Passover Schedule and Resources
Passover falls this year from the evening of Monday, April 22, to nightfall on Tuesday, April 30.
Happy Passover! We wish you a week of celebration with family, friends, and community. We have a meaningful week of services and learning ahead. Please note that in lieu of a first-day Passover service, we will instead be hosting a Zoom learning opportunity at 10:30 AM. See below for the link and class details. At the end of the holiday, we will gather for services including Yizkor. If you are in need of a seder this year, please reach out to our clergy.
May this Pesach bring us that much closer to the liberation we experienced long ago. Chag Sameach!
Rabbi David Vaisberg
Rabbi Max Edwards
Cantor Jessica Fox
Our calendar for Passover is:
Monday, April 22: Erev Passover and First Seder
The Early School, JLP, and JPlay are closed. TBA office closes at 1 PM.
Tuesday, April 22: First Day of Passover and Second Seder
At 10:30 AM we will have a Zoom study session entitled “Sacred Guests: Elijah and Miriam at the Seder.” Please join us for an hour of online study which will conclude with an opportunity to recite Kaddish. The Zoom link is in your TBA Passover email. There is no in-person First Day Pesach service that morning. The temple will be closed.
Wednesday, April 23: Second Day of Passover
Schools, offices, and the building are closed.
Monday, April 29: Seventh Day of Passover
Schools and offices closed. There is no in-person Passover service.
Tuesday, April 30: Eighth Day of Passover
At 10 AM we will have our Passover/Yizkor service. Our schools and offices are closed.
Pesach Custom of Searching for Chameitz
The formal search for the last crumbs of leavened food can be a meaningful and fun tradition to carry out with the children of your family. It is traditionally done with a feather and a spoon, by the light of a candle, on the night before the seder after evening prayers. The ceremony is preceded by the blessing: “Blessed art Thou O Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who hast sanctified us by Thy commandments and commanded us concerning the removal of the leaven.”
Pesach Custom of Selling Chameitz
Dear Friends:
I am pleased to give you the opportunity to participate in the lovely Pesach custom of selling chameitz.
As you know, in preparation for Pesach we are to clean our homes of all forbidden foods. Technically, chameitz (“leaven”) is any food made of grain and water that has been allowed to rise. Practically, this includes bread, cake, cookies and so on, and depending upon our level of observance can also include items as diverse as beer and ketchup.
A key problem with pre-Pesach cleaning is what to do with chameitz. Do we really have to throw out that unopened box of Cap'n Crunch or those still sealed Oreos? No! Happily, Jewish law allows us to sell our chameitz temporarily. Even though the chameitz remains under our roof, as long as it is owned by someone who is not Jewish, and is therefore not technically ours, our home is kosher for the holiday.
The procedure is as follows:
1) Fill out the authorization form, below and return it to me. I need to receive it no later than Thursday, April 18. Later that day, I will enter into a contract with someone not Jewish who will purchase our chameitz.
2) Go ahead and clean your house for Pesach. As you come across chameitz that you would like to keep, put it in a special, segregated place, like a cupboard designated for this purpose or a special section of the pantry. Once you have set aside all the chameitz you want to sell, seal it in some fashion, perhaps by putting tape across the cupboard door or by securing a large piece of paper or plastic wrap over the goods stored on a shelf. The seal should remain in place until the evening of Tuesday, April 30.
There are many online and print resources to help us in preparing for Pesach, including how-to guides for the proper way to rid our homes of chameitz and lists of permitted and forbidden foods for Pesach. If you have any questions at all, please call me directly. Selling chameitz is a lovely way to enhance our holiday experience, as well as a practical way to keep our homes kosher l’Pesach while not being wasteful.
Best wishes for a chag sameach.
L’shalom,
Rabbi David Z. Vaisberg
PASSOVER PLAYLIST!
The four questions:
The four questions (Ma Nishtanah):
The four questions, traditional:
The four questions, Israeli style:
Festival kiddush:
Dayenu:
Chad Gadya:
Maariv Aravim:
Ki Lo Naeh:
L'shana Habaah:
Seder Mitzvah Opportunity
Some members of our congregation may not have family or friends with whom they can celebrate Passover. If you would consider hosting one or more persons at your family’s Seder, or find that you will be alone for Seder, please contact Rabbi Vaisberg. We would be honored to make a match.