing machine, "we wash every piece of Lego individually, like my mother did," said Weiss, a 39-year-old political consultant. "We vacuum every single pocket on every jacket. And we spend significant time with toothpicks getting into cracks of tables and chairs that have been around food."
Like other Orthodox families, the Weiss's also purchase chametz-free toiletries, makeup and cleaning supplies for use during the holiday.