Q&A from the Bais HaVaad Halacha Hotline

Leaven Scent

March 26, 2026

Q I live near a non-Jewish bakery and enjoy the aroma of freshly-baked bread that wafts into the street as I pass by. May I do this on Pesach?

A Chametz is asur behana’ah (forbidden to derive benefit from), whether it is owned by a Jew or a non-Jew (see Rivash 400).

The Gemara (Psachim 25b) discusses whether smelling the fragrance of the ketoress constitutes hana’ah in the context of me’ilah behekdesh. It concludes that it does, so it is asur mideOreisa to smell the ketoress before it is burned. (Afterward, the smoke is not hekdesh.) In line with this, the Rashba (3:234; codified in Y.D. 108:7) forbids smelling perfumes made from orlah or kilayim produce, which are asur behana’ah.

But many Rishonim distinguish between items made for their fragrance—such as the ketoress spices—and items made for another purpose (see Bais Yosef Y.D. ibid. and Shach ibid. 27). It can be argued that baked goods are made for consumption rather than fragrance, but, as noted by the Biur Halacha (443:1), the point is debated. Practically, the Acharonim advise that one should not intentionally smell pleasant-scented chametz on Pesach (Chok Yaakov 447:10).

In your case, avoid intentionally enjoying the aroma, but you need not go to Florida for Yom Tov to escape it. The Gemara (Psachim ibid.) says one may walk through an area with a forbidden fragrance like avodah zarah incense if it is a davar she’eino miskavein (he doesn’t intentionally enjoy the scent). Even if an alternate route is available, one is not obligated to change his path. The same applies to chametz (Maharsham, Da’as Torah 447:1).