Passover 2022 - All You Need to Know

THURSDAY, APRIL 10^th

Ta'anit for Firstborn - Fast of the First Born - Siyum Bechorim 
This year, the fast is observed on Thursday, April 10^th; attending a Siyum and eating afterwards exempts one from fasting. Services start at 6:45am followed by the Siyum at 7:15 AM

Bedikat Chometz (Search for Chometz) The Bedikah is performed on Thursday, April 10^th. It should begin immediately after it gets dark at 8:20 PM and should be a thorough check of the entire house. All Chometz that will be eaten on Friday and Shabbat morning should be put aside in a safe place.

Burning and Disposal of Chometz
The Chometz should be burned before 11:35 AM on Friday, April 11^th. Join us at 10:30 AM in the synagogue driveway on Roger Pilon to burn your chometz. However, we may keep eating Chometz afterward. On Shabbat, after we finish eating Chometz, one should dispose of remaining Chametz, and any utensils, before 11:33am and then the second, final bittul – the Kol Chamira paragraph – is recited.

SALE OF YOUR CHOMETZ 
The sale of Chometz must be completed by Friday April 11^th by 9:00 AM.  To expedite matters we would appreciate all forms submitted by Tuesday, April 8th.  Sale of Chometz form here

No family should sit down to the Passover seder before they have made a charitable contribution so others can share in the blessings of Passover. Make a donation here
 

ADDITIONAL SPECIAL GUIDANCE FOR THIS YOM TOV AND THE EREV PESACH THAT FALLS OUT ON SHABBAT:

Serving Chometz on Shabbat, April 11-12^th

Chometz should be eaten at a table that will not be used for Pesach, ensuring all visible Chometz is removed afterward. Alternatively, a disposable table cover may be used and discarded after the meal. Candle lighting should take place away from the table.

For bread, soft rolls or pita are recommended to minimize crumbs. Matzah may not be eaten, preserving one’s appetite for Pesach. Many authorities permit egg matzah on erev Pesach before the latest time for the consumption of Chometz. All Chometz must be finished by 10:12 AM.

Hot foods should be prepared with Pesach utensils and kept entirely separate from Chometz and chometz utensils.

ATTEND SERVICES
To expand your Pesach experience we urge all parents to join us at Passover Services with your children. 

Download a printable PDF version

The most celebrated and beloved of Jewish home rituals.

SEDER which literally means “order” is probably the most celebrated and beloved of Jewish home rituals. Many Jews have cherished memories of past family times spent at a seder. It is believed that the obligation to tell the story of the Exodus was observed by Jews ever since the actual Exodus itself. (In Israel, Jews have a seder only on the first night of Passover.) The seder takes place following the Passover evening synagogue service on the first two nights of Passover.

THE PURPOSE OF THE SEDER
One of the four names for Passover, and sometimes the aspect most emphasized is Chag ha-Herut (The Holiday of Freedom). Freedom is one of the primary themes of the seder. The seder permits Jews to worship God through prayer, study, and learning by taking part in what is essentially a lesson of Jewish history, literature, and religion. Participation in the seder lets one symbolically and vicariously relive the Exodus.
There are some essential elements to the seder that underlie the retelling of the Exodus. The three fundamental patterns of the seder are the family, the individual, the nation. It draws together all age groups. On the individual level, the seder requires every participant to feel as though he or she personally left Egypt. The seder symbolizes the first step toward the final redemption from slavery and the formation of the Jewish nation.

THE HAGGADAH
The script for this central ritual of Passover is the Haggadah (literally, “telling”). It contains questions and answers, stories, show and tell and songs.  Because every generation has managed to find its own significance in this wonderful teaching tool, there is now a plethora of Haggadot with added stories, songs, games, and pictures, to suit every political, spiritual, and religious point of view. 
 
THE SEDER PLATE AND ITS SYMBOLISM 
There are a number of symbols that occur throughout the seder, but perhaps the focal point of the whole event is the seder plate. It contains a roasted shank bone, symbolizing the Pesach sacrifice in the Temple, a roasted egg symbolizing either the spring season or mourning (for the destruction of Jerusalem), maror (bitter herbs) to represent the bitter experience of the Hebrew slaves, charoset (a mixture of apples, nuts, raisins, spices, wine) symbolizing the mortar the Hebrew slaves used to build for the Egyptians, and karpas (parsley, celery, or another green vegetable) symbolizing the green of spring. The table must also have three pieces of matzah, sometimes held in a special pouch.

FOUR CUPS, FOUR QUESTIONS, FOUR SONS
There are many instances of the number four throughout the seder: four cups of wine are drunk, four types of sons are discussed, four names for the Passover holiday, four blessings, four types of food on the seder plate. The most well-known example is the Arba Kushiyot, or four questions. These questions, usually recited by the youngest person at the table, are meant to highlight the main differences between this meal and 

all other meals of the year. They are also a way of keeping young people interested and involved in the events of the seder. They include queries about why we recline, why we dip food, and why we eat certain types of food.
Another special part of the seder is the extra cup of wine left on the table for Elijah. The suspense and excitement engendered by sending a child to open the door for the prophet, the chanting of the song Dayenu (“it would have been enough”), and a joyous recognition of God’s numerous gifts to us in the course of the Exodus, are other highlights.

FOUR QUESTIONS

The Four Questions are collectively known as “Mah Nishtana”. Mah Nishtana, in Hebrew literally means “Why Is It Different” from all other evenings of the year? Traditionally the youngest person at the Seder table recites the Four Questions: 

“Why is this night different from all other nights?” “Ma Nishtana ha-laila ha-zeh mi-kol ha-lelot?” 

1. ”Why is it that on all other nights during the year we eat either bread or matzah, but on this night we eat only matzah?” ”She-be-chol ha-lelot anu ochlin chametz u-matza, ha-laila ha-zeh kulo matza?”
    
2. ”Why is it that on all other nights we eat all kinds of herbs, but on this night we eat only bitter herbs? “She-be-chol ha-lelot anu ochlin she-ar-yetajit, ha-laila ha-zeh maror?”
    
3. ”Why is it that on all other nights we do not dip our herbs even once, but on this night we dip them twice?” “She-be-chol ha-lelot en anu matbilin afilu pa’am echat, ha-laila ha-zeh shetay fe’amim?”
    
4. ”Why is it that on all other nights we eat either sitting or reclining, but on this night we eat in a reclining position?” “She-be-chol ha-lelot anu ochlin bayn yoshvin u-vayn mseubin, ha-laila ha-zeh kelanu mesubin?”