Pesach Guide 5772 - 2012

15-22 Nisan 5772 April 6-14, 2012

This Pesach Guide is also available in PDF form for easy printing. See the Pesach page for much more information about Pesach, from selling your chametz to Pesach songs.

Pesach is the ultimate home holiday. It takes the most work, but it also allows us the most wonderful collection of home traditions. This guide will walk you through the various rituals of home preparation. Don’t hesitate to call or e-mail one of us with questions.

Chag Kasher v’Sameach—A zissen Pesach

Rabbi Kalender and Rabbi Paskind

10 Easy Steps to Prepare Your Pesach Kitchen

1. Set aside a special Pesach area. Empty and clean only the number of cabinets you will need for Pesach food and utensils. Simply clean the outside of the others and tape them closed.

2. Refrigerators should be cleaned, inside and out. Some people also cover the shelves with foil. You should place a piece of foil in one area and keep your chametz food there until the onset of the holiday. Remember to reserve a place on your counters, too.

3. Decide how many days in advance you can do without your oven (what did we do before toaster ovens?). The oven is kashered by a thorough scrubbing and cleaning, followed by placing it on the highest heat for ½ hour. If it is self-cleaning, scrub, then run through a self-clean cycle. Speaking of toaster ovens, simply put them away for the holiday.

4. Stoves may be kashered by a thorough scrubbing, then turned on to the highest heat for 15 minutes.

5. Microwaves may be kashered by a thorough scrubbing, then placing a glass of water in the oven and running it on high for a few minutes until the cavity fills with steam and the water disappears. A microwave that has a browning element cannot be kashered.

6. Dishwashers may be kashered by scouring, not using for 24 hours, and then running it empty through a full cycle.

7. Electrical appliances may be kashered if the individual parts can be removed and kashered in the appropriate way (metal or glass). If the parts that come into contact with chametz cannot be removed, it cannot be kashered.

8. Countertops and shelves that will be used should be thoroughly cleaned. They should be covered with plastic, foil, shelf paper or vinyl tablecloths. If you have granite surfaces, simply clean them and pour boiling water over them.

9. A metal sink is kashered by a thorough cleaning and pouring boiling water over it. A porcelain sink should be cleaned, and a sink rack and dish basin used throughout the holiday, as a porcelain sink cannot be kashered.

10. Put your feet up and relax for a little while.

Dishes, Utensils, Pots and Pans

1. Utensils used for baking during the year should be put away for the holiday.

2. Chinaware, enamelware, earthenware, porcelain and plastic cannot be kashered. Only dishes and cooking utensils especially reserved for Pesach should be used, with the following exceptions:

3. Silverware, knives, forks and spoons made wholly of metal can be kashered by a thorough cleaning and immersion in boiling water. Any utensil which is to be kashered should not be used for a period of 24 hours between the cleansing and the actual kashering by immersion. Here’s how:

a. Bring a Pesach pot of water to a rolling boil

b. Dip the silverware into the water one piece at a time, until it is totally immersed (or you may do several in a net bag). They’re kosher. When you polish them (what would Bubbe think), make sure you use kosher-for-Pesach polish.

4. Glasses There are two acceptable methods:

a. Immerse the glassware in room-temperature water for 72 hours, changing the water every 24 hours.

b. Clean them, then run them through a dishwasher cycle (the dishwasher must have already been scrubbed).

Though it is not easy to balance Pesach preparation with chametz meals, it certainly can lead one to creative solutions. Enjoy the warm weather and eat on the deck, porch or a picnic on the lawn. Little things make it fun and keep you from constantly worrying about mixing things together.

What Shall We Eat?

Permitted foods:

**The following do not require Kosher-for-Pesach labels if purchased prior to Pesach: Sugar, pure tea, non-iodized salt, pepper, natural spices, frozen uncooked vegetables with no additives, frozen uncooked fruit with no additives and milk (however, if milk is purchased during Pesach, it must be K-for-P).

**The following do not require Kosher-for-Pesach labels if purchased before or during Pesach: Fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, kosher fresh fish and meat.

**Don’t be confused: the following DO require Kosher-for-Pesach labels: Canned or bottled fruit juices (even if they seem to be pure), canned tuna, wine, vinegar, liquor, oils, dried fruit, candy, ice cream, yogurt, butter, cream cheese & soda.

Prohibited foods include the following:

Leavened bread, cakes, biscuits, crackers, cereal, coffee with cereal derivatives in it, wheat, barley, oats, spelt, rye, and all liquids containing ingredients or flavors made from grain alcohol.

Because most of us are of Ashkenazic ancestry, the category of kitniyot is added to the prohibited list. Kitniyot includes: Rice, corn, millet, legumes, beans, peas (but string beans are permitted).

Some Ashkenazic traditions forbid, while others permit, the use of legumes in a form other than its natural state, for example, corn sweeteners, corn oil and soy oil.

*A quick note on Gluten-Free Matzah - Matzah is the only mandatory food at the seder that is usually gluten-based. Of the 5 grains that can turn to chametz and from which matzah is made, only oats are gluten-free. Gluten-free oat matzah is available in limited supply at Koshermart and online from www.lakewoodmatzoh.com.

Chametz

Shemot 12:15: “Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread; on the very first day you shall remove leaven from your houses…”

The Rabbis specified five grains that are the source of chametz: wheat, barley, spelt, rye and oats. Ashkenazic authorities later added rice and kitniyot (beans, peas, lentils, corn, millet and mustard). As one rids the house of the chametz, a few rituals are performed.

Bidikat Chametz—Search for Chametz

After nightfall on Sunday, April 17, we search our homes for chametz. Any chametz still to be eaten should be put together in one designated area. Kits are available in the OT office or you may prepare a candle (or flashlight), a feather or old toothbrush, some newspaper, and a small bag. Place pieces of chametz, (usually pieces of bread) in ten different places around the house. Chametz is hidden so that the searcher will have something to find, and the blessing will not be said in vain. Turn off the lights, and light the candle. In the room in which the search will begin, one should say,

“Baruch attah, Adonai, Elohaynu melech ho’alom asher kidshanu bemitzvotav vetzivanu al bi’ur chametz.”

“Praised are you God, Ruler of the Universe, who has sanctified us with the commandments, and commanded us to burn chametz.”

Using the lit candle, search the house for chametz, and use the feather or toothbrush to sweep it into the newspaper. Put all the chametz into the bag. It is fun to divide the responsibilities so that one person handles the candle, another the feather, etc. “Chametz kits” are available in the office. When all the chametz has been found and gathered, the following is said:

“Any leaven that may still be in the house, which I have not seen or have not removed, shall be as if it does not exist, like the dust of the earth.”

The next morning, April 18, the chametz that was found in the search is burned. Recite the following before burning this chametz:

“All leaven and anything leavened that is in my possession, whether I have seen it or not, whether I have observed it or not, whether I have removed it or not, shall be considered nullified and ownerless as the dust of the earth.”

The following is said during the burning of the chametz:

“May it be Your will, Lord, our God and God of our ancestors, that just as I remove the chametz from my house and from my possession, so shall You remove all the extraneous forces. Remove the spirit of impurity from the earth, remove our evil inclination from us, and grant us a heart of flesh to serve You in truth. Make all the sitra achara, all the kelipot, and all wickedness be consumed in smoke, and remove the dominion of evil from the earth. Remove with a spirit of destruction and a spirit of judgment all that distress the Shekhina, just as You destroyed Egypt and its idols in those days, at this time. Amen, Selah.”

Remember, the mitzvah of searching for chametz includes the search on Sunday night, the renunciation of the ownership of chametz made at night, and the burning of the chametz on Monday morning.

M’chirat Chametz—Selling the Chametz

As one may not posses any chametz during Pesach, it is customary to rid the house of as much as possible. However, as that is virtually impossible, we sell the remaining chametz to someone who is not bound by this prohibition. Therefore, you must fill out the form and return it to the synagogue no later than 9:15am on Friday, April 6! Please mail it, or place it in the envelope just outside the office. We will arrange to repurchase it for you at the end of the holiday on Saturday, April 14 at 8:26pm.

Fast of the First-Born—Ta’anit B’chorim

In commemoration of our deliverance from Egypt, first-born children fast on the eve of Pesach until the Seder. However, if a piece of traditional text is completed (called a siyum) at that time, one is allowed to eat in celebration of the moment, and is not required to fast the rest of the day. Therefore, any first-born present at our morning minyan and subsequent 10-minute siyum may eat. The service (and nosh afterwards) will be on Friday, April 6, at 7:00am.