Passover Portal 5784

PASSOVER PORTAL 5784/2024
Monday, April 22 - Tuesday, April 30
Be sure to check your email for any additional updates.

Read through for programming, ritual information, calendar,and Seder resources. 

RITUALS | PROGRAMMING | SERVICE TIMES | KEEPING KOSHER/SEDER RESOURCES | GIFT SHOP

Sell Your Chametz/Mechirat Hametz

Forms must be received no later than Monday, April 22 at 9:30 AM
Please click here to sell your chametz before Passover.
Click here for a printable form.

Maot Hittin
Maot Hittin helps needy persons here/abroad celebrate the holiday. Proceeds also provide scholarships to educational Jewish Summer Camps and Israel programs through our Passport to Jewish Education Program.

Donate Here!

Hagalat Keilim/ Kashering for Passover
Thursday, April 18, 7:45 - 9:00 PM
Come kasher your utensils and cooking items for Passover. For questions about what can be kashered please email Rabbi Katz.

Pick Up Bedikat Hametz Kits
Tuesday, April 16, and Wednesday, April 17 from 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday, April 19, from 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Grab a kit to check for hametz. 

Bedikat Hametz and Biur Hametz - Checking for and Burning Hametz

It is customary to search for hametz the night before the seder. This year, the search with the blessing and the formula (kol hamira) takes place on Sunday, April 21 after sunset. On Monday, April 22 burn a small amount of hametz preferably by 11:46 AM.  Our neighbors have offered to welcome anyone from CSAIR to come and burn hametz in their yard from 8:30-10:00 AM.  (Call the CSAIR office for the family address).

Fast of the Firstborn and Siyyum

A firstborn (whether of the mother or the father) should fast on the day before Pesach to commemorate the deliverance from Egypt. It is the custom to make a public completion of the study of a tractate of the Talmud before Pesach and, to celebrate, invite the firstborn to eat a festive meal for this mitzvah. This fast and siyyum will be held on Monday, April 22. Siyyum will be held at 8:00 AM (following Shacharit which begins at 7:15 AM)

Be a Host/ Be a Guest

If you would like to be a guest at a Seder or can host additional guests at your Seders, please call Rabbi Katie Greenberg 718-543-8400 ext. 1, or email engagement@csair.org.

Katz-Klein Family Pesah Nut Game

Games played with nuts (usually filbert or walnuts) are an old Pesah tradition. They keep the kids (and some of the adults) awake late into the night. 

Here is the version my Zayda, Al Klein, taught me. We would play it as the adults lingered over dinner. When it was time for the Afikoman we would return to the table with lots of energy.

Give each player 5-10 nuts. Place one odd shaped nut at an equal distance from all of the players.

Take turns rolling your nut towards the odd shaped nut. If you hit it, you get the to take the pot (all of the other nuts that have been rolled to the center, minus the odd nut). If you hit another nut, take it and the nut you rolled. The game is over when someone has amassed all of the nuts or when it’s time to find the afikoman.

NOTE: After services on the first two mornings of Pesah, Shabbat, and the last mornings, Rabbi Katz invites all players to a Nut Game Tournament. Nuts will be provided.

Counting the Omer 5784
Tuesday, April 23 - Monday, June 10
Tuesday, June 11
Erev Shavuot-Hag Sameakh!
Join us for our Tikkun Leyl Shavuot Study Session!
Counting the Omer Schedule  

Post October 7:  This Passover will be Different
Passover Q & A with Rabbi Katz
April 18, 8:00 PM

Part I
A review of some of the laws of preparing for Passover this year. Please ask your questions here so Rabbi Katz can see them in advance and prepare a response.

Part II
Rabbi Katz will offer ideas on how to approach the seder this year post-October 7:

• How to recognize what feels different for you this year?

• How can you prepare for difficult conversations?

• What readings and rituals may you include in your seder and holiday observances? 

Please ask your questions HERE so Rabbi Katz can see them in advance and prepare a response.

On Zoom  (See email for credentials)

Bake Your Own Matzah

Sunday, April 21, Noon - 4:00 PM

Join Rabbi Ethan Tucker for a special opportunity to bake your matzah for the seder. Learn a bit about the laws of matzah baking and get ready to move quickly to get the dough in the oven. This activity is intended for adults; older children can attend if they are being fully and actively supervised by a parent. 

CSAIR Kitchen/Social Hall

Hol Hammoed Dinner and Songs

Friday, April 26, 5:45 PM

Join us for a spirited and joyful Kabbalat Shabbat and Maariv led by Gedalia Penner Robinson. During dinner, Gedalia will lead us in singing traditional and modern songs for Passover and spring. All are welcome for services.  Click here to RSVP for dinner by Thursday, April 25 at Noon.

Print Passover Schedule

Monday, April 22 Erev Pesach 
Fast begins, 4:53 AM 
Shaharit, 7:15 AM 
Siyyum, 8:00 AM 
Eat last hametz, 10:38 AM 
Bi'ur Hametz, 11:46 AM 
Early Mincha/Maariv, 6:10 PM 
Light Candles and 1st Seder, 7:25 PM 
Sunset / Nightfall, 7:43 PM 
3 Stars, 8:27 PM 

*There are various customs regarding starting the seder and having it be “at night.” It is preferable to wait until three stars. Some start as early as sunset. Others start earlier but make kiddush or Avadim Hayinu after three stars. 

Tuesday, April 23, Pesach 1 

Late Shaharit, 9:45 AM 
Latest time to say the Shema, 9:29 AM 
Early Mincha/Maariv, 6:10 PM 
Light Candles (transfer from an existing flame) and 2nd Seder after 8:25 PM 

Wednesday, April 24, Pesach 2 

Late Shaharit, 9:45 AM 
Latest time to say the Shema, 9:28 AM 
Mincha/Maariv, 7:25 PM 
Yom Tov Ends, 8:25 PM

Thursday, April 25, Pesach 3 

Shacharit, 7:45 AM
Maariv, 7:30 PM 

Friday, April 26, Pesach 4 

Kabbalat Shabbat/ Maariv: 5:45 PM | Special services and dinner with Gedalia Penner Robinson.

Saturday, April 27, Pesach 5 

Shaharit, 9:15  AM 
Minha/ Maariv, 7:29 PM

Sunday, April 28, Pesach 6 

Shacharit, 9:00 AM
Light Candles, 7:31 PM 
Mincha/Maariv, 7:31 PM

Monday, April 29, Pesach 7 

Shacharit, 9:15 AM 
Mincha/Maariv, 7:31 PM 
Light Candles (transfer from an existing flame) after 8:31 PM 

*There are various customs regarding starting the seder and having it be “at night.” It is preferable to wait until three stars. Some start as early as sunset. Others start earlier but make kiddush or Avadim Hayinu after three stars. 

Tuesday, April 30, Pesach 8 

Shacharit, 9:15 AM 
Yizkor, 10:45 AM 
Mincha/Maariv, 7:31 PM 
Yom Tov ends, at 8:31 PM 
Hammetz buy back, 9:45 PM 

This Night Will be Different - Rabbi Dov Katz
A Pesach Supplement 5784

Note from Rabbi Katz about the Rabbinical Assembly Guide and Seder Resources:

While some people grew up watching parents or grandparents prepare for the holidays, others are now first exploring ways these rituals help make Jewish values concrete. Whether you are a “veteran” of Pesah cleaning/preparation or a newcomer, I hope the information on making your home kosher for Pesah and resources for making the seder come alive are helpful--and not too overwhelming!

This year, I offer two resources for preparing your home for Passover. 

The first is the Hadar Pesach Guide

The second is the Rabbinical Assembly Pesah Guide 
Over the past years and especially during the pandemic, the Rabbinical Assembly has changed its stance on details of which foods are kosher for Passover, the status of custom, and preparing one's home. 

These guides are often in alignment with one another but there are significant items where they diverge. Please feel free to reach out to me with questions about your specific circumstances.

Material for Enhancing Your Seder

ExploringJudaism - A new home for the Torah of Conservative Judaism, embracing the beauty and complexity of Judaism, and our personal search for meaning and learning

Passover Resources - ExploringJudaism

In Every Generation - Supplement from the Shalom Hartman Institute

Al Pedut Nafsheinu - Internal Redemption: Hadar Institute Passover Reader 5784

Haggadah from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum - Hostages and Missing Families Forum

Guide for Families: 7 Ways to Address October 7 at Your Seder - Kveller Haggadah Supplement

Why is this year different from all other years? - The 2024 Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies Passover Guide

The CSAIR gift shop has a variety of Passover Seder Plates, Matzah Covers, Afikomen Bags, Haggadot, Toys, and Frogs. Maybe it is time to check and refresh your Passover supplies.

Please feel free to reach out with any additional questions to CSAIRgifts@gmail.com.

Thank you for supporting our synagogue through the Sisterhood Judaica Gift Shop.