While Purim is the next major Jewish holiday (tonight in fact), it seems to be never too early to start thinking about Passover (Pesach) and the rules surrounding it. In the past, I’ve always had a series of blog postings on the holiday, so might as well start now.

This came up even more last night; over the past few months, I have been participating in Kavana Seattle’s Living Room Learning, a weekly Jewish Text study in the living room of community members (or more likely, our Rabbi, Rachel Nussbaum’s). I have not gone every week, but have been trying to go fairly regularly - it has been a great group of people analyzing the text, but none of which are true text scholars; so it is not scary like some other groups I have seen in the past. I really enjoy it.

A few months ago, the group decided to transition away from Torah study, and focus on Mishnah (Talmud) study, as it tends to have more practical impact on our daily lives, and it is an area of study most of us had never done. To start, we’ve focused on Mishnah Peach, one of the rabbinic texts (written in the 2nd century of the Common Era) focusing on Passover customs & observance, so right up my alley of interest.

Last night, we analyzed Chapter 10, which focuses on the actual rules and order of the Seder (the Passover Meal).

However, we soon realized that this year has some different rules, due to the fact that Passover starts on Saturday evening this year, and thus, runs in Shabbat (the Sabbath) starting right before it, which complicates things, especially regarding the prohibition against having or eating Chametz (leavened bread) during the holiday and also in the day before the holiday; which conflicts with the rules to eat 3 full meals on Shabbat itself. There’s also an issue of a Fast Day (no eating/drinking/etc… that first born sons are supposed to follow the day before the holiday as a memorial for the felled Egyptians who lost their first born sons as the last plague), which also conflicts with the Shabbat meal requirement.

As none of us were quite sure how this all works in this scenario, and being curious, I just looked up a bunch of rules… I’m following up with my Rabbi to see how Conservative rules differ from the Orthodox ones, but here they are:

http://www.arzeidarom.org/hilchot.html has a bunch of good insight (Orthodox rules; not sure how it varies among other denominations), as does the Seattle Va’ad (http://www.seattlevaad.org/Motzaei_Shabbat.html, again Orthodox rules, not sure how it differs), but here are a few key notes I see…

Fast of the First Born (according to Congregation Arzei Darom):

"It is customary for the firstborn to fast Erev Pesach. However this year since Erev Pesach falls out on a Shabbat the fast for the firstborn takes place on Thursday April 17."

Meals on Shabbat/Searching/Burning Chametz (according to Seattle Va’ad):

"Bedikat Chametz (Search for Chametz) takes place on Thursday night before Shabbat in the same manner as any other year and with the recitation of the bracha.  In order not to distinguish the burning of the chametz from any other year, it is destroyed on Friday morning."

"Although the Shulchan Aruch states that we perform the procedure of Biur Chametz (Burning of Chametz) of Friday, nevertheless enough chametz food can be left over for the Shabbat meals on Friday night and Shabbat morning.

For Ashkenazim concerned with the problem of having chametz on Shabbat, after the procedure of Biur Chametz was completed, egg Matzah may be substituted for bread on Friday night and Shabbat morning (See Igros Moshe I, paragraph 155).  Although Ashkenazi Jews are prohibited from egg Matzah during Pesach, that does not include the morning of Erev Pesach.  The eating of egg Matzah according to HaRav Moshe Feinstein, OBM, should stop at the same time it is forbidden to eat chametz. "

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