Q. I, B”H became a complete baal teshuva less than a year ago. I’m now learning at a yeshiva in Israel but my parents who are totally not orthodox want me to spend Pesach with the family together and since they are very good to me I can’t say no.

What do I do for bedikath chametz, they don’t clean the house and there are chametz products all over the place, do I have to do my room with a bracha?

A. You have to do search your room and belongings on the beginning of the night prior to the Seder, since no one else is doing bedikas chometz in that household. Although a guest who eats all his meals with his host does not have to do his own bedika, (Shulchan Oruch Horav 432: 8) in this particular case since you have your own room and eat your separate meals and no one else is searching for chometz you have to do your own bedika. (See Shevet Halevy 4: 44, Nitey Gavriel I: 20: 5 )

Horav Shlmo Miller’s Shlit”a opinion is that you do make a brocho on this bedikah.

Rabbi A. Bartfeld as revised by Horav Shlomo Miller Shlit”a