When Passover Starts on Saturday Night

When Passover Starts on Saturday Night
Note: this document only refers to CHANGES in the normal Erev Pesach procedures.
Please refer to “The Laws of Erev Pesach” for further information

Thursday April 17th, 2008
Fast of the First Born/Taanis Bechorim
1. All first-born males (“bechorim”) are obligated to fast on the day before Passover. This year the fast is on Thursday.
2. There is a tradition that all “bechorim” to attend a feast celebrating the completion of a tractate of the Talmud (called a “siyum.” This is usually done in the synagogue immediately following the morning minyan on Thursday.

The Search for Leaven/Bedikas Chometz
1. Thursday night after dark (approx. 9:04pm in Toronto) one should immediately perform bedikas chometz. (preceded by the blessing "and has commanded us concerning the removal of Chometz" and followed by the declaration "All Chometz, leaven or leavened bread in my possession, that I have neither seen nor removed nor know about, should be annulled and
considered ownerless as dust of the earth.”
2. If one forgot to search for Chometz on Thursday night, he may search for it on Friday, but not on Shabbos.

Friday April 18th, 2008
Burning of Leaven/S’raifas Chometz
1. Chometz which is necessary for Friday night and Shabbos morning meals should be placed in a disposable container, away from all Pesach food. (ie. enough bread for exactly 3 meals; it’s better to UNDERestimate than to have too much!)
2. Although Chometz may be purchased and eaten all day Friday, the custom is to sell and burn the chometz as if this day had been Erev Pesach (12:09pm in Toronto). Burning it later could lead to confusion in subsequent years.
3. The “Kol Chamira” declaration is not recited (because we are still going to use/eat our Chometz)
4. Unless Chometz was sold earlier, it should be sold by 12:09pm and may be used/eaten until an hour before shabbos

Seder Preparations
1. Make sure the following preparations for the Seder are made on Erev Shabbos:
(though one may not prepare for after shabbos ON shabbos, one may tidy up their house, as this is a shabbos need)

• Roast the egg and shank-bone (zero’ah)
• Check and clean lettuce leaves (discard 1st 3 leaves, soak each leaf in soapy water for 5 minutes, run under strong faucet and inspect each leaf – preferably by holding up to a light)
• Chop the nuts for the Charoses
• Prepare the Salt Water
• Grate horseradish
• Boxes of Matzah, Bottles, etc. should be opened
• Shmurah Matzah should be checked for air bubbles, cracks, etc. (matzah for the seder is muktzah!)

2. If you forgot to make these preparations, contact your Local Orthodox Rabbi
3. Make sure to store these seder materials so they will be fresh/usable when they are needed.
4. Remember: make enough for TWO Seders!

Other Preparations
1. Most men have the custom to go the Mikvah & get a haircut (the latter preferably before midday)
2. Any removable orthodontics should be cleaned thoroughly and hot water poured on them (hottest the orthodontics
can take). If it’s not removable, don’t eat hot chometz for 24 hours, then rinse with the hottest water you can tolerate.
3. All 3 Shabbos meals should be cooked “Pesadig” (ie. besides bread that’s used for ha’motzei).
4. All Chometz utensils should be put away except for one table cover, bread knife, salt shaker and Kiddush cup
4. If one must cook Chometz, one should avoid foods that cling to the sides of the pot.
(obviously, In such a case, one should not use a stove that is kosher for Passover)
5. A 48-72 hour candle should be lit before shabbos so the Yom Tov and Havdallah candles can be lit.

Shabbos - April 18/19, 2008
Eating the Shabbos Meals
1. It is permissible to eat Chometz after the time of it’s burning. But, in order that the Chometz not be scattered, one must designate a place to eat for Friday/Shabbos and restrict it to that place. Not doing so annuls the Search of Chometz.
2. Ideally the food should be eaten in new, disposable, plastic dishes, as it is prohibited to pour food from Passover pots to Chometz dishes. Using Passover plates is not advisable, since bread is eaten at these meals. (pita is a good option!)
3. There are a few ways of conducting the Shabbos meal:
• Eat bread in the kitchen (or any place away from where the pesach food will be eaten and without rugs)
• Eat bread in the kitchen and rest of the meal at the Pesach (dining room) table. (have this in mind while washing)
• Eat Egg Matzah at the Pesach table (must be eaten before the final time for Chometz as well)
4. If one is eating Chometz (option #1/2), it must be carefully eaten upon a tissue napkin (making sure that no crumbs fall on the floor). Once the Chometz is finished one should wash hands/mouth & flush any crumbs/napkins in the toilet.
5. If the meal is continued in a different room, one should return to the first room to say the Birkas Hamazon.
6. Egg matzoh may be substituted for kids that will make crumbs. Otherwise, regular matzah may not be eaten.
7. Remember: If one lights Shabbos candles on the table where Chometz will be eaten, one should place them on a part of the table not covered by the tablecloth, so one will be able to remove the tablecloth without moving the candlesticks.
8. Services are said earlier than usual because one must recite hamotzi before the latest time for eating chometz (11:00am in Toronto).

Disposal of Final Chometz
1. Chometz that remains after the morning meals should be given to a non-Jew, a pet, or simply flushed down the toilet. (In a town with an eruv, one may dispose of it in the public garbage bin in the street, thereby making it ownerless. If these options are unavailable, one can pour soap or cleaning agent on the Chometz, thereby rendering it non-edible)
2. Chometz vessels may not be washed on Shabbos. They may be wiped with a hand or with a paper napkin which can be thrown out afterwards. If this does not clean the utensils, one may rinse them slightly in order to remove the Chometz.
3. Plates may be rinsed properly only if one will need them on Shabbos, as for serving fruit in the afternoon.
4. One should sweep the house after the morning meals (with a soft-bristle brush) and dispose of the Chometz in the same way as discussed above, taking care not to leave any Chometz on the broom.
5. One should brush off clothing worn during the meal (by hand and not with a brush).
6. One should rinse one's mouth (even flossing if one's gums don't usually bleed when flossing, but floss must be cut to size before Shabbos), and wash hands so that Chometz shouldn't remain.
7. One should then nullify the Chometz by reciting the same “Kol Chamira” declaration that is usually said when burning the chometz. It is recited even if it was said by mistake on Friday at the time of burning the Chometz (before 11:57 AM).
8. One may continue his non-chometz meal and recite Birchas Hamazon after these times.

The Third Shabbos Meal
1. Some have the custom to split the morning meal into two parts, so as to have all 3 meals with bread. One should eat enough bread at each meal to say Birkas Hamazon, making an interruption by taking a walk around the block.
2. If it is after the final time for eating Chometz, one must eat "other foods" during the afternoon including fish, fruit or Passover potato starch cake any time between mincha and sunset. For those who follow the custom of eating gebrokts on Pesach, products containing matzoh meal that were cooked (e.g. knaidlach) may be eaten. Baked matzoh meal products, including cakes, may not be eaten all day.
3. It is permissible to nap on Shabbos in order to be rested and awake for the Seder, however one should refrain from saying this out loud, as it sounds like one is preparing for after Shabbos.

After Shabbos
1. After nightfall, the standard Yom Tov prayers are is said with the addition of "Vatodianu" in the Amidah.
2. Anyone who didn't say "Vatodianu" needs to say "Baruch hamavdil bein kodesh l'kodesh" before doing any melacha
3. Havdallah is recited as part of Kiddush during the Seder. No blessing is recited on the spices. (One should use the Yom Tov candles, putting them together side by side while upright. They should not be tilted to touch each other. )
4. At the seder, during the brocha of asher g’alanu, (prior to cup #2) we reverse the order and say min hapesachim u’min hazevachim. This is due to the change in the order of sacrifices when Pesach occurs on motzai Shabbos.
5. Don’t worry – the next time Passover falls on Saturday night is 2021!!