Many generations ago, the number of Jews who sold their chametz on Pesach was relatively small. The enactment and general custom of selling one's chametz does not appear in the Talmud, and it seems that in the distant past there was little need for it.

In those times, each Jew would ensure that there almost no chametz remained in his possession when Pesach arrived. The small amount that was left over was burned or otherwise disposed of, as the Torah commands (Shemos 12:15): "Only on the first day shall you clear the leaven from your houses."

Over the ages, there arose a need to provide a practical alternative to destroying chametz for owners of manufacturing plants and breweries, for whom this aspect of the festival of Pesach raised a tangible threat of financial collapse. In particular, after the industrial revolution and the methods of mass production that emerged in its wake, the conventional means of dealing with chametz on Pesach became economically unviable. A new approach was called for.

The solution was to sell the chametz to a non-Jew before Pesach, and to buy it back after Pesach. By selling the chametz to a non-Jew before the festival commences (and before the time that chametz becomes prohibited), the Jew transgresses no prohibition, and the chametz does not become forbidden by going through Pesach in a Jew's possession.

Today, there is barely a Jewish household that does not sell its chametz before Pesach. Some utilize the sale for expensive chametz products (in particular whisky), whereas others ensure that they dispose of all "proper chametz," and rely on the sale for products that have a concern for chametz (or chametz mixtures) though they aren't full chametz.

By filling in the authorization document online, you give the site rabbis authority to sell all chametz products on your behalf, and make sure that your Pesach will be chametz-free. Please ensure to fill in all required details carefully.