The Torah tells us in VaYikra (Leviticus) 23:5-8, "In the first month on the fourteenth of the month in the afternoon is the time of the Pesach offering to HaShem. And on the fifteenth day of this month is the Festival of Matzos to HaShem; you shall eat matzos for a seven day period. The first day shall be a sacred holiday to you when you may not do any work. You shall then bring sacrifices to HaShem for seven days, the seventh day is a sacred holiday when you may not do any work."
Pesach is, outside of Israel, an eight day holiday which commemorates when HaShem freed us from slavery in Egypt. The first two days and last two days are Yom Tov, which means we are not permitted to do most forms of work. The middle four days are called Chol HaMo'ed, on these days we are permitted to do most forms of work under the proper conditions. In Israel Pesach is only seven days long and only the first and last days are Yom Tov. This is in accordance with the actual commandment in the Torah quoted above. The extra days of Yom Tov celebrated outside of Israel are a rabbinical decree. Pesach begins on the fifteenth of Nisan. (Even though the year begins on Rosh HaShana, which is in the month of Tishrei, Nisan is considered the first month.) (The Jewish calendar counts days from nightfall to nightfall, thus Pesach, Shabbos, and all other Jewish holidays begin at night.)
"Maos Chitim" means "money for wheat". It is an established custom for every city to make a collection to supply the poor with their Pesach needs. This custom has the weight of law.
The Shabbos (Sabbath) before Pesach is called Shabbos HaGadol, The Great Shabbos, because it was on this Shabbos that the Jews in Egypt took the lamb which they were going to eat into their homes. This was a significant event because the Egyptians worshipped the lamb and when they saw the Jews were planning on killing the lambs they were enraged. Nevertheless, the Egyptians were unable to do anything to the Jews.
It is customary for the local rabbi to speak on this Shabbos about the laws of Pesach.
The Torah commands us to make a special sacrifice on the day before Pesach to eat on the first night of Pesach at the Seder. We are not able to do this today because the Beis HaMikdash (The Holy Temple) was destroyed. Many of the things we do at the seder on the first two nights of Pesach are based upon this sacrifice. When Moshiach comes the Beis HaMikdash will be rebuilt and we will once again be able to properly perform this mitzvah.
In addition to the obligations to remove chometz from one's domain, as discussed in the next section, the day before Pesach (Erev Pesach) is also a fast day for ever bechor - first-born man. This applies to the first-born sons from both the father and the mother, and includes a son born after an earlier child miscarried. Before a first-born son becomes an adult (bar mitzvah), the father fasts instead of him. This fast is fairly lenient and, in the event of even minor illness due to the fast, eating is often permitted. A rabbi should, of course, be consulted.
Due to the leniency of this fast, a first-born may eat at a seudas mitzvah (feast in honor of a mitzvah) such as the meal made for a bris milah (circumcision). In many communities it is customary for the first-born men to attend a siyum (completion of a Talmudic tractate) where refreshments are served. Since they are permitted to partake of these refreshments, the requirement of fasting ceases to apply to them for the remainder of the day.
| Please note: In the following sections I discuss several complicated subjects. This is particularly true with regard to the laws of chometz. The prohibition against chometz is very strict. Please do not rely on what I have written to make any actual halachic decisions. Whenever possible speak to a rabbi before putting anything into action. This essay is only written as an introduction to the basic rules, it is not comprehensive and it is not authoritative. |
Many medications and cosmetics contain chometz and would therefore be prohibited on Pesach. It is important to clarify with a rabbi who is knowledgeable in this field which products are acceptable and under what conditions.
The Torah tells us in Shemos (Exodus) 12:15, "Eat matzah for seven days. By the first day you must have your home cleared of all leaven. Whoever eats chometz from the first day till the seventh day will have his soul cut off from Israel." And in 12:19-20, "During these seven days no leaven may be found in your homes. If someone eats anything of chometz his soul shall be cut off from the community of Israel. This is true whether he is a convert or a person born into the nation. You must not eat anything leavened." This commandment is repeated elsewhere in the Torah as well.
The prohibitions against chometz on Pesach are extensive. We are forbidden to eat (and drink), possess, or even derive benefit from chometz during Pesach. Even mixtures containing chometz are generally prohibited. (This is particularly true with regards to the prohibition against eating and deriving benefit from chometz. The law against possessing chometz is somewhat less stringent in this regard.) We are also prohibited from eating food cooked in utensils which were used to cook chometz without first kashering them. (Kashering is a process by which utensils are purged of all food matter they have absorbed. The laws of kashering are complex and not all utensils can be kashered. It is important to consult a rabbi about the proper procedure.)
The prohibition against chometz begins before the actual beginning of Pesach. We are forbidden from eating chometz from the beginning of the fifth hour of the day before Pesach (Erev Pesach). During this fifth hour we are still permitted to own and derive benefit from the chometz. The prohibition of owning and deriving benefit begins at the beginning of the sixth hour.
(The hours referred to here are not standard hours, they are proportional to the length of the day. Jewish law divides the period between sunrise and sunset into twelve equal portions. The length of these time periods varies throughout the year and from one geographical location to another. It is important to find out what the times will be in your area.)
In order not to violate the prohibition against possessing chometz on Pesach, Jewish law requires us to thoroughly clean the house in the days before Pesach to eliminate any chometz. Once this cleaning is completed, we search the house for any chometz we might have missed. We search any place that chometz might have been brought into during the year. This search is called Bedikas Chometz and it takes place after nightfall on the night before Pesach.
The search is performed by candlelight. A flashlight is also acceptable, and, in certain circumstances, preferable. The ideal procedure is to begin the search with a candle and use a flashlight whenever a candle would be problematic or a fire hazard.
The search is not a ceremony! The search must be thorough and systematic, covering all rooms, closets, drawers, and the like.
Before the search begins one must make the brocha (blessing) "Baruch atah HaShem elokeinu melech ha'olam asher kideshanu be'mitzvosav ve'tzivanu al bi'ur chometz." (Blessed are You, HaShem, our God, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us by His commandments, and commanded us concerning the removal of chometz.)
After the search is completed we set aside any chometz which was found in a secure location and we make the following declaration, "All chometz and leaven which is in my domain, which I have not seen and which I have not destroyed and of which I have no knowledge, shall be nullified and hefker (renounced property) like the dust of the earth." This declaration must be made in the language one understands. It is legal declaration, not a prayer.
The following morning one must destroy all chometz that remains in ones possession before the end of the fifth hour after sunrise. (Again, these are not standard hours but proportional hours. It is important to consult a rabbi to find out what the required time of burning is in your area.) The preferred manner of destroying the chometz is burning.
When the burning is completed we make the following declaration, "All chometz and leaven in my domain, which I have seen and which I have not seen, which I have destroyed and which I have not destroyed, of which I have knowledge and of which I have no knowledge, shall be nullified and hefker (renounced property) like the dust of the earth." Once again, it is necessary to make the declaration in the language one understands.
Because destroying all the chometz in one's possession can be a serious financial blow (particularly to store owners and other businessmen who deal in chometz) a procedure has been established in which a Jew can transfer ownership of his chometz to a non-Jew. This procedure is a legally binding and legitimate transfer and fully fulfills the requirements of removing chometz from ones home. The process is handled by a rabbi. One should not attempt to perform the sale on his own. The laws regarding the sale of chometz are complex and should be handled by a rabbi.
If you are unable to contact a rabbi in your area to sell your chometz, then you can sell your chometz at this website: Jewish America's "Sell Your Chometz" Page
In addition to the prohibition against chometz, Ashkenazi Jews (Jews of European ancestry) have accepted upon themselves not to eat kitniyos. Kitniyos refers to grains and grain like products such as rice, millet, beans, lentils, and others. Even though these items cannot become chometz, Ashkenazim do not eat them because they are easily confused with grains that can be become chometz and may even be mixed together with them. Sephardic Jews (Jews from primarily the Middle East and Northern Africa) generally do not refrain from eating kitniyos. Possession of kitniyos is permitted according to all customs.
Matzah is the only form of bread which is permitted on Pesach. It is baked under very rigorous conditions that insure that it will not become chometz. Matzah can only be made from the five grains which have the potential to become chometz, wheat, barley, rye, oats and spelt. The dough for matzah can only be made from flour and water, nothing else may be added.
The Torah tells us in Shemos (Exodus) 12:18, "From the fourteenth day of the first month in the evening , until the night of the twenty-first day of the month, you must eat matzos." The Sages of the Talmud explain to us that this mitzvah is only a requirement on the first night. (Outside of Israel we are required to eat matzah on the second night as well.) For the remainder of the holiday eating matzah is optional, provided, of course, that one does not eat chometz. Nevertheless, the opinion of many authorities is that one fulfills a mitzvah by eating matzah throughout Pesach.
In Shemos 12:17 the Torah writes, "And you shall guard the matzos...". We learn from this that the matzos needed to fulfill the mitzvah of eating matzah on the first night must have been specially supervised during the process of manufacture for the sake of the mitzvah. Such matzos are known as matzah shmura (or, more commonly, shmura matzah). While shmura matzah is only required on the first two nights it is recommended to use them throughout Pesach.
Egg matzah is matzah which is made with eggs or fruit juices instead of water. Such matzah, provided that no water was added, is not chometz and may be possessed on Pesach. However, such matzos are not acceptable for fulfilling the mitzvah of eating matzah on the first night. Furthermore, the custom among Ashkenazi Jews (Jews from Europe) and many Sephardim (generally Jews from the Middle East and Northern Africa) is not to eat egg matzah throughout Pesach unless one is unable to eat ordinary matzah for health reasons.
On the first two nights of Pesach (or, in Israel, only the first) we are required to perform the Seder. The Seder, which literally means order and is probably best translated in this context as procedure, is an orderly process by which we fulfill the special mitzvos (commandments), both Biblical and Rabbinical, of the Pesach night. The seder is written down in a book called the Hagadah.
Before the Seder begins we have to arrange the Seder plate and other necessities for the Seder. We need three matzos which should be stacked one upon the other and covered. The standard custom for arranging the Seder plate is to place six items in the following arrangement:
To demonstrate our status as free men we are required to lean or recline while eating during several parts of the Seder. This has its origin with the manner in which royalty used to eat in ancient times. The ideal position for reclining is to lean to the left using a pillow or cushion to support the head. Leaning is only to the left, leaning to the right is not a fulfillment of the requirement. Women are not required to lean.
We are required to lean while drinking the four cups of wine, eating the matzah, the korech, and the Afikomen. We are not required to lean while eating the maror. There is a difference of opinion regarding the karpas, if one has no custom to the contrary it is preferable to lean. It is also considered proper to lean while eating the meal but this is not required.
The Hagadah breaks the Seder into fifteen steps. There is no way for to do proper justice to the Seder here. I will just provide a basic outline but I highly recommend reading a Hagadah with a good translation and commentary.
Halachos of Pesach
- By Rabbi Shimon Eider, a comprehensive treatment of all the laws of Pesach.
Pesach - Passover
- Its history, observance and significance.
Artscroll Passover Haggadah - Compiled by Rabbi Joseph Elias.
Highly Recommended!
Hirsch Haggadah - A translation and commentary compiled and adapted from the writings of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch.
Heritage
Haggadah - Laws, customs, traditions, and commentary.
Haggadah
Anthology - The Living Exodus - Another major Artscroll anthology of
commentaries.
Family
Haggadah - Very affordable! Recommended for regular use at the seder.
Haggadah
Vayaged Moshe - Commentary based on the teachings of Rabbi Moshe
Feinstein.
Artscroll
Youth Haggadah - Fully illustrated, with the complete text, simplified
translation and commentary.
Haggadah
Vilna Gaon
- An anthology of the teachings of the Vilna Gaon
on the Haggadah.
Haggadah
Abarbanel
- An adaptation of the commentary of the Abarbanel.
Ramban
Haggadah
- Commentary anthologized from the writings of Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman, known as
the Ramban.
Ben
Ish Chai Haggadah - Commentary compiled from the teachings of the Ben
Ish Chai.
