Pesach at Shaare Zedek
April 5 - April 13, 2023
Please note the service times shown below. We will hold services on April 6 (Day 1), April 12 (Day 7), and April 13 (Day 8).
preparations
Selling your Chameitz: We have now closed the Chameitz sales form. Please make other arrangements. Fill out this online form by the evening of Monday, April 3. We cannot accept responsibility for forms received after that time. Please note that this form should only be used by those in the same time zone as New York or further west. If you are further east, you should make arrangements to sell your chametz with someone local.
Ma'ot Chitim: It is customary to donate ma'ot chitim ("funds for wheat") to enable others who could not otherwise afford it to fulfill the mitzvah of eating matzah on Passover, and to hold a kosher seder. Please make a donation to our Matzah Fund here. Donations to the Matzah Fund should be sent in by Tuesday, April 4. Please note that online donations will have 3.5% deducted for credit card processing fees.
Bedikat Chametz: This customary candlelight search for leavened bread should take place after 8:05 pm the night of Tuesday, April 4.
Cessation of Eating Chametz: The latest time to eat chametz is 10:50 am on Wednesday, April 5. Those who sell their chametz through Shaare Zedek will not resume ownership of it until one hour after Passover ends, at 9:30 pm on Thursday, April 13.
Bi'ur Chametz: Leavened bread is traditionally and ceremonially burned before Pesach. In the neighborhood of Shaare Zedek, one can do this usually at Ohab Zedek on W. 95th Street between Amsterdam and Columbus, or in the alley behind The Jewish Center, on W. 86th Street between Amsterdam and Columbus. Please note that the latest time to burn chametz is 11:54 am on Wednesday, April 5.
Eruv Tavshilin: Cooking on Yom Tov is permitted for the needs of the day itself; however, when Shabbat starts right after Yom Tov, the rabbis permitted cooking on Yom Tov for Shabbat provided that preparations for Shabbat are begun before the holiday. This is accomplished through an eruv tavshilin – before Pesach starts, take a piece of matzah and a cooked food (typically a hard-boiled egg), hold them, and recite the following:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱ-לֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ עַל מִצְוַת עֵרוּב
Barukh ata adonai, eloheinu melekh ha’olam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu al mitzvat eruv. (Blessed are You, Lord our God, Sovereign of the Universe, who has sanctified us with Your commandments, and commanded us concerning the precept of eruv)
בַּהֲדֵין עֵרוּבָא יְהֵא שָׁרֵא לָנָא לְמֵפָא וּלְבַשָּׁלָא וּלְאַטְמָנָא וּלְאַדְלָקָא שְׁרָגָא וּלְמֶעְבַּד כָּל צָרְכָנָא מִיּוֹמָא טָבָא לְשַׁבַּתָּא לָנוּ וּלְכָל יִשְׂרָאֵל הַדָּרִים בָּעִיר הַזֹּאת.
(With this eruv may we be permitted to bake, cook, keep warm, kindle fire, prepare and do anything necessary on the holiday for Shabbat, for ourselves and for all Jews who live in this city.)
Set the eruv foods aside to be eaten on Shabbat. Cooking for Shabbat has now begun, and may be continued during Pesach. (If you forgot to make an eruv before Pesach begins, you can rely on those made by others in your area, but ideally you should make your own.)
Pesach Preparation
Please refer to the following resources for additional, detailed information about Pesach preparations:
Hadar Institute’s YouTube video series, Kashering Your Kitchen with Rabbi Ethan Tucker.
Seder Supplements:
HIAS offers Passover resources, including a printable Haggadah, on their website.
The American Jewish World Service has a printable social justice-related Haggadah available here.
Hadar Institute's 5783 Pesach reader is available here to download.
Candlelighting and Service times
Wednesday, April 5: Ta’anit Bechorot, Erev Pesach, first Seder
5:09 am: fast begins
8:06 pm: fast ends (assuming not attending siyyum)
10:50 am: Last time to eat chametz
11:54 am: Last time to dispose of chametz
7:06 pm: Candle lighting; see your Haggadah for the blessings, and also light a Yahrzeit candle in order to transfer flame for night 2.
As it is customary to begin your seder after nightfall, you may begin the Seder after 7:24 pm
Thursday, April 6: First Day of Pesach
9:30 am: Shacharit, Hallel and Musaf (Schechter Manhattan)
8:08 pm: Candle lighting (transfer flame from Yahrzeit candle, also transfer flame to another Yahrzeit candle in order to transfer flame for night 3); you may begin your seder after this time.
Friday, April 7: Second Day of Pesach
No services
7:08 pm: Candle lighting (transfer flame from Yahrzeit candle)
Saturday, April 8: Pesach Shabbat Chol ha-Moed
No services this Shabbat.
8:10 pm: Havdalah
Tuesday, April 11: Sixth Day of Pesach
7:13 pm: Candle lighting; also light a Yahrzeit candle in order to transfer flame for last night of Pesach
Wednesday, April 12: Seventh Day of Pesach
9:30 am: Shacharit, Hallel and Musaf (Schechter Manhattan)
8:14 pm: Candle lighting (transfer flame from Yahrzeit candle; also transfer flame to another Yahrzeit candle for Yizkor)
Thursday, April 13: Final Day of Pesach
9:30 am: Shacharit, Hallel, Yizkor and Musaf (Schechter Manhattan)
8:15 pm: Havdalah
Chametz sold through the shul can be eaten at 9:30 p.m.
Chag kasher v'sameach!